Kinship Support Licensing Specialist

Description

Easterseals Blake Foundation is celebrating 75 years of continued service in Arizona. We have expanded our services to better serve our community members. We are now one of Arizona's top providers of comprehensive behavioral health services, child welfare, and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We serve more than 40,000 individuals and families across 10 counties in Arizona. Are you ready to make profound, positive differences in people's lives every day?

We offer our full-time employees the following benefits:

- Medical, Dental, and Vision
- 403b and a 50% employer match up to 3%
- Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Flexible Spending Account
- Health Savings Account
- Voluntary Life insurance
- Voluntary Short-term Disability insurance
- Critical Illness insurance
- Accident insurance
- Employer paid life insurance, long-term disability insurance, and Employee Assistance Program

General Position Description: Conducts the foster care licensing process with kinship families to identify any barriers to licensure and to expedite the licensing process by providing consistent support.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

- Guide kinship families through the licensing process by reviewing requirements, conducting interviews, collecting documentation, providing resources, delivering pre-service training, and completing home studies for submission to the State of Arizona.
- Conducts initial and ongoing home inspections for foster care licensure. Assists families in complying with Office of Licensing and Regulation (OLR) Life Safety Requirements. Identifies opportunities to submit waivers to OLR as needed for families to expedite licensing process.
- Maintain complete and current family files, ensure documentation meets contract and Chapter 6 requirements, and submit all required licensing materials accurately and timely.
- Conducts monthly, then quarterly visits to monitor progress and provides support home visits as needed. Ensures all home study and licensure timelines are met in accordance with contract requirements and agency standards.
- Conducts amendments and renewals on licensed homes within contract requirements and timelines.
- Conducts licensing investigations as requested by the Office of Licensing and Regulation (OLR) and the Department of Child Safety (DCS).
- Provides initial licensing and ongoing training to kinship providers.
- Contacts and schedules appointments with DCS-referred families within the required timeframes specified by the contract.
- On occasion, may conduct initial home visits with families to identify needs and provide resources; complete interviews and write the home assessment for kinship families within required timelines; assist families in enrolling in support programs such as WIC, TANF, fingerprinting, behavioral health services, and educational support; and assist with adoption certifications and guardianship annual review reports.
- Participates in Aviva events as needed.
- Participates in the process of ongoing professional development and meetings. Maintains comprehensive communication among all contacts within the agency, members, and external agencies. Models professional standards and ethics in accordance with EBF Code of Conduct, Strategic Plan, Mission, and Vision.
- Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements: High School diploma or GED with 1 year of experience working with kinship caregivers or 1 year of a combination of experience, education, and/or volunteer work providing services, support, advocacy, case management, family engagement, resource coordination for kinship caregivers, foster families, and/or child welfare-involved families, or being a foster/kinship parent required. Bachelor’s degree preferred. Bilingual (Spanish) preferred.

Regulatory

- Must be at least 21 years of age.
- Current, unrestricted AZ driver’s license with no more than two (2) minor moving violations or one (1) accident within the past three (3 years). Three (3) years of driving experience required.
- Transportation for daily visits, to attend trainings, and perform other work-related activities. Organizational vehicles may not be available at all times.
- Must be able to pass a criminal background check prior to employment and regular checks for the duration of the employment.
- Ability to obtain and maintain an AZ DPS Level 1 fingerprint clearance card (employer provides).
- CPR and First Aid certification (Employer provides).
- Pre-employment clear/negative pre-employment drug test result, as well as a clear/negative random drug test biennially from the date of hire (employer provides).

Skills/Job Knowledge/Abilities: Knowledge of foster care licensing rules, regulations, initial applications, renewals, and amendments. Must be self-motivated to take a high level of initiative and desire to meet specific goals. Ability to manage multiple projects, requests, and deadlines simultaneously. Outstanding customer service skills, tact, discretion and attention to detail. Must be able to exchange accurate information. Excellent interpersonal communication skills. Speak and write effectively. Work independently. Able to teach others using anticipatory guidance, modeling, coaching, reflection, and role-play. Able to form strong partnerships with staff, consumers and community service agencies. Able to work collaboratively and positively with colleagues. Able to acknowledge, respect, and build upon the diversity of families with regard to such factors as race, ethnicity, family constellation, gender, socioeconomic status, values, and traditions. Able to recognize abuse and/or neglect in the home. Possess a high level of computer proficiency and corresponding programs (i.e. PDF; Microsoft Office, Microsoft Calendar/Outlook, and Microsoft Teams). Knowledge of the foster care system, family systems, strength-based home visiting techniques, and child and adolescent development and behavior. A working knowledge of the impact of domestic violence, sexual abuse, child neglect, and substance abuse on families and children.

Working Conditions/Physical Requirements (with or without accommodation): Normal office environment with multiple interruptions in person and through computer and phone. Field position visiting different homes. Will work outside and inside environments, as needed. Travel to outlying sites and other locations. Interacts with employees and members of the public on a daily basis. May lift normal office equipment and materials up to 50lbs. Visual acuity to read information from computer screens, forms and to assess the wellbeing of children and families. Able to speak clearly in conversations, general communications and to communicate verbally with families, children, and emergency personnel as needed for daily operations. Hearing ability for communication in persona, phone, and/or other electronic methods. Manual dexterity for typing and writing. Able to stoop, squat, reach, pull, push, stretch, ascend and descend stairs, stand and sit for long periods of time. May be required to work additional hours or days depending on circumstances.

Additional Information: This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible duties, skills, job knowledge, responsibilities, and/or qualifications. EBF reserves the right to revise the job description or to assign other duties to this position. This job description is not intended to create a contract or property right to continued employment between the employee and EBF.

Easterseals Blake Foundation and Aviva are an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative action employer that promotes a work environment of inclusion and diversity. We are committed to provide employment opportunities to all candidates based on their qualifications free of discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation or gender identity), age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, mental or physical disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you have any questions, require assistance or reasonable accommodations while seeking employment, please contact the Human Resource Department at [email protected] or call 520-327-1529 ext. 7000.

Salary Description
$18.50-$21.00 depending on experience