FAMILY FINDER SPECIALIST

Family Finder Specialist - 60074770

This is an internal advertisement; only current Department of Children and Families employees working in Child Protective Investigations may apply. Position is based out of the West Palm Beach office with travel throughout Palm Beach County.

Salary: $42,463 - $151,193

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree (degree must be conferred at the time of application)
• Bachelor's or master's degree in social work or related field preferred.
• At least 2 years in child welfare, child abuse investigations
• Current/Active Child Welfare Protective Investigations Certification credentials from the Florida Certification Board
• Must be trained and practicing Florida's Safety Practice model
• Valid Driver License
• Must possess operational private vehicle for use in the performance of daily work activities.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Performs advanced family finding program efforts to discover, engage, plan, make decisions, and evaluate strategies to locate relatives and fictive kin.
• Conducts extensive/advanced searches, such as case mining, mobility mapping, internet searches and cold calls, to locate adult relatives and fictive kin.
• Meet and completes home studies with identified relative/ nonrelative caregivers.
• Collaborate with the child protective investigator to identify and build positive connections between the child and the child's relatives and fictive kin.
• Attends and participates in family finding group decision making which may include to include DST and MDT meeting with all parties involved and prospective family members or fictive kin.
• Establishes and maintains cooperative working relationships with organizations and other agencies involved with child welfare such as community-based care providers, Children's Legal Services, Guardian ad Litem, schools, clinical professionals, and other community agency resources.
• Regularly reviews and identifies any changes to Florida Statutes, DCF Operational Procedures, Administrative Rule and policies. Ensures participants are aware of changes, confidentiality, HIPAA, and identifies potential problems related to case specifics.
• Meet and complete Other Parent Home Assessment (OPHA) with identified non-maltreating parent.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of Florida's Practice Model and Florida's official electronic system of record, Florida Safe Family Network (FSFN).
• Experience in Microsoft Office, familiar with the child welfare system, excellent written and oral communication skills, strong interpersonal skills relative to diverse populations in academic, public health, and community settings.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with multiple competing deadlines. Analytical, decision making, and organizational skills.

The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace. Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center View phone number on click.appcast.io). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation. The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.

VETERANS' PREFERENCE. Pursuant to Chapter 295, Florida Statutes, candidates eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive preference in employment for Career Service vacancies and are encouraged to apply.