The Juvenile Justice Center of Philadelphia (JJC) is a non-profit, multi-service organization serving the needs of children, youth and families. Our service delivery model is to provide quality intervention, prevention and community-based services to children, youth, and families through supportive services to promote healthy and productive outcomes related to their emotional, behavioral well-being, social and educational progress.
JJC is looking for the ideal Resource Home Support and Permanency Specialist candidate for our Foster Care and Permanency programs. This position is located in the Germantown section of Philadelphia.
Job Summary
The Resource Home Support & Permanency Specialist position consists of two distinct roles, that of a Resource Home Support Specialist and a Permanency Specialist. The Resource Home Support Specialist is an integral team member in the Foster Care Services department. The Resource Home Support Specialist works within the Foster Care Services team to provide resource home management, advocacy for the clients in the home and ensures the resource parents are providing quality care to the children placed in their home. The Permanency Specialist is an integral team member within the Permanency team. The Permanency Specialist is expected to complete all SWAN services in a timely manner.
The role of the Resource Home Support Specialist is to ensure the resource family maintains compliance with state and local foster care regulations, as well as ensuring the needs of the children in placement are met. The position entails advocacy, collaboration with CUAs, Child Advocate, and other professional team members, case management, and social work services. He/she will also work with CUA case managers/DHS social workers as needed regarding any issues in the resource homes, and provide guidance to our foster/resource parents.
The role of the Permanency Specialist is to provide all aspects of adoption and/or PLC SWAN services, to include: child specific recruitment, child profiles, family profiles, child preparation, placement and finalization services. The social worker is responsible for taking every necessary step to ensure that proper care of the children assigned is occurring, meaning that physical, medical, emotional and intellectual needs are being correctly addressed. In addition, the Permanency Worker must provide timely, accurate, strengths-based reports that encourage and forward permanency for the client. To this end, it is imperative that the permanency specialist remain in close communication with the entire team, including: the client’s CUA Worker, DHS Permanency Worker, Child Advocate, Permanency Resource, Birth Parents and all other integral members of the team, for the duration of the case.
When resource home recruitment work is needed, the employee will be expected to recruit, certify, and train new resource parents.
Qualifications
- Experience working in a fast-paced environment.
- Bachelor’s degree in social work or related degree accepted by the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS) required
- Five years of experience working with children and families
- Experience working with diverse populations
- The ability and willingness to adjust work hours in accordance with the needs of the Foster Care department and resource parents’ schedules.
- Knowledge of computer systems and common applications – MS Word, MS Excel, MS Outlook, etc.
- Ability to effectively communicate via email, telephone and in-person dialogue.
- Dependability and flexibility, as well as good organizational and problem-solving skills are essential.
- Valid Child Abuse (Act 33), Criminal History, and FBI clearances
- Ability to multi-task and prioritize tasks efficiently
- Ability to meet deadlines to ensure quality services, as well as efficient billing for services.
- Ability to resolve conflict and work reasonably in high-tension situations.
- Strong writing skills
Hours of Work
Job responsibilities are based on a 40-hour week, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. Sometimes it is necessary to begin work duties before 9 am and work beyond 5 pm. As this is a professional position, it is regarded as exempt from FLSA rules, and employees are eligible to apply for compensatory time off.
Benefits
JJC offers salary commensurable with experience. Competitive benefits and comprehensive benefits: Medical/Prescription Insurance/Dental Insurance/ Vacation/Paid Sick Time/Holidays/ 401(k) Retirement Plan Voluntary Insurance includes: Vision Insurance/Life Insurance/Short and Long Term Disability/ Cancer/etc.
Please send resume, cover letter and salary requirement to jobs@juvenilejustice.org
JJC is an Equal Opportunity Employer, embracing diversity and inclusion in all of its services. JJC does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.