Case Planner Foster Care

Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York is a nonprofit organization that has worked to improve the well-being of children, youth, families, and people with developmental disabilities across New York City and Long Island since 1929. Our staff of more than 500 provides prevention services, foster care, residential treatment care, adoption services, medical and mental health services, and programs and services for individuals with developmental disabilities.
A career with Little Flower can be rewarding in so many ways. We are looking for conscientious and caring people who are ready to commit to the work of strengthening families and supporting the well-being of children and adults with developmental disabilities. If you're looking for a career where you can truly make a difference, we hope you will consider joining our team.


Summary Job Description:

Performs professional-level casework duties in providing services for children, biological, and foster parents or planning resources under the care of the agency; performs related work as required in providing permanency planning to expedite the safe discharge of children from the foster care system. Performs both field and office work in handling a caseload for the agency. Depending on the area of assignment, the employee may be required to use his or her own vehicle in carrying out field assignments. Work involves gathering information and providing services to meet clients' needs, focusing on permanency planning; dealing with governmental and community agencies; counseling individuals, and transmitting information on cases through the completion of agency and governmental documents. Work is reviewed through conferences with a Casework Supervisor.

Principle Responsibilities:

• Investigates cases referred to the agency to determine need and proper method of care; interviews the individual, the family, community and governmental agency personnel, and any other resource person who might provide information necessary for a proper psycho-social diagnostic evaluation and the preparation of a treatment plan; works with other divisions of the agency to evaluate the progress of cases and to carry out the treatment plan.
• Works with public welfare agencies; the courts, and others to assist individuals with financial, legal, medical, and personal problems.
• Attends periodic staff conferences; confers with supervisors weekly and as needed; prepares dictation, reports, and correspondence on assigned cases and maintains records of the status of each case through established channels.
• Expected to respond to case emergencies after hours or on weekends.
• All progress notes and FASP will be recorded online in Connections by the caseworker.
• Every action or event must be recorded by the caseworker no later than 72 hours after the action or event and must be forwarded to the immediate supervisor for review. Actions/events include, but are not limited to: 72 Hour Conference; 30 Day Conference; Birth Parent/Child Contact; Birth Parent/Caseworker Contact; Child Care Worker/Caseworker Contact (RTC); Collateral i.e.: DLS Attorney, Law Guardian, Therapist; ACS Caseworker/Child Contact; Sibling Visit; Caseworker/Discharge Resource Contact-Non Birth Parent; Foster Home Visit; Caseworker/Foster Parent Contact; School Contact; Theme of the Month; Service Plan Review; Court Appearance; Case Conference (Internal or with ACS)
• The supervisor must review the progress notes, to determine clarity, no later than 5 days after it was received from the worker. If acceptable, the supervisor will approve the progress note and it becomes final. If the progress note is not clear, the supervisor must meet with the caseworker. The caseworker must make the necessary corrections and return the corrected progress note to the supervisor for further review. The corrections must be submitted to the Supervisor, no later than 3 days after the supervisor requested the corrections. The supervisor must review the corrected progress note no later than 3 days after it is received.
• When a caseworker is going on vacation, progress notes for all events must be submitted to supervisor by 5:00 PM, 2 weekdays before vacation begins.
• The Director will monitor the timeliness of progress notes and the review process.
• Caseworkers, Supervisors, Directors, and Secretaries will attend all mandated trainings regarding case recording.
• Supervisors will schedule weekly conferences with caseworkers to specifically discuss each case and to review caseworkers' interventions

Qualifications:

• Good knowledge of the principles and practices of social casework.
• Good knowledge of the laws, rules, and regulations governing the care and treatment of children.
• Experience related to services to families and children, preferably medical or child welfare related
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in order to effectively provide direction and counseling to clients and maintain all required documentation.
• Ability to establish effective working relationships with clients, relatives, and other individuals and to obtain and verify information needed through interviews and investigation.
• Ability to prepare clear, accurate, and comprehensive case records and to reach logical conclusions based on pertinent regulations and information.

Minimum Requirements:

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in social work or a related field (Human Services, Psychology, or Sociology).
• A valid NYS Driver's License if using personal vehicle or agency vehicle to drive on agency business.

Travel Requirements:
This position is in Brooklyn, NY with some travel to other boroughs.