Voluntary & Long-Term Kinship Care 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:

The Voluntary and Long-Term Kinship Care Specialist will manage and process voluntary and long-term kinship care applications in accordance with DCF/DMCPS contract timelines and federal and state statute requirements. This position entails data entry, conducting home visits with relative care providers, completing assessments, processing background checks, and working in our state computer system eWISACWIS.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Associate’s Degree Required; Bachelor’s Degree or higher preferred.
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience working with children and families in social services/foster care required.
• Crisis intervention experience.
• Knowledge of community resources.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills to include ability to interact effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve outcomes and work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Possesses stability and personal attributes necessary to work with other departments and staff.
• Proficient in the usage of computer software; demonstrate an understanding of computer file systems and computer software packages, e.g., Microsoft Office, Excel, Outlook, Teams, ADP, etc.
• Must be honest, dependable, and able to meet deadlines; Self-motivated and able to work independently.
• Physical exam, drug screen, motor vehicle report, and background checks are required for this position.
• Prior to approved time off, coordinates and verifies that all responsibilities needing to be conducted during absence are covered by appropriate colleagues. 
• Participates in assigned meetings, events and learning as required.
• Other duties as assigned, including serving in a coverage role for other department members.
• A valid Wisconsin Driver’s License or occupational driver’s license, reliable transportation and insurance is required.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

Applications Processing

• Timely review for completion of initial voluntary and long term kinship applications within 7 calendar days of agency receipt.
• Request and process all background checks, such as but not limited to, InCheck, Sex Offender, Wisconsin Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP), KIDS, CARES, and eWISACWIS.
• Request out of county/out of state background check requests when necessary and log when sent and received.
• Assess background checks for all adult household members to determine any barrable offenses.
• Makes timely initial contact with relative care providers that align with DCF/DMCPS contact timelines and federal and state statute requirements.
• Verify residency and relationship of caregiver and child.
• Notifies applicant of the kinship care determination. 
• High School Verification.

Information Management and Data Entry

• Creates and completes kinship eligibility in eWISACWIS.
• Maintains tracking systems to increase compliance with program, stakeholder, and regulatory expectations.
• Uploads background check results into eWISACWIS in addition to kinship application, BID, and authorization forms.
• Enters approval/denial recommendations for supervisory review.
• Sends approval/denial letter within 45 days.
• Ensures documentation in eWISACWIS of all contacts made within 72 hours.
• Performs Annual Kinship Reassessments ensuring families remain eligible for services.
• Adherences to confidentiality standards.

Client Assessment and Engagement

• Conducts home visits with relative care provider within 14 calendar days of the agency receiving the application.
• Provides applicants and providers with a standardized welcome packet upon initial contact.
• Assesses the adult functioning of relative care providers.
• Completes the Agency’s Five Pillars Screening Tool to identify caregivers’ needs beyond program criteria and provide referrals to internal services or trusted community partners as applicable.
• Verifies that biological parents do not reside with the relative care provider.
• Ability to thoroughly explain the requirements of kinship care to relatives.
• Contacts the biological parents to obtain consent.
• Conducting Needs Assessments, Jurisdictional Assessments, and a Best Interest Determination for each child.
• Makes a recommendation on the eligibility of each applicant based on information gathered.

Professionalism and Agency Representation 

• Works efficiently, organizes time effectively, maximizes use of available resources, successfully balances the competing demands of multiple projects by setting priorities and communication and meeting deadlines, and asks for help when necessary.
• Demonstrates adaptability, recovers quickly when progress is stalled by obstacles; responds with flexibility and resilience when faced with multiple demands, shifting priorities and rapid change.
• Demonstrates an ability to function independently and in a team, while being supportive of the program and Agency’s mission and goals.
• Takes initiative, acts quickly and independently when the situation demands it; sees a need and takes appropriate action without being prompted or reminded; proactively recommends process improvements or solutions to problems.
• Communicates effectively through verbal, non-verbal and written communication in a timely manner that is of high quality.
• Exhibits professionalism in all aspects of the position; adheres to Agency’s code of conduct and DMCPS expectations, policies, and state safety standards.
• Demonstrates a desire to develop professional skills.
• Accepts direction and supervision in a positive manner and independently recognizes the need for consultation.
• Presents at all times in a customer friendly approach with clients, staff, and all stakeholders

Agency Engagement

• The Agency is committed to the philosophy and practice of trauma informed care including the participation of all employees in an active understanding and promotion of the Agency’s trauma informed care model, The Seven Essential Ingredients.
• These ingredients include Prevalence, Impact, Perspective Shift, Regulation, Relationship, Reason to Be, and Caregiver Capacity and form the framework for an environment that maximizes the achievement of positive client outcomes. The Agency strives to create and recognize trauma informed champions across all programs and departments.
• All employees will be evaluated on their demonstration of a consistent commitment to the Agency’s Seven Essential Ingredients, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and engagement in the strategic initiatives of the organization. This will be measured by their active participation in committees, workgroups, and by their communication and practice within their daily work and in the community. 

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 175 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
• 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) 

 

For more information, visit our website