Program Specialist

DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SAFETY The Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) is a social and human services agency whose mission is to successfully partner with families, caregivers, and the community to strengthen families, ensure safety, and achieve permanency for all Arizona’s children through prevention, services, and support. Program Specialist Job Location: FOSTER CARE SUPPORTS 3003 N Central Ave Phoenix, AZ 85012 Posting Details: Salary: $26.4423 HRLY/$54,999.98 Salary Grade: 20 Closing Date: September 10, 2026 Job Summary: Join the Mission to Strengthen Arizona’s Foster Care Community! The Arizona Department of Child Safety’s Office of Licensing and Regulation (OLR) is looking for a dynamic, mission-driven professional to help elevate foster care recruitment and retention across the state. In this role, you will report to the Caregiver Supports Supervisor and play a key part in expanding the network of incredible caregivers who support Arizona’s children. As the leader of statewide foster recruitment and retention initiatives, you’ll collaborate closely with foster care agencies, community partners, and internal DCS teams to bring strategic, innovative solutions to life. Your work will directly shape how Arizona attracts, supports, and retains foster families—ensuring children receive safe, stable, and loving homes. You will also analyze key data trends, identify gaps, and turn insights into actionable strategies that make a real impact. If you're energized by meaningful work, community collaboration, and improving outcomes for children and families, this is your opportunity to make a difference on a statewide level. Job Duties: Develops recruitment and retention strategies and initiatives for the statewide foster care program and submits them to the supervisor for approval. Reviews recruitment opportunities based on regional demographics. Coordinates planning strategies with other departments working particularly close with the DCS Communications Department, as well as other agencies. This position is responsible for collaborating with the Communication and Marketing teams to support foster home recruitment, including marketing strategies necessary for informing the public of the continuous need for foster homes. Responsible for the review of active contract management with regards to supporting recruitment and retention. Have contact with the agencies at least quarterly to review and support their recruitment and retention efforts. Collect and review the data provided by the agencies. Uses this information to ensure a standard of care for current and future foster and adoption families. Develops and implements regular methods of contact with foster parents via social media, print, and e-newsletters and other methods that offer resources and message of support. Assists with the Warmline. Participates in community planning and outreach as assigned, as a means to recruit, retain, and support caregivers. Attends and participates in community foster care meetings, participates in events to support recruitment and retention, and presents at provider meetings. Monitors and analyzes inquiry data from the DCS website, KIDS Need U line, and other inboxes. Responsible for the retention of foster homes and reviewing the global supply and demand. This position will review the data of why families exit foster care and develop strategies based on the analysis of the data. Driving is required. Other duties as assigned as related to the position. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities (KSAs): Knowledge of: Comprehensive understanding of Child Welfare structure and DCS policies and procedures. Understanding of Title 21 Chapter 8 and Chapter 6 rule Foster and Adoptive recruitment and retention strategies Federal and State laws Skills in: Strong interpersonal skills Excellent written and oral communication Facilitation and time management Interpreting, evaluating and analyzing statistical and programmatic data Developing and implementing Departmental policy, procedures and strategic plans. Creating techniques to carry out goals and objectives and assist in accomplishing these goals. Ability to: Establish and maintain collaborative and professional working relationships internally and externally Plan, evaluate and improve processes to aid in the development of solutions to complex systematic problems Oversee comprehensive, administrative services and detect trends and potential problem areas. Selective Preference(s): The ideal candidate will possess a master's or bachelors degree from an accredited college or university Pre-Employment Requirements: The ability to secure and maintain an Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card. The ability to secure and maintain clearance from the DCS Central Registry. Note: This position may not hold any license within OLR. This position does require driving or the use of a vehicle as an essential function of the job to conduct State business. The following requirements apply: Driver’s License Requirements. All newly hired State employees are subject to and must successfully complete the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify). Benefits: The State of Arizona provides an excellent comprehensive benefits package including: Affordable medical, dental, life, and short-term disability insurance plans Top-ranked retirement and long-term disability plans 10 paid holidays per year Vacation time accrued at 4:00 hours bi-weekly for the first 3 years Sick time accrued at 3:42 hours bi-weekly Deferred compensation plan Wellness plans Learn more about the Paid Parental Leave program here. For a complete list of benefits provided by The State of Arizona, please visit our benefits page Retirement: Positions in this classification participate in the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS). Enrollment eligibility will become effective after 27 weeks of employment. Contact Us: Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation such as a sign language interpreter or an alternative format by contacting View phone number on click.appcast.io or by email at View email address on click.appcast.io. Requests should be made as early as possible to allow time to arrange the accommodation. Should you have any further questions regarding the interview process you can reach out to a member of our recruitment team at View phone number on click.appcast.io or by email at View email address on click.appcast.io. The State of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. #J-18808-Ljbffr