Assistant Program Director of Foster Care

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

Welcome to your opportunity to change the world! If you have a servant’s heart and want to be part of something truly special, then Caritas Family Solutions needs you. We have been serving the people of Illinois since 1947 and have over 500 committed and mission-driven team members.

At Caritas, we do not hire people for jobs, we find new team members for rewarding and life-changing careers that make the world better.

If you are kind, patient, and ready to make a difference, we would love to meet you! Full-time employees are offered the competitive benefits outlined below:

• Generous Paid Time Off
• Paid training
• Health Insurance
• Dental and Vision
• Life insurance
• 403(b) with company contribution 5%
• Tuition reimbursement

We know great candidates bring a wide range of experience. If you believe you can be successful in this role, we encourage you to apply — even if you don’t meet every qualification listed.

Job Title: Assistant Program Director of Foster Care

Department: Foster Care

Status: Full-time, Exempt

Reports To: AED of Child Welfare

Starting Compensation Pay: $80,000 annually

PURPOSE: The Assistant Program Director of Foster Care manages the Foster Care Program in their designated offices. The Assistant Program Director reports to the Associate Executive Director of Child Welfare Services and indirectly to the Program Director of Foster Care for all Foster Care activities, administrative, personnel, and budgetary activities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Supervise a team of Foster Care Supervisors and Lead Visitation Supervisors.
• Ensure Foster Care teams are adhering to current DCFS policy and procedure.
• Responsible for agency compliance of DCFS Foster Care Contracts, COA, and other accrediting entities.
• Provides oversight on implementation of Child and Family Team Meetings.
• Guide their office toward the agency and DCFS permanency goals.
• Communicate and collaborate with DCFS APME monitoring and other entities.
• Provides necessary program evaluations and reports as required.
• Review client records of Foster Care Case Managers to ensure compliance with quality assurance
• standards.
• Ensure daily service hours, expense sheets and itineraries are accurate and consistent.
• Create plan for support in caseload ratios, referrals, and managing the work within their respective
• offices.
• Provides oversight on office hiring needs, interviewing, and selecting candidates, as well as oversight of
• staff corrective action.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Please note that the Responsibilities and Qualifications provide a general overview of the primary duties for this role and the basic qualifications. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must demonstrate the ability to provide leadership, supervision, and oversight of foster care services while ensuring compliance with agency, DCFS, COA, and other applicable regulatory standards. The individual must be able to effectively supervise staff, manage competing priorities, support permanency planning efforts, and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders. The employee must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE REQUIRED/PREFERRED:

Degree/Field Required: Master's Degree of Human Service (Related fields will be considered.)

Additional Fields of Knowledge Important for the Role:

• Child welfare and foster care practice
• DCFS policies, procedures, and licensing standards
• Permanency planning and child safety
• Staff supervision and performance management
• Child and Family Team Meeting facilitation
• Quality assurance and regulatory compliance
• Program operations and contract management
• Trauma-informed care

Experience Required:

• 3 or more years of progressive experience in child welfare, foster care, case management, or related human services programs
• Prior supervisory or leadership experience

Experience Preferred:

• Experience overseeing foster care operations and staff supervision
• Experience with DCFS contract compliance, accreditation standards, and quality assurance activities

Please Note: For positions that manage staff, the years specified need to be progressive years of management experience. For all positions, the years required can be interchanged with equivalent experience from an advanced degree related to this job and/or with other relevant experience verified by applicant/incumbent).

Licenses/Certifications Required: Child Welfare Employee License

Licenses/Certifications Preferred: Child Welfare Child Protection Certification or additional child welfare leadership training

SKILLS REQUIRED:

Manager-Specific: Demonstrated leadership, staff supervision, coaching, employee development, performance management, and conflict resolution skills. Ability to support supervisors, develop staff, evaluate performance, and address employee relations concerns while fostering a positive and accountable work environment.

Basic: Strong written and verbal communication skills, documentation review skills, organizational abilities, attention to detail, and critical thinking. Ability to interpret and apply agency policies, DCFS regulations, accreditation standards, and contractual requirements.

Social: Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff, children, families, foster parents, DCFS personnel, attorneys, service providers, community partners, and agency leadership. Demonstrates professionalism, collaboration, diplomacy, and effective interpersonal communication skills.

Problem Solving/Decision-Making: Ability to evaluate complex case situations, identify barriers to permanency, assess risk factors, exercise sound judgment, and make timely decisions that support child safety, permanency, and well-being. Ability to respond effectively to staff concerns, program challenges, and crisis situations.

Proficient Computer Skills In: Outlook, Word, Excel, electronic case management systems, database management software, reporting systems, and virtual communication platforms.

Expert Computer Skills In: Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Excel, electronic case management systems, and reporting platforms.

Resource Management: Ability to manage staffing resources, case assignments, caseload ratios, referrals, workloads, program performance measures, and operational priorities while ensuring compliance with agency and contractual expectations.

Technical: Ability to review and approve assessments, service plans, case records, permanency documentation, quality assurance reviews, corrective action plans, and regulatory reports. Ability to monitor compliance with agency, DCFS, COA, and contractual requirements.

Trauma-Informed: Must display a willingness to adopt trauma-informed interventions, principles, and practices and demonstrate a commitment to ongoing professional development in trauma-informed care. Recognizes the impact of trauma on children, families, foster parents, staff, and communities and incorporates trauma-informed principles into supervision, program management, permanency planning, and family engagement activities.

VEHICLE RELATED REQUIREMENTS:

Access to reliable transportation: Required.

Access to a reliable automobile: Required.

Proof of continued insurance: Required.

Valid driver’s license: Required.

Additional license requirements: N/A

DRUG-FREE WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Caritas Family Solutions is dedicated to maintaining a safe, healthy, and productive environment for our clients and employees. As part of this, a strict drug-free workplace policy is maintained.