Independent Living Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

At Wellpoint Care Network, our mission is to facilitate equity, learning, healing, and wellness by restoring the connections that help children and families thrive.

Every person deserves the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. It’s part of human nature, and the promise of our country, that everyone be given a fair chance to be and do their best. Yet, many in our community live with unresolved childhood and generational trauma.  

That’s where we come in. We believe we can create a world where children and families have a clearer path to their fullest potential. Wellpoint Care Network has championed the restoration of families for nearly 175 years.

Job Purpose: 

Our next Independent Living Specialist  will be the primary contact/relationship for the youth in the SIL program. The ILS will use a strength-based trauma informed approach to supporting youth to independence. The ILS will be a teacher, at times hands on, and coach of IL skills using the 5 pillars of stability framework and connect the youth to resources in their community. ILS support a youth driven service plan that celebrates successes and focuses on youth needs and goals. The ILS works closely with child welfare and Youth Transitioning to Adulthood to ensure the youth is prepared for independence upon the end of their court order.

Qualifications: 

• Associate Degree or Equivalence Experience required.
• 2 years’ minimum experience in Social Services or related field, working with high-risk teens, and young adults.
• Must be able to perform the following functions: read, write, lift up to 10lbs., walk, stand, sit, reach over shoulder and head, push and pull, repetitive bending and stooping, repetitive finger and wrist motion, repetitive use of arms, and ability to respond to telephones and other auditory stimulation
• Basic experience and/or knowledge of CHIPS court orders
• Must have flexible availability and respond to occasional after business hours calls or youth needs.
• Experience and knowledge of mental illness/treatment and trauma. 
• Experience in networking and community outreach. 
• Knowledge and skill in creative problem solving. 
• Good judgment and strong personal boundaries and ethics. 
• Ability to work well independently and as part of one organization. 
• Demonstrates ability to work independently and effectively with staff, clients, caregivers, and purchasers.
• Must be honest, dependable, and able to meet deadlines; Self-motivated and able to work independently.
• A valid Wisconsin Driver’s License or occupational driver’s license, reliable transportation and insurance is required. Required reliable transportation to conduct on-site learning throughout the state.
• Ability to demonstrate critical thinking skills, detail oriented, highly effective verbal, and written communication skills.
• Demonstrate an ability to effective understanding and practice of cultural humility and ability work and communicate respectfully with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Proficient in the usage of computer software; demonstrate an understanding of computer file systems and databases, e.g., Microsoft Office, Excel, Outlook, Teams, ADP, etc.
• Physical exam, drug screen, motor vehicle report, and background checks are required for this position.

Duties:

Assessment, Decision Making, and Problem Solving 

•Provide IL services to program participants, ages 17-21 who are in out of home care on a CHIPS court order.

•Help participants obtain and sustain housing.

•Hands on, face to face contact with participants at least 2X monthly, in the community, at their home and/or at the office. 

•Connecting and referring participants to community resources to meet their needs and minimize barriers using the Wellpoint 5 Pillars of Stability. 

•Teach participants, in real time, how to manage through challenges/adversity so they can learn to mitigate challenges independently

•Connect with leadership in weekly supervision, system partners and emergency resources to communicate safety concerns and develop a plan to support the youth

•Utilize assessment tools to gather information from participants to inform individualized planning, ongoing review of skill development and achievement

•Provide hands on coaching, teaching, and guiding participants with independent living skills based on youth need and skill. 

•Help the participants engage in building their Plan for Success. 

•ILS will help to create and provide opportunities for participants to learn and practice skills. This may include community outings, and transport to different locations.

Youth Advocacy

• Provide advocacy for participants through modeling, teaching and coaching to strengthen their voice independently, seek support and resources and sustain their independence. 

•Help participants navigate health systems and insurance. Help participants ensure they have access to mental health treatment as needed.

•Help participants obtain their High School Education or equivalency and plan for future education or vocation, attend IEP meetings as needed or requested.

•During monthly meetings with On-going Case Manager, assist participants in advocating for their needs, share their perspective and goals for their future.

•ILS will introduce participants to the Youth Advisory Council and share this opportunity for impact and opportunity available to them.

Direct Service 

•        Ensure participants understand and adhere to the SIL agreements to provide framework for program success

•        Provide hands on support for participants moving into their apartment to include a walk through, cleaning, shopping, organizing home, etc.

•        Help develop skills that demonstrate total independence, such as budgeting, finding employment, paying bills. Help participants work through the balance of dependency on system care to pursuing income that helps them sustain, meet basic needs, and provides total independence.

Quality of Work 

•Ensure timely and professional documentation of all work in the required data collection systems. This includes ongoing communication with the assigned child welfare case manager and completion of case notes on a weekly basis. 

•Utilizes CoBRIS and eWiSACWIS computer systems to document case activities.

Position Details & Extras:

• Full time.
• Hybrid on-site/remote work is available with reliable broadband connection and at Supervisor discretion Fast paced, flexible work schedule includes evenings and some weekends to accommodate program needs.
• Moderate exposure to noise.
• Subject to frequent interruptions with ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the cultural differences among diverse groups and the need to adapt service provision to match these differences in respectful ways.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) - Wellpoint employees may be eligible for loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. 
• Regular travel in personal vehicles is required with the ability to move intermittently throughout the workday.
• Willingness to work beyond normal working hours: evenings, nights, and weekends.

Organizational Information: 

At Wellpoint Care Network, we have seen exactly how trauma, poverty, systemic racism, social injustices, and other barriers create instability in all areas of life. The people in our care face education and health disparities, high unemployment rates and unaffordable housing. What’s worse, many have lost connections to resources, family, friends, and other support systems. We have seen the toll it has on a person’s physical, emotional, and financial well-being to try and successfully navigate complex systems that may have failed them in the past.

We believe there is a better way. So, we have anchored ourselves in our 170 years of caring for our neighbors through modernized human services.

Wellpoint Care Network provides a rich continuum of services, including:

•        Child Welfare and Foster Care 

•        Support for youth who have aged out of care

•        Care Coordination and Wraparound services 

•        Mental health therapy and supports such as our Clinic, Family Preservation, Caregiver Support, and Integrated Community Treatment

•        Professional education and clinical consultation (for organizations, schools, and individual/family) 

Wellpoint Care also works to promote a diverse and caregiving environment to ensure that those we serve, and employ are valued, accepted, respected, and treated equitably.

•        Equity means we work tirelessly toward fair and just treatment, systems, and policies. At Wellpoint Care Network, we believe that we are accountable – individually and collectively – when inequity or injustice replaces equity and inclusion. 

•        Inclusivity means that we consciously build groups that welcome and celebrate differences in age, race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, gender expression, education, socio-economic background, personal history, geographical location, marital status, parental status, and work experiences.   

Interested parties please apply online. We are committed to enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion and strongly encourage minority candidates to apply. For more information, visit our website

Equal Opportunity Employer