Family Finding Specialist

LSSI; Nachusa Township (IL); On-site; USD 58,000 - 68,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dayforce Wallet

Competitive salary

Advancement opportunities

Healthcare

Paid time off

Holidays

403(b) plan

Employee Assistance Program

Flexible hours

Paid training

Job summary

LSSI in Nachusa Township, IL seeks a dedicated family support professional to provide casework assistance for youth with behavioral needs. You will apply trauma-informed, family-centered, equity-focused approaches to assess youth and family needs, engage with birth parents, foster families, and staff, and help secure stability and permanency.

Responsibilities include locating supports and placements, using SACWIS for documentation, building community partnerships, leading proactive foster family

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in social work or related field is required.
• CWEL preferred; background checks required.
• Experience with children and special needs preferred.
• Valid driver’s license and IL insurance required.

Responsibilities

• Provide professional technical assistance and resource development support to casework staff.
• Apply a trauma‑informed, family-centered approach to youth and family needs.
• Engage youth, birth parents, foster families, and staff to support stability and permanency.
• Identify and locate family members and supportive connections.
• Locate prospective supports and placement resources for youth and family.
• Identify and engage family supports and connections including relatives and fictive kin for permanency.
• Engage in activities to recruit foster families through events, social media and other strategies.
• Conduct SACWIS documentation and required forms; send written correspondence and track data.
• Lead proactive foster family recruitment efforts for youth in the foster care system.
• Coordinate services and attend meetings with other agencies to meet client needs.
• Demonstrate professional conduct with clients, families, staff and partner organizations.

Skills

Communication skills

Organizational skills

PC/computer skills

Leadership

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in social work or related field

Tools

SACWIS

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

Benefits and Perks:

LSSI is growing! Come be a part of this rewarding environment, and enjoy the knowledge that you’re helping make a positive difference in the lives of others,as well as these career advantages:

• On Demand Flexible Paydays for earned wages through an app called Dayforce Wallet.
• Competitive salary based upon relevant education, experience, and licensure.
• Salary $58,000-$68,000/Annually.
• Opportunity for advancement.
• Comprehensive benefits package for Full-Time employees includes healthcare insurance, up to 26 days of paid time off per calendar year, 11 paid holidays, sick time, 403(b) plan, Employee Assistance Program, and flexible hours.
• The paid training you need to learn, grow, and succeed!

Essential Functions:

• Provide professional technical assistance and resource development support to casework staff who serve children with specialized and problematic behavior service needs.
• Utilize a family-centered, trauma-informed, strength-based, and EDI (equity, diversity, inclusion) lens through which youth and family needs are assessed.
• Engage the youth (as age-appropriate), birth parents, family and social connections, foster parents, and staff to facility and support stability and permanency for the youth.
• Identify and locate family members and supportive connections.
• Locate prospective supports and placement resources for the youth and family.
• Identify and engage family supports and connections including relatives and fictive kin for the purpose of life-long connections and permanency achievement.
• Engage in a variety of techniques to meet and communicate with potential foster parents, including attending events, networking, social media and other strategies.
• Conduct search activities across multiple databases, systems, social media, and other websites and complete required forms and SACWIS documentation, send written correspondence, and long/track data for use by the Foster Care Team.
• Serve as the lead in engaging in both proactive general and target foster family recruitment efforts for youth in the foster care system.
• Coordinate services and attend meetings, with other agencies, systems, and community providers to meet the needs of the clients.
• Demonstrate professional, positive behavior and carry out responsibilities with integrity, treating clients, families, other LSSI workforce members, and collaborative organizations and/or individual in a dignified, respectful, honest and fair manner.

Position Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in social work, other human services field, or criminal justice is required.
• Background check clearance, both criminal and CANTS required.
• Child Welfare Employee Licensure (CWEL) preferred.
• Understanding of implicit bias and how to work withing a system that impacts decisions for youth and their families when locating placement options with the ability to have crucial conversations with staff and other child and family team members required.
• Excellent communication, organization, presentation and pc/computer skills (including proficiency with Microsoft Office-Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint) required.
• Experience working with children and special needs preferred.
• Demonstrated leadership, data analysis, and problem-solving skills preferred.
• Full access to SACWIS required.
• Access to and knowledge of completing background checks preferred.
• Valid driver’s license, in good standing for the state of residency required.
• Valid IL statutory minimum liability insurance coverage, bodily injury and property damage required.