Youth & Family Specialist

Ascentria Care Alliance; Worcester (MA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

Ascentria Care Alliance is seeking a Youth and Family Specialist to support youth in home-like settings and recruit and assist foster families. The role requires collaboration with schools, child welfare staff, therapists and courts to ensure permanency and well-being for children and youth.

The position emphasizes a human-centered, trauma-informed approach, strong documentation practices, and coordination of services across dental, medical, and educational supports.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work or related field required.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate a human centered, strength-based, trauma-informed approach when working with clients, families and collaterals.
• Build trusting relationships with youth and families to support personal growth and safety.
• Advocate for youth needs to ensure equitable and quality care.
• Provide clinical case management across multiple systems for foster children and families.
• Coordinate and support supervised family visits, parent coaching, and interagency collaboration.
• Maintain up-to-date case files, documentation, and court updates as required by licensing and policy.

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work or related field

Job description

AscentriaCare Alliance has been transforming underserved communities for over 150 years,providinga wide range of services to children, families, and seniors across five states. Recognized asone of the largest human services nonprofitsin New England and one of the top 100 women-led businesses in Massachusetts, we envision vibrant communities where all individuals have access to resources to support one another to overcome challenges and seize opportunities.

T he Youth and Family Specialist can serve dual roles in the Child and Family Services because the work supporting youth in home like settings and achieving permanency, and the work of recruiting and supporting families, needs to be a shared responsibility across t he team. Each youth and each foster family will have their own Youth and Family Specialist with differing roles. Both roles require close collaboration with school personnel and educational teams, child welfare staff, Family Networks lead agencies, therapists, lawyers and court personnel, the general public and intra-agency collaterals.

Primary Responsibilities:

• D em onstrate a human centered, strength-based, and trauma informed philosophy by treating all clients, families and collaterals in a non-judgmental and respectful manner while building on their strengths.
• Create a trusting and safe relationship with the client and encourages personal growth of the client
• A dvocate for the youth’s needs to ensure equitable and quality care
• P rovide clinical case management working in multiple systems and settings providing services to foster children, foster families and biological families
• D e pending on level of training, provides group and/or individual counseling and coaching services, mediation and guidance to children and their biological and/or foster families.
• F a c il i ta t e s supervised family visits, and provides parent coaching as appropriate
• Consistently demonstrate discretion and independent judgment with regard to assessing and making decisions around the best interest for children and families
• U ndertake the responsibility of “on-call” duty as assigned and is responsive to crises independently either by phone and\or in person, demonstrating a calm and professional approach while assuring safety for all involved.
• F a c il i ta t e treatment meetings/ foster care review, and invites the appropriate attendees, while ensuring effective interagency collaboration
• Coordinate dental, medical, psychological and community support for youth
• Ensure that educational needs are met including advocacy for special education services
• A tte nd all meetings called by collaterals and support a team approach to best serve the needs of children, youth and families
• S upport and participate in the development and implementation of strategic plans for program-specific foster care recruitment in conjunction with foster care recruitment across the Children and Families Service.
• Recruit qualified foster homes on a continuous basis to meet the growing and challenging needs of clients
• S upport foster families through the recruitment and training process.
• P a rticipate in “matching process” and prepares foster parents for their work with
• t he child/youth and family of origin
• P romote the program through community networking and positive representation to internal and external committees, government entities, etc.
• M ai ntain an excellent relationship with state or private funding sources and other state authorities responsible for regulating foster homes or child placing agencies
• D e velop and maintain expertise regarding regulatory requirements for foster parent qualification and renewal including record checks, evaluations and updating of file materials
• Complete all documentation required by state licensing regulations in a timely manner, including but not limited to home studies, background checks , annual foster care review and waivers
• P e rform other related duties incidental to the work described herein to help meet the goals of the program or the agency
• D ocument all contacts and incidents and ensure files are up to date
• D e velop and complete assessments/homestudies, service plans\tx plans, progress notes and any other necessary documentation
• P rovide updates to the court both in writing and in person
• M ai ntain organized up to date case/foster care files in accordance with contractual standards, state and federal law
• K ee p supervisor updated on any incidents or concerns involving clients and foster families
• A tte nd weekly staff meetings and any other meetings or events required by the A gency
• Complete all mandatory training on a timely basis to meet certification standards, including 20-30 hours of specialized training each year including ethics, current practice and needs of the service population.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• M A - Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work or a related field
• N H - Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work or a related field
• Ability to work within the Mission of the agency.
• S i gnificant experience working with children with social/emotional/physical problems desirable. Mediation and conflict resolution skills helpful.
• O pen to new ideas and desire to grow professionally. Flexibility in thinking and scheduling.
• P ossession of a valid driver’s license and a good driving record.
• A bility to utilize independent sound clinical judgement and decision making with regards to best interest of children and families
• A bility to work flexible hours and be available to meet for emergency situations.
• A bility to effectively manage client behavior, foster independence, and maintain perspective and a sense of humor.
• A bility to handle people and situations with compassion, diplomacy, and tact.
• A bility to work independently by setting priorities; organizing resources and effectively performing tasks in a timely manner.
• A bility to provide documentation such as valid driver's license, evidence of automobile insurance and a clear criminal record check.
• A bility to work cooperatively in a team environment and to problem solve unexpected/unpredictable circumstances calmly.
• K nowledge of federal, state and local regulations, protocols and/or procedures.
• A bility to travel to meet client needs
• E xcellent interpersonal and written communication skills
• A bility to use independent judgment and discretion; investigate, analyze and draw professional conclusions.

When you join Ascentria, you’re not just taking on a job—you’re stepping into a role that empowers you to grow personally and professionally while contributing to a meaningful mission.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.