Case Manager - Foster Care - Bilingual Preferred

Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 52,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains in Denver is seeking a Case Manager to oversee monitoring and protection of children in foster care, coordinate services for families, and support foster homes.

The role requires a Bachelor’s degree in social or behavioral sciences or equivalent experience, strong collaboration with diverse communities, and thorough documentation and advocacy across state systems. On-call support and participation in court and school meetings are expected.

Qualifications

• Familiarity with assessment, care planning, facilitation, coordination and advocacy.
• Knowledge of community resources and ability to connect families to services.
• Sensitivity in working with diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Responsibilities

• Manage all assigned cases and maintain face-to-face contact with youth in placement per state regulations.
• Coordinate and monitor therapeutic, health, educational and cross-cultural resources for youth and families.
• Generate case notes and maintain documentation to meet timeliness and accuracy standards.
• Provide on-call services for emergencies and participate in court hearings, placement reviews and school meetings.

Skills

Case management

Resource coordination

Cultural competence

Regulations knowledge

Crisis intervention

Professional communication

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in social or behavioral sciences

Two years' supervised experience with MSW or related Master's

Job description

DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

Our Foster Care Programs include traditional and therapeutic foster care, Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) foster care, and Long-Term Foster Care for unaccompanied minors. With teams across the Front Range of Colorado, LFSRM foster care staff work diligently to support families throughout the challenges and joys of fostering and to provide trauma-informed interventions and services that help children flourish and grow.

JOB SUMMARY & RESPONSIBILITIES

The Case Manager is responsible for the monitoring and protection of children, to provide case management for an assigned caseload, coordinate services for children and their families, and provide monitoring and support to foster homes.

REQUIRED COMPETANCIES

Occupational Competencies

• Provide case management: Familiarity with assessment, care planning, facilitation, coordination, and advocacy for support on behalf of and in collaboration with individuals or families.
• Coordinate services: Knowledge of currently available community resources, services, and supports, and ability to connect children, youth or families to appropriate resources to meet their needs through referral, application, or enrollment assistance.
• Deliver services within diverse cultural communities: Skills and sensitivity in working with children, youth and families from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
• Meet standards of practice: Familiarity with social work practice, human development, and the child welfare system, including applicable local, state and federal regulations and guidance.
• Provide crisis intervention: Experience with crisis management, problem solving, and mediation best practices.
• Communicate professionally: Ability to communicate professionally and cooperate with colleagues, other professionals, community partners, and other individuals involved in the care and coordination of services.
• Document efforts: Ability to maintains thorough and timely documentation of activities, services, and efforts.

Foundational Competencies

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

EXAMPLE ACTIVITIES

• Manages all assigned cases and maintains face-to-face contact with the youth in placement per state regulations and monitors, maintains, and conducts ongoing assessment of the needs of the children and families on caseload.
• Facilitates coordination and monitoring of therapeutic, health, educational, cross-cultural and other pertinent resources for youth and families on caseload.
• Generates case notes, maintains all necessary documentation to meet timeliness and accuracy standards.
• Provides on-call services for emergencies.
• Participates in court hearings, placement review meetings, administrative reviews, and school meetings.

TRANSPORTATION

Must maintain a valid driver's license and carry personal auto liability insurance at the level of $100,000/300,000/100,000.

• Frequent local regional travel. May be required to transport clients in personal vehicle.
• Local travel with company vehicle.

REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in social or behavioral sciences.
• If an individual has a Bachelor's degree in a non-related field, he/she shall have at least two (2) years' experience supervised by an individual with a Master of Social Work or other Master's degree in the social or behavioral sciences.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Arabic, Dari, French, or Spanish bilingual preferred.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.