LICENSING SPECIALIST - FOSTER CARE OPS - 60934056

LICENSING SPECIALIST - FOSTER CARE OPS - 60934056

This advanced professional position incorporates reviewing, assessing, and writing complex levels of licenses and licensing summaries. The incumbent must have a working knowledge of child abuse and neglect and maltreatments while possessing experience in child protection programs with a primary focus on foster home, child caring agency and child placing agency licensure. The incumbent must possess analytical skills to address complex activities. The incumbent must maintain a working knowledge of Federal Law, State Law, Administrative Code and Operating Procedures around multi-level foster parent licensing, child caring agency licensing and child placing agency licensing.

Specific duties and responsibilities of the position include the following:

• Review of the licensing and re-licensing packets submitted by providers for compliance with Florida Administrative Code and Florida Statute compliance.
• Schedule and conduct relicensing of Child Placing and Child Caring Agencies, ensuring that all required documents, background screening, training requirements, personnel files, and children's files are current and in order with licensing rules and regulations.
• Assist Lead Agency, applicants, and other members of the community with training and/or questions related to licensing and guardianship assistance program.
• Input of data into the FSFN/CCWIS and Integrated Child Welfare Services Information System.
• Work with the lead agency and subcontracted providers on guardianship assistance program related issues, including payment enhancements, exceptions, and denials.
• Performs other related duties as requested.
• Participate, upon request, in the quality improvement process to include conducting on site reviews, file reviews, and evaluate statistical reports for continuous improvement of the guardianship assistance program and level 1 licensure.
• Participate in legal staffing's regarding abuse reports, licensing concerns or criminal charges involving foster parents, permanency guardians, or other providers.
• Track abuse reports related to institutional abuse to ensure that each report is staffed and reviewed for issues that may relate to licensing the foster home or facility.
• Provide technical assistance to provider agencies and other licensing staff not under contract with Lead Agency.
• Participate on statewide meetings regarding initiatives relevant to Foster Care Licensing, group care licensing and guardianship assistance program.
• Attend appeal hearings and provide pertinent testimony as requested by legal.
• Complete site visits to Initial CCAs and CPAs to determine if they meet licensure requirements.

Knowledge, skills and abilities:

• Knowledge of family safety, and preservation, licensure, and the guardianship assistance program.
• Knowledge and skill of theories and practice of child protection, counseling, social work, investigations, and family assessments.
• Knowledge of methods of compiling, organizing, and analyzing data.
• Skill in development of requests for proposals, contract evaluations and contract management.
• Ability to develop policies, procedures, standards, and rules.
• Ability to develop methods for monitoring and evaluating quality of service and compliance with rules, policies, and statutes.
• Ability to review and evaluate plans and programs.
• Ability to identify improvements and adjustments needed to insure program effectiveness and efficiency.
• Ability to establish and maintain a liaison with other agencies.
• Ability to plan, organize and coordinate work assignments.
• Ability to communicate effectively.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Ability to use computer systems.
• Ability to conduct effective case staffing's and other meetings.
• Ability to interact appropriately with families, community resources, service providers and other department professionals.

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in social services.
• Child welfare certification from the FCB.
• A minimum of 1.5 years' experience in child welfare.
• A minimum of 1 year experience in foster home licensing.
• Computer skills to include, but not limited to Outlook, Florida Safe Family Network (FSFN), Internet, Microsoft Excel.
• Ability to travel throughout NE Region.