Caregiver Practitioner

Government of Alberta; Red Deer; On-site; CAD 75,000 - 97,000; Full time

Job summary

The Government of Alberta, Ministry of Children and Family Services, seeks a Caregiver Practitioner in Stettler to support kinship and foster caregivers and ensure high-quality care for children in the ministry's care.

The role emphasizes relationship building, assessment, and planning with families and communities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Social Work with 1 year of related experience.
• Equivalency options include MSW or related degrees with varying years of experience.
• Related diploma or certificate with related experience may be acceptable.

Responsibilities

• Assess kinship/foster caregiver needs and capacity.
• License and orient caregivers for fostering.
• Develop and monitor caregiver support plans and ASKC.
• Collaborate with community partners and Indigenous groups.

Skills

Creative Problem Solving

Agility

Drive for Results

Building Collaborative Environments

Developing Networks

Develop Self and Others

Education

Bachelor of Social Work

MSW (equivalency)

Related university degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job Information

Job Title:Caregiver Practitioner
Job Requisition ID:86928
Ministry:Children and Family Services
Location: Stettler
Full or Part-Time:Full Time
Hours of Work:36.25hours per week
Permanent/Temporary/Wage: Permanent
Scope: Open Competition
Closing Date: October 8, 2026
Classification: Human Services Worker 5
Salary: $2,872.21 to $3,712.88 bi-weekly ($74,964 to $96,906 /year)

The Alberta Public Service works to build a stronger province for current and future generations. We make a difference in the lives of Albertans through rewarding and diverse career opportunities.

The Ministry of Children and Family Services funds programs and services to support vulnerable children, youth, families, and individuals to live safely and succeed in Alberta. This includes providing services and resources to protect children and youth from abuse and neglect and effectively address harm that has placed them in need of intervention.

Mentoring and support services are available to youth transitioning into healthy, productive adults. The ministry also invests in community-based groups that support prevention and early intervention services such as Family Resource Networks, youth emergency shelters as well as programs that raise awareness and help respond to family violence, sexual violence, and abuse.

As a Caregiver Practitioner, you will assess, support and reassess kinship/foster care caregivers for children in the care of the Director. This role is responsible for:

• Assessing kin and significant relationships for children/youth
• Approving/Licensing caregivers for fostering
• Orientation and training of caregivers
• Supporting the placement of the child with the caregiver (including development of the Support Plan)
• Completing the ongoing evaluation and support, re-assessment and supporting the caregiver when concerns arise for approved caregiver homes
• Quality of Care Assessments as required
• Providing access to a dispute resolution process

You will provide timely, meaningful and effective support to caregivers and be committed to relationship building with them alongside community partners and Indigenous communities.

In addition, Practitioners carrying Kinship files will be required to complete the Home Study Report known as the ASKC (Assessment and Support for Kinship Caregivers) for newly opened kinship care homes. This will require an ability to engage in relationship building, address sensitive issues, past traumas and apply critical thinking skills to analyze the information to determine the capacity of caregiver(s) to provide quality care and supervision to the children placed. Conducting interviews, performing assessment activities, collecting and reviewing supporting documentation is required to develop the ASKC, which also involves a thorough mitigation of any concerns (if applicable). Assessment ability and writing skills are essential to this role.

For approved caregiver homes, ongoing monitoring, annual evaluation and support is provided. This requires a creative and energetic attitude in order to actively serve and support caregivers. You will have the ability to assess capacity of caregivers, be strength-based, responsively monitor, provide advocacy, mediation, develop networks and connection to resources to build capacity. You will work closely/collaborate with Child Intervention Practitioners to help the caregivers understand the child’s case plan. This also includes working with involved family members and networks to address possible resistance/fears; unclear expectations between each party in terms of plans and departmental policies and entitlements of Caregivers.

Role Responsibilities......cont'd........

The successful candidate must have the ability to assess risk and family functioning, the interest and ability to work closely with community partners, well-developed organization and time management skills as well as excellent written documentation and verbal communication skills.

To better understand the policies and related practice supports related to this role, please review the Placement Resources section of the CFS Enhancement Policy Manual. https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/a1b2b48a-855b-42e4-9416-ab08ba22337b/resource/5e784398-8b98-46f1-8a69-f0265d4b72b8/download/cfs-enhancement-act-policy-manual-2025-09-05.pdf

The Ministry of Children and Family Services has several caregiver initiatives aimed at enhancing recruitment and retention and support for caregivers. To learn more about this please see the attached action plan. https://www.alberta.ca/foster-and-kinship-care https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/kinship-and-foster-caregiver-roundtable-action-plan.pdf

The Job Description is provided for further details on this position.

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in-depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

As a Caregiver Practitioner, in addition to your education and experience, you will demonstrate well-honed competencies in the following areas:

• Creative Problem Solving: Ability to gather information from varied sources, analyze and interpret information to formulate reports and make decisions related to case planning.
• Agility: Ability to prioritize competing workload pressures in an effective manner and contribute to the organizational goals.
• Drive for Results: Demonstrates ability to gather, integrate and interpret complex information Sets and accomplishes goals and priorities in order to deliver outcomes consistent with departmental objectives and directives. Excellent analytical, assessment and critical judgement skills.
• Building Collaborative Environments: Ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively with a variety of teams within the workplace, community and other Government ministries/agencies to meet client and ministry goals and objectives.
• Developing Networks: Ability to interact positively, build relationships and work effectively with others.
• Develop Self and Others: Ability to invest in the development of long-term capability of yourself and others.

Qualifications

Minimum Recruitment Standard: Bachelor of Social Work with 1 year of related experience.

Equivalency

• Master of Social Work (MSW) no experience required; or
• Related university degree (BA Child Studies/Child & Youth Care, BA Education, Bachelor of Health Sciences, Bachelor of Human Services, BA/BSc Psychology, BA Sociology, Bachelor of Community Rehab, BSc Family Studies/Human Ecology, BA Early Child Development, Bachelor of Indigenous Studies) and 2 years related experience; or
• Related diploma (Addictions/Counselling, Child and Youth Care, Human Services, Criminal Justice) and 3 years related experience; or
• Related certificate and 4 years related experience.

Assets

• 1 year of related experience as a child intervention services worker.
• Preference will be given to candidates who are Delegated
• Knowledge of community resources and Indigenous culture is essential.
• Experience working with Microsoft office is required.
• Conducting assessments, case management and planning in a child intervention setting.
• Knowledge working with Indigenous cultures.
• Experience in delivering foster care, kinship care, permanency support, and family preservation or intervention services would be an asset.
• Working knowledge of the Child, Youth, and Family Enhancement.
• Possess excellent verbal and written communication skills and strong critical thinking skills.
• Monday to Friday – 36.25 hours per week. After hours/on call will be required.
• There is currently one permanent position available based out of Stettler office.

Role Requirements

• As per the Health Professions Act, successful applicants must be registered with the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW) to be eligible for this position if they possess a Bachelor, Diploma or master’s in social work. For more information, visit http://www.acsw.ab.ca/ .
• Travel will be required in this role; therefore, final candidates for this position will be asked to provide a current 5-year commercial driver’s abstract. Candidates may also be required to use their own vehicle when government fleet vehicles are not available. Appropriate insurance is required.
• Successful candidate will require a clear Intervention Record Check (IRC) + Criminal Record and Vulnerable Sector Check (CRC VS) to be considered for the role.
• An academic check will be completed.
• Please be advised that your current supervisor and manager will be contacted as references.
• Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in.

Application Requirements

• In your resume, please include dates (including months and years) associated with all education and work experience. Also, please indicate whether your work experience is casual, part-time or full-time. For example, January 2006 – June 2009: Assistant (Part-Time)
• Complete all pre-screening questions.
• Please include your current supervisor and manager as a part of your references

Other Information

• We thank all applicants for their interest. All applications will be reviewed to determine which candidates' qualifications most closely match the advertised requirements.
• Relocation expenses may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance.