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Join Our Team as a Foster Care Home Finder

Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of children and families? We are seeking a dedicated and compassionate Foster Care Home Finder to play a critical role in recruiting, training, certifying, and supporting foster and adoptive families. In this rewarding position, you will help build strong, nurturing homes for children in need by guiding prospective foster parents through the certification process, conducting home assessments, coordinating placements, and providing ongoing support to foster families.

The ideal candidate is a relationship-builder with strong assessment, communication, and organizational skills who is committed to child welfare and family preservation. If you are driven by a desire to strengthen communities, advocate for families, and help children achieve safety, stability, and permanency, we invite you to join our team and make a lasting impact.

Benefits & Perks:

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO), including paid holidays
• Qualifying Non-For-Profit for Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Program (click here to learn more: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation)
• Casual dress code
• Health, dental & vision insurance options
• Free dental insurance
• Paid Employer sponsored life insurance.
• Supplemental insurance programs for additional life insurance, short-term disability, accident & cancer insurance
• Up to $600 every year for completing biometric health screenings on a single health insurance plan & up to $1,200 if a spouse also completes
• Up to $180 annual gym reimbursement
• Take advantage of our Dental & Outpatient Mental Health services while working
• Employee referral program
   

Salary Range:

• Licensed Salary Range: $52,500-$57,000 annually. 
• Unlicensed: $49,500 starting salary. 

The annual salary for this position will be determined based on years of qualified experience.

Job Summary:
The Foster Care Home Finder will recruit, train, and certify full-time and respite foster and adoptive home.  This position follows prospective foster parents through the certification/re-certification process and the placement of a child in their home.  

Essential Job Duties:

1.    Develop a strong working knowledge of foster boarding home regulations and policies. 
2.    Is responsible for the matching process between children and foster families and notifies the case worker of placement. 
3.    Identification, planning and involvement in recruitment activities for foster families.
4.    Responsible to represent the agency on appropriate coalition, committees, and at community recruitment events. 
5.    Assist with foster parent recruitment, retention and recognition events (i.e. Foster Parent month, foster care events, Christmas party, fundraisers, etc). 
6.    Send written acknowledgments to foster parents around special events and other appropriate times. 
7.    Respond to foster parent inquires and screen applicants on the phone in accord with OLV and State regulations concerning foster parenting.
8.    Maintains caseload through Connections, including all required dates, information, bed availability, training, and annual re-certification of assigned families. 
9.    Responsible for ensuring foster parent applicant files of assigned caseload are complete and in compliance with Agency, County and state regulation, at the point of presentation for approval.
10.     Develop a strong working knowledge of the roles, permanency options, needs and services for relative caregiving families.
11.    The home finder must make home visits in connection with foster home assessments to check on readiness to begin the certification process and to give the applicant(s) initial documents.
12.    Assess foster parent applicants for their potential suitability as a foster/adoptive parent through in-home and office interviews of all household members. 
13.    To inform and prepare applicants as to the expectations and responsibilities of foster/adoptive parents;  as set forth in State, County, and agency regulations
14.    Evaluate applicant(s) in their own homes through in-depth interviews with all household members. Interview applicant(s) regarding their motivation, parenting capacities, personal background, and current family functioning.
15.    To collect written collateral data such as school, employment, and personal references, and any other information, from outside sources as needed.
16.    To clear prospective foster/adoptive families with the State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment, Staff Exclusion List, and criminal clearance 
17.    To obtain complete medical clearances on all household members.
18.    Complete foster/adoptive home studies. 
19.    To work in partnership with program staff and foster families to develop and ensure adherence to  partnership development plans as needed.
20.    To work with program Director to make decisions about appropriateness to deny applications or reapproval/recertification as necessary.
21.    Maintain case records prior to certification, after certification, and with each completed re-certification. 
22.    Assess and evaluate foster homes for re-certification including the collection of all needed documentation.
23.    Serve as an advocate for foster families and work in collaboration to address concerns as they arise
24.    Develop and maintain knowledge on community resources for which to refer foster families to for additional supports as needed
25.    Develop and maintain a strong understanding of kinship caregiver options, challenges and supports to best serve kinship foster families
26.    Completes all BVS, DSS and OCFS paperwork in a timely manner and ensures that documentation in foster parent records conforms to agency, County and State regulatory requirements.
27.    Maintains hard copy of foster parent records.
28.    Co-trains prospective foster families in approved pre-certification training curriculum
29.    Co-train a minimum of 3 MAPP/GPSII trainings per year
30.    Provides one-on-one training and assessment to relative/kinship foster homes to best meet family needs
31.    Develop and maintain relationships with foster parent and ensures ongoing support for foster parents. 
32.    Serve as a liaison between casework staff and foster parents
33.    Works with the foster care social workers to preserve challenging foster care placements through family support and mediation.
34.    Participates in family team conferences, case reviews and department meetings as needed.
35.    Assist with coordination and/or delivery of foster parent training programs as necessary and/or requested. 
36.    Serves as a co-trainer in program specific trainings, which may include Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Families, Risking Connections, Caring for Our Own, Applying Reasonable and Prudent Parenting Standard, etc. 
37.    Co-facilitate traditional and relative foster parent support groups 
38.    Attends all mandatory in-service training and regularly attends supervision meetings. 
39.    Follows BVS and OCFS policies to ensure compliance with regulations and requirements.
40.    Performs other duties as assigned.

Skills:
•    Computer skills
•    Customer skills
•    Culturally sensitive to the needs and diversities of multicultural communities. 
•    Skills in typing, basic computer operations, Microsoft, PowerPoint, Excel. 
•    Strong organizational skills. 
•    Able to work independently, demonstrating good judgment and prioritizing. 
•    Must be accurate and detail oriented. 
•    Practices good customer service skills in all working relationships. 
•    Strong interpersonal skills, respectful, and courteous nature. 
•    Demonstrated assessment skills 
•    Knowledge of child welfare regulations and regulatory agencies whenever possible. 
•    Teaching and presentation skills.
•    Willingness to develop strong relationships, and ability to demonstrate patience, compassion, and empathy for clients.
•    Ability to establish strong interpersonal skills to foster healthy and productive relationships with clients and colleagues.
•    Good mediation/conflict resolution skills.
•    Ability to work effectively with clients, families, staff and community contacts from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. 
•    Knowledge of community resources and the ability to access specialized services to clients. 
•    Ability to advocate effectively for clients. 
•    Ability to be flexible and adapt to change. 
•    Ability to interface with people (groups and individuals) and communicate within various mediums (logbooks, e-mail, telephone). 
•    Demonstrate time management / organizational skills. 
•    Must be an excellent listener. 
•    Effective problem solver 

Competencies: 
•    Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills. 
•    Problem solving: Takes a systematic approach to solving problems rather than reacting to symptoms
•    Teamwork ability: Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job
•    Taking initiative: Identifying what needs to be done and doing it before being asked or before the situation requires it
•    Decision-making ability: The aptitude to extract, interpret, integrate and manage information correctly and make timely and concise decisions for the best course of action, among multiple alternatives, to enable the decision-making process to take place on a higher level in order to achieve objectives.
•    Empathy: ability to listen effectively and accurately enough  to understand another's situation and point of view
•    Creativity/Innovation: Fosters and initiates new ideas, methods and solutions
•    Tenacity: Staying with a position or plan of action until the desired objective is obtained or is no longer reasonably attainable. Works to achieve goal in spite of barriers or difficulties; actively works to overcome obstacles by changing strategies, doubling efforts, using multiple approaches, etc.
•    Analytical Thinking: The ability to tackle a problem by using a logical, systematic, sequential approach

Education: 
Minimum Degree Required: Master`s Degree in Social Work, Mental Health Counseling or a closely related field

Experience:
Minimum Experience Required: 1-2 years working with children and families

Required License/Registration/ Certification:  

License preferred: LMSW/LCSW/LMHC    

Physical Requirements:
The overall nature of the position is sedentary requiring little physical effort with occasional light physical exertion required. There is little, if any, exposure to environmental conditions.
•    The constant physical demands of the position are sitting. standing, walking
•    The frequent physical demands of the position are climbing, talking, hearing, repetitive motions, and eye/hand/foot coordination. 
•    The occasional physical demands of the position are lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, balancing, stooping, crouching, reaching, handling, grasping, and feeling