Family Finder Specialist - 60074736

Requisition No: 825715

Agency: Children and Families

Working Title: FAMILY FINDER SPECIALIST - 60074736

Pay Plan: Career Service

Position Number: 60074736

Salary: 2059.62 bi weekly or in line with DCF hiring practices

Posting Closing Date: 04/07/2024

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Department of Children and Families

Northeast Region

Office of Child Welfare & Well-Being

Current employees will be compensated in accordance with the DCF salary policy.

Mission: The mission of the Department of Children and Families is to work in partnership with local communities to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families, and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency.

Vision: We are a highly skilled workforce committed to empowering people with complex and varied needs to achieve the best outcomes for themselves and their families. In collaboration with community stakeholders, we will deliver world class and continuously improving service focused on providing the people we serve with the level and quality that we would demand and expect for our own families.

Values: A workforce that operates with integrity maintains loyalty to a code of ethics that requires the courage to take responsibility for providing the highest quality of service to the vulnerable. We are a solutions-focused learning organization built on a foundation of transparency in action and accountability of results. Both within the organization and among our stakeholders, we thrive in a culture of respect for diversity of opinion that is nurtured through open communication. High performing and committed, we are unified in our goal of excellence in achieving quality outcomes for those we serve.

DESCRIPTION:

This position performs advanced family finding program efforts to discover, engage, plan, make decisions, and evaluate strategies to locate relatives and fictive kin. Additionally, this position is responsible for providing assistance with the completion of home study assessments on identified potential placements and engaging with the Judicial system, as appropriate, to support placement changes.

Essential Functions:

• Conducts extensive/advanced searches, such as case mining, mobility mapping, internet searches and cold calls, to locate adult relatives and fictive kin.

• Conducts home study assessments on identified potential placements and provides a recommendation the primary worker on placement consideration

• Collaborate with the child protective investigator to identify and build positive connections between the child and the child's relatives and fictive kin.

• 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 conducting a multidisciplinary meeting with all parties involved and prospective family members or fictive kin.

• Attend Case Transfer Staffing as needed to inform Child Welfare Professionals of current status of family finding efforts.

• Establishes and maintains cooperative working relationships with organizations and other agencies involved with child welfare such as community- Services, 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, and HIPAA, and identifies potential problems related to case specifics.

• Engages with the Judiciary and Children's Legal Services/State Attorney's Office, as appropriate, the support placement changes

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Knowledge in Florida's Practice model and Florida's official electronic systems of record, Florida Safe Family Network (FSFN)

• 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 (1-866-663-4735). 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. Certain service members may be eligible to receive waivers for postsecondary educational requirements. Candidates claiming Veterans' Preference must attach supporting documentation with each submission that includes character of service (for example, DD Form 214 Member Copy #4) along with any other documentation as required by Rule 55A-7, Florida Administrative Code. Veterans' Preference documentation requirements are available by clicking here. All documentation is due by the close of the vacancy announcement.

Nearest Major Market: Jacksonville