Family Findings Specialist

LSSI; Rockford (IL); On-site; USD 58,000 - 61,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

On Demand Payday

Healthcare insurance

Paid time off

Holidays

Sick time

401(k) / 403(b) plan

Employee Assistance Program

Flexible hours

Training programs

Job summary

LSSI seeks a dedicated professional to support foster care services in Illinois, providing technical assistance, family finding, and resource development for casework staff.

You will travel to meet families, engage youth and relatives, and apply a trauma-informed, strength-based approach to support permanency and stability for youth in care.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in social work or related field is required.
• Strong communication, organizational, and leadership skills are essential.
• Must be able to pass a background check and have access to SACWIS for casework activities.

Responsibilities

• Understand implicit bias and how to work within a system that impacts decisions for youth and their families when locating placement options.
• Provide professional technical assistance and resource development support to casework staff serving children with special needs.
• Travel to various locations for meetings, conferences, or home assessments as needed.
• Apply a trauma-informed, family-centered lens in assessing youth and family needs.
• Engage youth, birth parents, relatives, foster parents, and staff to support stability and permanency.

Skills

Strong communication

Leadership

Organizational skills

Background checks

Computer literacy

Education

Bachelor’s degree in social work or related field

Criminal justice background preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

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-$61,000/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!
• The opportunity to become a part of a fantastic team of Child Welfare professionals!

EssentialFunctions:

• Understand implicit bias and how to work within a system that impacts decisions for youth and their families when locating placement options. Has the ability to have crucial conversations with staff and other child and family team members.
• Provides professional technical assistance and resource development support to casework staff who serve children with specialized and problematic behavior service needs.
• Will drive to various locations to attend meetings, conferences, or to locate and assess family homes as needed.
• Will utilize a family-centered, trauma-informed, strength-based, and EDI lens through which youth and family needs are assessed.
• Have the ability to engage the youth (as age-appropriate), birth parents, family and social connections, foster parents, and staff to facilitate and support stability and permanency for the youth.
• Possesses strong, creative problem-solving skills, and can use non-traditional search methods to identify and locate family members and supportive connections.
• Has strong data analysis skills needed to conduct diligent search activities across multiple databases, systems, social media, and other websites. Will complete required forms and SACWIS documentation, send written correspondence, and log / track data for use by the foster care team.
• Uses ecomaps, genograms, and other tools to map and locate prospective supports and placement resources for the youth and family.
• Possess the ability to identify and engage familial supports and connections including relatives and fictive kin for the purpose of life-long connections and permanency achievement.
• Assist in training potential foster parents and biological parents/relatives of foster children, as assigned.
• Engages in a variety of techniques to meet and communicate with potential foster parents, including attending events, networking, social media, and other strategies.
• Support potential foster parents to provide information and encourage engagement through the licensing process.
• Will take the lead in engaging in both proactive general and target foster family recruitment efforts for youth in the foster care system.
• Coordinates services and attends meetings with other agencies, systems, and communityproviders to meet the needs of the clients.
• Performs other related tasks as needed.

Position Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, other human services field, criminal justice is required and communication experience in investigation and person location preferred.
• Strong communication skills, research skills experience working with children with special needs a plus.
• Possess strong leadership, organizational and communication skills.
• Must have an ability to pass a background check.
• CWEL preferred but not required.
• Full access to SACWIS in order to “file mine’ (review investigative reports, previous assessments, case notes, placement history, collateral contacts, etc.) in the initiation of Family Finding activities.
• Internet accessibility to search tools and engines.
• Access to and knowledge of completing background checks.
• Excellent communication, organization, presentation and pc/computer skills (including proficiency with Microsoft Office – Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint) along with other related software.
• Position requires valid IL statutory minimum liability auto insurance coverage (including bodily injury and property damage).
• Valid Illinois driver’s license and proof of automobile liability insurance required. Access to transportation for visits and to transport clients to and from appointments.