Specialized Services Child Welfare Specialist

Position: Specialized Services Child Welfare Specialist

Location: Oak Brook, IL

Job : 1768

Number of Openings: 2

Job Title: Specialized Services Child Welfare Specialist (S-CWS)

Reports To: Specialized Services Program Manager

Status: Full Time, Exempt

Benefits:  to view LCFS’ Full-Time Employee Benefits.

Salary Range: $51,336 - $56,336

Office

Location:

The office location will be based on the office nearest to the candidate’s residency. Travel is required across the 102 IL counties of which cases are assigned. This is generally in the county where the office is located and the surrounding counties for work related responsibilities. Opportunities currently available in Chicago, Oakbrook, Joliet and Kankakee.

Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois improves the well‑being of people across the state of Illinois by protecting children, strengthening families and building futures for those who have experienced trauma. We do this as a leading provider of a variety of child welfare services. LCFS is a welcoming organization serving children, individuals, families and communities of all faiths, races, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender expressions and gender identities.

• Champions in supporting children, youth and families throughout Illinois so they are able to reach their full potential
• Dynamic and innovative leaders who believe in collaboration with their team of professionals and are revolutionizing the impact on services to families
• A community which embraces and is committed to being WIDE (welcoming, inclusive, diverse and equitable)
• Impacts of the child welfare community by addressing institutional racism and implicit bias to increase positive outcomes for children and families of color
• Creators of culture focused on supporting families and ensuring all children find safe, loving permanent homes, particularly by reuniting them with their families

Under the direction of organizational leadership, the Specialized Services CWS is part of the child welfare team that achieves the LCFS vision for all children and families having the opportunity for safe, healthy and meaningful lives. This role is part of a child welfare team consisting of child welfare specialist, medical and mental health personnel in building relationships, supports, partnerships and strengths amongst the youth, their identified caregivers and families to ensure youth who are involved in the Illinois foster care system and whom have a history of medical, mental health issues and/or multiple placements, delinquency or other level needs.

The goals of the role are to ensure:

• Safety, permanency and well‑being
• Successful and sustainable transitions and maintenance in the least restrictive arrangements
• Intensive wraparound and case coordination services for social, emotional and physical well‑being
• Natural and formal life‑long supports, connections, safety, stability and permanency
• Supportive youth‑led strength building, positive development, pro‑social life‑skills opportunities, behavior and medical adaptability, skills and empowerment

• Serve with a team of supervisors and direct service child welfare professionals in partnership with children, parents and community providers to assess, plan, evaluate and make linkages for safety, permanency, and well‑being outcomes
• Implementation and referral of individualized and targeted services for youth and families, such as counseling, respite, mentoring, educational support, case management, crisis intervention, and continual language to services to meet the specialized needs of children/families
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams and partners for continuous quality improvement, interventions, service delivery and the achievement of program outcomes
• Participate in System of Care principles (i.e.: collaborative service delivery for coordinated/integrated, youth-focused, family centered/engaged orientation) to include ensuring the provision of social/emotional/mental/behavioral/mental health specialty service provision. (This includes regular participation in clinical and medical staffing’s…