Heartshare St. Vincent's Services ("HSVS") has served New Yorkers in need for over 150 years! HSVS believes that every youth deserves a safe, stable, and loving family. HSVS is seeking an extremely motivated and highly organized Adoption Specialist to help youth in foster care join their forever families. The Adoption Specialist meets with pre-adoptive families to gather all of the information and materials necessary to finalize adoptions, including conducting a home study and drafting a comprehensive adoption report. The Adoption Specialist works collaboratively with the case planning team, legal team, adoption attorneys, and courts, and as such, must be a very effective communicator.
First and foremost, the HSVS Adoption Specialist must believe that every youth, regardless of age or needs, deserves a permanent family, and is willing to work hard to make adoptions happen!
Responsibilities

• Meet with pre-adoptive foster parents to gather information and documents needed for home study, adoption subsidy, and finalization process.
• Write and organize comprehensive adoption report, including adoption home study and any needed addendums.
• Prepare adoption subsidy application.
• Gather all documents needed to complete adoption package for adoptive parent’s attorney to file in court
• Gather all documents needed to complete adoption package for adoptive parent’s attorney to file in court
• Work collaboratively internally with casework, home finding staff, and legal team; and externally with adoption attorneys, ACS and OCFS to facilitate expedited filings and finalizations.
• Appear in court for adoption finalizations and as required by judges and ACS attorneys.
• Prepare status update reports for caseworkers for permanency hearings and other court appearances.
• Maintain accurate and current tracking system for progress toward goal of Adoption and enter this information into Connections
• Attend and participate in regular meetings with leadership and external stakeholders.
• Attend all required trainings.
• Prepare cases for Adoption audits
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Go to pre-adoptive homes to meet with pre-adoptive family and to conduct home studies.