Home Finder Therapeutic Foster Care

Hillside Family of Agencies • Full-time • Syracuse, NY, US • 1w ago

Job Summary

The Home Finder Therapeutic Foster Care recruits, trains, and certifies high-quality therapeutic foster/kinship homes. This includes providing support to foster/kinship parents for successful placements. This position collaborates with state and county partners and leads home finding tasks and functions.

Essential Job Functions

Recruit, train, and certify high-quality therapeutic foster/kinship homes
Organize, coordinate, and facilitate foster/kinship parent recruitment events and training schedules.
Identify the relevant curriculum and provide training, 1:1 or in groups, for potential foster parents/kinship caregivers to assist them in meeting certification requirements.
Identify additional resources and/or training needed to ensure the foster/kinship parents are capable and confident in addressing the needs of youth in foster or kinship care.
Perform end to end home certifications.
Complete all aspects of the home study process which includes conducting a thorough home assessment and writing the home study reports with a clear rationale for the recommendation.
Obtain and complete all paperwork and documentation required by regulatory bodies including all background and State Central Registry checks to ensure the certification process for foster/kinship homes is on file and meets all necessary requirements.
Lead and facilitate in home meetings with foster/kinship families. Works to understand successful aspects of the placement and gaps where support is needed.
Create and implement plans of corrective action or retraining for foster/kinship homes based on any skill gaps or regulatory deficiencies.
Ensure foster/kinship homes maintain their certification; assist foster/kinship parents with the completion of annual recertification.
Partner with the Department of Social Services (DSS) to understand the placement needs of youth.
Assist in referral assessment and foster/kinship home matching.
Assess the additional supports and training needs of potential foster/kinship parents for matching to youth with a specific need.
Act as resource to support foster/kinship parents in understanding the needs of youth in their care and to manage and cope with challenges they may experience as a foster/kinship parent.
Supports the treatment team in responding to foster/kinship home to deescalate crisis situations.
Attend treatment meetings with foster/kinship families to ensure they provide youth care consistent with their treatment needs.
Coordinate respite care for youth in foster or kinship homes.
Transport youth as required.
Attend Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) regional meetings and County meetings. Report pertinent information to program.
Facilitate foster parent communications (i.e. newsletters).
While this job description covers many aspects of the role, employees may be required to perform other duties as assigned.

Education & Experience

High school diploma or GED required.
Minimum 3 years of experience working with youth and/or families required.

Special Requirements

Unrestricted, valid NYS driver’s license for minimum of 1 year with a clean driving record and minimum insurance coverage that meets agency standards.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

In addition to demonstrating the Hillside Professional Competencies of Communicates Effectively, Personal Excellence, Cultural Competence, Builds and Leverages Relationships, and Optimizes Decision Making, the following occupational competencies must be demonstrated:

Ability to identify and be aware of culture and its influence on identity, relationships, family dynamics, and parenting practices.
Ability to assess situations and communicate results of assessments verbally and in writing.
Ability to empathize with the experiences and emotions of children in foster care and their families, demonstrating sensitivity, understanding, and support.
Ability to use strong problem-solving skills to assess challenges and barriers in the placement process and develop creative solutions to address them.
Ability to strongly advocate for the best interests of children in foster care, ensuring their safety, well-being, and access to necessary services and supports.
Knowledge of all federal, state, and local statutes, regulatory agency standards and Hillside policies.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Must be able to work a variable scheduling including evenings and weekends
The following daily physical demands are required:
- Sitting (up to 6 hours)
- Occasional standing (up to 2 hour)
- Occasional walking (up to 2.5 hours)
- Driving (several times a week up to 6 hours)
- Continuous balancing (up to 8 hours)
- Occasional balancing, bending, stooping, climbing, kneeling, pushing, pulling, reaching forward or down, reaching overhead, running, and twisting (up to 2.5 hours)
- Weekly lifting up to 10-15 lbs. on a daily basis
- Manual dexterity is required, including the frequent ability to grasp in both hands and continuous use of fine manipulation skills in both hands (approximately 1-2.5 hrs.)
- Occasional exposure to dust, fumes, gases, chemicals, or smoke is apparent
- Ability to change positions as needed

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

While Hillside is a restraint free environment, there may be times in a “life or limb” situation, that staff may be required to physically restrain clients weighing between 50 lbs. and 300 lbs. and guide them safely to the floor. In some circumstances, restraints can last up to 15 minutes and may require repetition.

$21.40 Minimum pay rate, $31.00 Maximum pay rate, based on experience.