Adoption Recruitment Specialist

Rising Ground; New York (NY); On-site; USD 52,000 - 68,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

11 Paid Holidays

Paid Sick Time

Paid Vacation

Paid Personal days

Job summary

Rising Ground in New York City is seeking a Child Focused Recruitment Specialist to facilitate matches for waiting children and coordinate with case managers.

You will develop child-focused recruitment plans, conduct interviews, and build partnerships with potential families across Brooklyn and the Bronx; 2–4 years in human services and foster care/adoption experience are preferred.

Qualifications

• Associate Degree preferred.
• High School Diploma / GED required.
• Minimum of 2–4 years’ experience in human services field; preferably foster care or adoption. Some experience in public relations preferred.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate working knowledge of the child welfare system including adoptions.
• Establish personal relationships with referred children and assist them in adoption readiness.
• Determine child strengths, challenges, desires, and readiness through assessments and quarterly updates.
• Maintain collaborative relationships with case managers, therapists and other team members.
• Articulate Child Focused Recruitment and differentiate Recruitment strategies in practice.
• Conduct regular monthly contacts with the child’s case planner.
• Develop and implement a child-focused adoption recruitment plan for each child.
• Diligently search for adoptive families including connections to the child.
• Meet with significant adults and maintain ongoing contact with key partners.
• Aggressively follow up with identified connections with case planner approval.
• Provide adoption preparations for children and families and assist in transition planning.
• Advocate for recruitment efforts and address barriers as opportunities.
• Align actions with the belief that “unadoptable is unacceptable.”
• Actively recruit permanent resources and community connections for permanency.

Education

Associate Degree

High School Diploma / GED

Job description

About Rising Ground

Founded as an orphanage in 1831, Rising Ground has been at the forefront of evolving community needs. Driven by the belief that each of us can thrive when life has hope and opportunity, Rising Ground provides caring support and proven paths to positive change, helping children, adults, and families rise above adversity, and each year, Rising Ground is a positive force in the lives of more than 72,000 individuals annually. We do this through 101 programs across 138 sites, throughout New York City and Westchester. Our strong belief and commitment to diversity is shown not just through our work with supported persons but is integral to the building of a strong staff that reflects the communities we serve. Rising Ground is headquartered in New York City.

About Rising Ground

Founded as an orphanage in 1831, Rising Ground has been at the forefront of evolving community needs. Driven by the belief that each of us can thrive when life has hope and opportunity, Rising Ground provides caring support and proven paths to positive change, helping children, adults, and families rise above adversity, and each year, Rising Ground is a positive force in the lives of more than 72,000 individuals annually. We do this through 101 programs across 138 sites, throughout New York City and Westchester. Our strong belief and commitment to diversity is shown not just through our work with supported persons but is integral to the building of a strong staff that reflects the communities we serve. Rising Ground is headquartered in New York City.

About The Role

Responsible for facilitating the matches of children with appropriate families by utilizing Child-Focused Recruitment Strategies .

What You’ll Do

• Demonstrate a working knowledge of child welfare system including adoptions
• Establish personal relationships with referred children and assist them in honoring the past, present and future through child readiness activities
• Determines the child’s strengths, challenges, desires, and preparedness for adoption and child’s needs through the adoption and recruitment transition process. A written assessment should be developed initially and updated on a quarterly basis
• Maintain collaborative relationships with case managers, therapists and other members of case management teams
• Articulate Child Focused Recruitment and understand the difference between General Recruitment, Child Specific Recruitment, and Targeted Recruitment as demonstrated in the implementation of Recruitment Services
• Conducts regular monthly contacts with Child’s case planner
• Develop and implement a child-focused (custom) adoption recruitment plan for each child
• Conducts diligent search of potential adoptive families including people with past and current connections to the child
• Meets with significant adults and maintain regular and ongoing contact (case planner, foster parent, attorney, CASA volunteer, teacher, therapist, relative, mentor, faith-based representative, extra activity leader, etc.)
• Conducts aggressive follow-up with connections identified, with the knowledge and approval of child’s case planner
• Provides adoption preparations for children and families, assists in transition planning
• Demonstrate advocacy through recruitment efforts; responds to barriers as opportunities
• Align actions, words and behaviors with “unadoptable is unacceptable”
• Actively recruit permanent resources for assigned children including individuals connected to the child, biological relatives, professional contacts in the community, area churches, and any other resources that may lead to permanency for a child
• Facilitate public relations efforts to recruit and match potential families and children
• Incorporate child friendly language that is developmentally and age appropriate
• Communicate the impact of trauma on youth and development
• Conduct initial interviews with person interested in adopting a waiting child
• Follow all necessary program requirements in terms of case management, data collections, and reporting as outlined by Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Program
• Coordinate with supervisor or other Family Foster Care staff on the completion of any other assigned tasks
• Display sensitivity to the service population’s cultural and socio-economic characteristics\
• Perform other duties related to department goals and projects as needed
  
  

Your Qualifications

• Associate Degree preferred
• High School Diploma / GED required
• Minimum of 2 – 4 years’ experience in human services field; preferably foster care or adoption. Some experience in public relations preferre
  
  

Benefits Offerings Includes

11 Paid Holidays

Paid Sick Time

Paid Vacation

Paid Personal days

Insurance Coverage

Medical -3 plan options

Dental - 2 plan options

Vision - 1 plan option

Supervisory Responsibility

No

Work Environment

Clinic/Field/Corporate Office

Position Type/Expected Hours Of Work

This is a full-time position. Days and hours of work are Monday through Friday in Brooklyn or Bronx. Work hours options are 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, 9:30 am - 5:30 pm, 10 am - 6 pm.

Additional Requirements

• Authorized to work in the U.S.
• Ability to work in-person in New York City (NY) for at least 3 days or more per week.
• Ability to travel to other Rising Ground sites (if required)
  
  

Application & Interview Process

While the interview process may vary slightly, the general process will be:

• Application reviewed by Talent Acquisition Team member
• Phone screen with Talent Acquisition Team member
• Interview with Hiring Manager
• Panel Interview with Key Partners
• Interview Decision & Feedback
  
  

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

It is the policy of Rising Ground that the Agency wholly complies with equal treatment of all employees and applicants for employment without unlawful discrimination as to an individual’s

perceived or actual race, creed, color, national origin, alienate, citizenship status, gender, age, disability, marital status, partnership status, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, or

veteran status in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, training and apprenticeship, promotion, upgrading, demotion, downgrading, transfer, layoff and termination and all other terms and conditions of employment.