Program Manager of Foster Care and Adoption

Position Summary:

Child and Family Services Foster Care and Adoption program works to preserve families by finding temporary, safe and loving homes for children and supporting parents to develop the skills they need to reach the goal of reunifying their families.

What does a day in the life of the Program Manager of Foster Care and Adoption look like?

You will provide leadership, oversight, and support to ensure the smooth functioning of the program in accordance with agency and oversight agency policies, procedures, and regulations. You will establish and maintain a collaborative work culture where team members support one another in ensuring that that high quality, trauma-informed, and client centered services are delivered on a day-to-day basis. The work we do can be challenging, but it is rewarding! Being present with staff and looking out for burnout is a key component of this role. While it may not happen every day, you will have to be available to aid the team after hours if something urgent comes up!

As the Program Manager you will:

• Provide regular supervision, coaching and feedback for direct reports.
• Lead regular staff meetings to foster a culture of information sharing, communication, collaboration, and teamwork.
• Provide trauma-informed leadership to the program including the establishment of clear expectations and guidelines to staff and offer supervision and support to reduce the impact of vicarious trauma that comes from working within the child welfare system.
• Be available to staff and other program stakeholders after hours as needed to attend to urgent matters.
• Possess a continuous quality improvement mindset seeking and implementing efforts to promote efficiency, effective use of technology, and other tools to assist staff in maintaining balanced workloads.
• Learn all aspects of the program through regular engagement of each team member to understand their work and provide guidance and back up support as needed.
• Market and promote the program throughout the community and participate in
• community activities, coalitions, and programs related to the program services.
• Attain proficiency in all program databases and regularly run reports to monitor program data including prospective foster parent inquiries, referrals, staff workloads, client roster, and compliance with agency and funder requirements.
• Ensure that client services, standards and practices are provided to the satisfaction of all funding sources and work with agency leadership to monitor the program’s financial performance.

• Participate and contribute to program Quality Improvement process in conjunction with the agency’s Compliance and Quality Assurance departments.

• Model and practice sensitivity, fair treatment, and acceptance of diversity in all interpersonal interactions, and show willingness to learn about and implement skills related to diversity
• Maintain positive relationship with all stakeholders, including parents and foster families.
• Participate in hiring of personnel and address all personnel issues in a timely manner.

The Qualified Candidate will have:

• Bachelor’s degree and five (5) years’ experience in child welfare or related field or MSW or LMHC and three (3) years of child welfare experience
• Two years supervisory experience or equivalent
• The ability to work a flexible schedule with evening hours when foster parent trainings are scheduled or other recruitment or program events necessitate.
• Valid NYS Drivers License required
• Strong communication and conflict resolution skills
• Able to work positively with people from a wide variety of different backgrounds.
• Demonstrate or develop strong clinical, programmatic, and administrative supervisory skills.
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work as part of a team.

Competitive Salary of $63,000 to $68,000 depending upon education and experience

CFS offers full-time employees the below benefits to support our employees and their families and help to create a healthy work environment.

• Paid Time Off (PTO)
  –20 PTO Days (25 Days After Five Years of Employment)
  –14 Paid Holidays (includes 2 flex holidays)
  – Bereavement: Four Paid Days
  – Paid Jury Duty
• Employer Paid Life Insurance
• Medical, Two Plan Options
• Dental, Two Plan Options
• Vision Insurance
• Wellness Program and Incentives
• Health Savings Account (HSA) and Quarterly Employer-Contributions
• Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Dependent Care FSA Retirement
• Employee Referral Bonus
• Qualifying Employer for Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)
• 403(b) Right Away and Employer-Contributions After Two Years

Child & Family Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Child & Family Services provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran or familial status, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Child & Family Services complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Diversity Statement: Within our agency and in the communities that we serve, C&FS is committed to diversity and inclusion with race equity at the center. Every day we work to promote safety, health, and wellness. We will not stop until Black, indigenous and people of color are free from racism and experience peace, prosperity and well-being.