Kinship Support Specialist

Kinship Support Specialist

Full-Time (37.5 hours workweek)

Christiansburg

JOB SUMMARY The Kinship Support Specialist (RPACS) will provide supportive services to select kinship families after legal guardianship or permanency through adoption is obtained. The intent of these services will be to strengthen and maintain kinship placements and prevent placement and permanency disruption. These support services will also connect kinship families with exiting adoptive family community support, as provided by DePaul services.

DePaul, in partnership with subcontractor Commonwealth Catholic Charities, offers a wide range of free support services to children and families once kinship legal guardianship or adoption is achieved. The Kinship Support Specialist for this program must understand the unique dynamics and challenges of families formed through kinship care after a child is removed from the care of biological parents and then tailor support

Normalization to current needs of each family. Primary activities and responsibilities may include referrals and resource sharing, education and training for families, planning and facilitating family activities, planning and leadership of parent and youth discussion groups, and connecting families to appropriate clinical services. The Kinship Support Specialist provides support and crisis intervention when evolving family circumstances threaten placement stability. This regional position will work very closely with regional RPACS Adoption Specialists.

This position will serve families that reside in the Western region as defined by the Virgina Department of Social Services. SUPERVISION RECE attachment AND EXERCISED

The Kinship Support Specialist will report directly to the regional RPACS Adoption Supervisor.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES

This list is not an exhaustive & all-inclusive list of job responsibilities. The distribution of time allotted for any function or duty is subject to change with or without notice. Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign other responsibilities to this job or reassign them elsewhere at any time.

• Perform strengths-based individualized intake, assess ongoing child and family strengths/needs post-placement, and develop more detailed individualized service plans when warranted
• Provide families with specialized services that address core kinship family issues, including information and referral, education, support, crisis management, and advocacy
• Plan, coordinate, and facilitate kinship family and child support groups, fun family activities, and opportunities for respite to enhance family connection with the broader kinship and adoptive family community and natural supports.
• Prepare and maintain case records and reports according to program and grant standards concerning timeliness, content, accuracy, and confidentiality
• Collaborate with supervisor, adoption team members, other DePaul staff across programs, and community partners to optimize services and program outcomes
• Serve on multi-agency groups or deliver occasional adoption competence education to the community to enhance community-wide support of kinship families
• Complete other duties as assigned

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES & OTHER CHARACTERISTICS REQUIRED

Knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics or KSAOs are attributes needed to perform a job that are demonstrated through qualifying training, education, and experience. This list is not an exhaustive & all-inclusive list of all KSAOs for this job.

Knowledge of:

• Office and records administration techniques and procedures
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• The structure and content of the English language, including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar
• Microsoft Office Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Sharepoint, Teams, and virtual meeting applications such as Zoom, Web Ex, Google Meet
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• DePaul's policies, procedures, and standard practices and the rules and guidelines established by regulatory and governing agencies
• Relevant policies, procedures, and strategies to promote the safety and protection of people, data, and property
• Office procedures and spelling,…