Licensing and Family Engagement Liaison (70491)

Licensing and Family Engagement Liaison

Join our team at FSS and enjoy comprehensive benefits including but not limited to:

- Tuition Reimbursement

- Health Insurance

- Dental Insurance

- Vision Insurance

- Life Insurance

- Well-Being Program

- Paid Time Off (PTO)

- Bereavement Leave

- 12 Paid Holidays

- Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

- Short & Long-Term Disability Coverage

- Employee Discounts

- 401k Plan with 3% Employer Contribution

The mission of Family Support Services is to be the leader in providing safety, stability, and quality of life for all children by working with the community to strengthen the family unit.

Job Summary:

The Licensing & Family Engagement Liaison serves as the Licensing Department representative during multidisciplinary team meetings (MDTs) and other case-related discussions. This position provides insight regarding caregiver perspectives, licensing considerations, and foster family supports to assist teams in making informed decisions that promote safety, stability, and permanency for children.

The position is also responsible for facilitating foster parent and birth parent icebreaker meetings and supporting shared parenting efforts that strengthen communication, encourage collaboration, and promote positive relationships between caregivers and families. Through these efforts, the liaison helps support family engagement, reduce barriers between caregivers and birth families, and contributes to positive outcomes for children.

Job Duties:

- Attend MDTs, placement staffings, permanency staffings, and other case-related meetings as the Licensing Department representative.

- Provide information regarding caregiver strengths, household dynamics, and available supports.

- Share caregiver perspectives and concerns to ensure informed decision-making.

- Collaborate with Case Management, CPI, Kinship, Family Finding, service providers, and other stakeholders.

- Communicate relevant information and action items to Licensing leadership and staff as appropriate.

- Assist in identifying support needs for foster families discussed during staffings.

- Supports caregiver engagement and retention efforts through ongoing communication, resource connection, problem-solving, and relationship-building with foster families.

- Facilitates Icebreaker meetings between foster parents and birth parents to support introductions, establish positive communication, share important information about the child, and promote a collaborative relationship focused on the child’s well-being and permanency.

- Prepare participants for meetings by reviewing expectations, goals, and communication guidelines.

- Foster respectful, productive, and child-focused conversations.

- Encourage collaboration that supports reunification, permanency, and positive family relationships.

- Document meeting outcomes and communicate follow-up needs to appropriate team members.

- Support agency efforts to increase family engagement and shared parenting practices.

- Build and maintain positive relationships with foster parents, birth parents, case management staff, CPIs, and community partners.

- Serve as a resource regarding family engagement and caregiver partnerships.

- Participate in training and professional development related to family engagement, conflict resolution, and child welfare best practices.

- Assist with special projects and initiatives that promote caregiver engagement and family-centered practice.

Location:  This position will be based in Largo but may require travel to our New Port Richey Office.

Qualifications

Education:  Bachelor’s degree required from an accredited college; degrees in human services, behavioral health, or a related field are preferred.

Experience: Minimum of two (2) years of professional experience in child welfare, foster care, case management, family support, or a related human services field, including direct experience working with foster families and caregivers – may include experience as a licensed foster parent. Foster care licensing experience is preferred, along with knowledge of Florida’s child welfare system, and MDT processes. Experience facilitating meetings and family-centered conversations is also preferred.

Licensure, Certification, and/or Registration: Valid driver’s license. Child Welfare Certification preferred.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The qualifications listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Ability to:

- Represent self and the organization in a professional manner

- Work independently with little direct supervision

- Think and write creatively

- Assess a situation and make appropriate recommendations/ decisions

- Research, organize and analyze data

- Solve problems and to think through critical, time sensitive issues

- Establish and maintain relationships

- Work collaboratively with staff at all levels in the organization

- Follow through on commitments, projects and responsibilities

- Read, research and interpret documents such as newspapers, contracts, manuals, journals, financial reports, etc.

- Communicate effectively through writing including articles, presentations, speeches, reports, correspondence, and documentation.

- Speak effectively before small and large groups.

- Ability to maintain neutrality while facilitating conversations and supporting collaborative problem-solving

- Ability to establish trust and rapport quickly with caregivers, parents, and professional partners.

- Maintain confidential information

Knowledge of:

- The impact of trauma on individuals, families, and communities

- Child welfare practice and foster care systems

- Family-centered and shared parenting practices within child welfare.

- Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) processes and collaborative decision-making.

- Permanency planning, reunification principles, and family engagement strategies.

- Child welfare system partners and their respective roles, including CPI, Case Management, Licensing, Kinship, Guardian ad Litem, and the Courts.

- Conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques.

- Trauma-informed engagement practices and their application when working with children, caregivers, and birth families.

- Motivational interviewing and strengths-based approaches to family engagement.

- Foster parent and birth parent dynamics and common barriers to collaboration.

- Cultural humility and strategies for engaging families from diverse backgrounds.

- Knowledge of foster care licensing requirements, rules, and regulations, including Florida Administrative Code Chapter 65C-45, with demonstrated experience working with foster families and caregivers.

Skills:

- Strong facilitation skills with the ability to guide productive and respectful discussions among individuals with differing perspectives.

- Ability to support foster parent retention, placement stability, and positive permanency outcomes through caregiver engagement and partnership.

- Conflict management and mediation skills.

- Strong verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate difficult information with empathy and professionalism.

- Strong meeting coordination and follow-up skills.

- Strong documentation and recordkeeping skills, including the ability to accurately capture discussions, agreements, decisions, and action items.

- Effective conflict management and de-escalation skills, with the ability to maintain professionalism and composure in emotionally charged situations.

- Strong engagement and relationship-building skills, including the ability to encourage participation and build trust with individuals who may be hesitant, frustrated, resistant, or experiencing conflict.

- Strong active listening skills with the ability to identify concerns, clarify expectations, and support constructive communication between parties.

- Strong follow-up and follow through

- Strong organizational and time management

- Proficiency in Excel and Microsoft Word.  Experience with PowerPoint,

- Flexibility, ability to prioritize, and experience working on multiple tasks efficiently and effectively

- Excellent individual and group rapport-building and communication skills (written and verbal) in a range of relationships and environments, including with co-workers, colleagues in the field, youth, program participants, parents, health and human services professionals, teachers, school leaders, and other key stakeholders.

- Willingness to work evenings and some Saturdays

- Positive, proactive, and personable team player

Other Requirements:

- Clear a Level II Background screening (Live Scan) in which your fingerprints will be used to conduct the screening. Please see the link with further details: https://info.flclearinghouse.com

- Positive reference check

- Clear a local background check from the County in which you reside

- Clear a substance abuse screen

- Provide a copy of all degrees prior to your first day of employment

- Clear a Motor Vehicles Records check and must be insurable under the company’s automobile policy.

- Provide copy of automobile insurance.

- Provide proof of and maintain a minimum personal auto liability insurance level $100,000/$300,000 if deemed to be a driving risk.

- Clear an E-Verify check to substantiate that the successful candidate meets the Department of Homeland Security authorization requirements to work in the United States (for more information visit www.dhs.gov/e-verify)

FSS is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information. FSS is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. If you require a reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to Human Resources at [email protected].