Child Protective Manager

The Administration for Children's Services (ACS) protects and promotes the safety and well-being of New York City's children and families by providing child welfare, juvenile justice, and early care services. In child welfare, ACS contracts with private nonprofit organizations to support and stabilize families at risk of a crisis through preventive services and provides foster care services for children not able to safely remain at home. Each year, the agency's Division of Child Protection conducts more than 55,000 investigations of suspected child abuse or neglect. In juvenile justice, ACS manages and funds services including detention and placement, intensive community-based alternatives for youth, and support services for families. In early care, ACS coordinates and funds programs and vouchers for close to 100,000 children eligible for subsidized care.

The Quality Assurance unit which is part of the Jaden Reform is responsible for investigative case reviews, performance evaluation, collection of data through extensive case record review, use of aggregate performance data and data performance meetings; gather comprehensive data analysis for the purpose of strengths and needs assessment at the borough and zone level and the identification of priority areas and the development of a strategic action plan at the borough zones. Reporting to the Director of Quality Assurance, the Manager will work with a team of four to five case review analysts who will review the work of the Division of Child Protection. The manager will work with the entire team to deliver systemic improvements to the quality of case practice within the Division of Child Protection. This position offers the opportunity for independent judgment, strong managerial skills, excellent communication, written and verbal skills.

The manager will be responsible for overseeing and carrying out comprehensive analyses, including record reviews and other initiatives to inform quality improvement which will guide system changes and reforms, and implementation and improvement of key initiatives. This position will be responsible to be available to provide assistance to emergent requests as needed, including working on call 24/7. The ideal candidate will be energetic, understanding of policy and practice, able to work closely with diverse teams, manage organizational change and be flexible in response to emergencies.

Other responsibilities include:

• Work with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that analyses are accurate, measurable, inform policy, training and other systemic improvements.

• Respond to emergencies (critical incidents and fatalities) and ensure accurate data and information is delivered to internal and external stakeholders.

• Create and manage audits, including overseeing the creation of tools and reports to guide and assess the auditing of case practice.

• Attend meeting and liaising with senior leadership as required.

• Design and lead research and analyses to support policy and practice improvements.

• Conduct regular meeting with borough office staff to discuss performance and other key findings.

• Develop and implement internal quality assurance and control measures for assessment tools utilized in the unit.

• Prepare performance evaluations based on record reviews, staff interviews, surveys and other measures of quality improvement.

• Provide technical assistance to borough office staff on policy and procedure.

• Provide coaching to borough office staff as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

1.A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and four years of full-time, satisfactory professional social services or related experience in organizations dealing directly with children and/or adolescents; such as (but not limited to) child welfare agencies, Day-Care, educational institutions, mental health groups, pediatrics, juvenile justice. At least eighteen months of the required experience must be in a supervisor, administrative, managerial or executive capacity.

2.Education and/or experience equivalent to "1" above. However, all candidates must have at least eighteen months of experience in a supervisory, administrative, managerial, or executive capacity. A Master's degree in Social Work may be substituted for one year of the required general experience.

Preferred Skills

The preferred candidate should possess the following: a record of proven managerial or supervisory accomplishments in child protection or a closely related human service field Master of Social Work degree or Master's degree in a related discipline excellent communications skills ability to deal tactfully and effectively with diverse constituencies at all levels and an extensive understanding of child welfare issues knowledge of the NY State Connections comprehensive case management system, or other automated child welfare system familiarity working with NYC's diverse communities experience and ability to step into an existing unit and assume all responsibility quickly. Bilingual ability to communicate clearly in Spanish or other languages is considered a plus for this position.

Residency Requirement

New York City Residency is not required for this position

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.