Foster Care Case Assistant

At Caritas we believe every life deserves LOVE! If you agree, then please consider joining our team!! This important position affords someone with a high school level education the opportunity to work in the professional field of Foster Care Casework. This role is perfect for someone with lots of energy who enjoys a mobile work environment. Most importantly, candidates must want to make a positive difference in the lives of children, every day! If you’re ready to make an impact, please apply today!!!

At Caritas, we know we’re competing with other employers for your services, and we want to win! It is our goal to offer competitive compensation and affordable benefits to all eligible employees. Caritas currently offers the following benefits to full-time employees:

• 403 B Retirement Plan (5% Employer Match)
• Generous Paid Time Off
• Health, Dental and Vision Insurance Coverage
• 12 Employer Paid State & Federal Holidays
• Telehealth Services
• Employer Paid Life Insurance
• Health Saving Account
• Employer Paid Short- & Long-Term Disability
• Tuition Assistance Program
• Real Work/Life Balance

Description of Typical Work Schedule: 40 hour workweek; schedule varies as they may be required to work evenings and weekends (Hours set based on necessity of department or office.)

PURPOSE: The Foster Care Case Assistant provides transportation of clients, supervision of visitations, and other support for the foster care program including youth, foster parents, birth parents, and Foster Care Case Managers.

REPORTING STRUCTURE: Refer to the updated organizational chart for reporting structure and responsiblities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Provides transportation of clients to and from parent-child visitation, sibling visitation, as well as to counseling, clinics, hospitals, schools, and other case related activities as required.
• Provides supervision during visits, ensuring appropriate interaction between individuals.
• Records case notes regarding visitation accurately and objectively in a timely manner.
• Collaborates and communicates regularly with assigned Foster Care Case Manager and Foster Care Supervisor.
• Communicates with child and family team to confirm visitation schedule and/or appointments.
• Follows agency and state guidelines regarding driving, rules of the road, and safety.
• Completes any agency or Department paperwork per policy and procedure requirements
• Willingness to travel as this position requires frequent travel and vehicle use
• Follows agency and state guidelines regarding driving, rules of the road, and safety.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE REQUIRED/PREFERRED

Degree/Field Required: High School Diploma or GED (Related fields will be considered.)

Degree/Field Preferred: N/A

Additional Fields of Knowledge Important for the Role: Administrative — Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology. English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. Psychology — Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders. Sociology and Anthropology — Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins. Transportation — Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

Experience Required: Minimum 0-6 months experience preferred but not required in human services or related field (For positions that manage staff, the years specified need to be progressive years of management experience. For all positions, the years required can be interchanged with equivalent experience from an advanced degree related to this job and/or with other relevant experience verified by applicant/incumbent).

Licenses/Certifications Required: N/A

Licenses/Certifications Preferred: CPR/First Aid

SKILLS REQUIRED

Manager-specific: N/A

Basic: Active Learning — Understand the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. Active Listening — Give full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. Critical Thinking — Use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems. Learning Strategies — Select and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. Monitoring — Monitor/Assess performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. Reading Comprehension — Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Speaking — Talk to others to convey information effectively. Writing — Communicate effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. Language — Able to read and write in English.

Social: Coordination — Adjust actions in relation to others' actions. Negotiation — Bring others together and trying to reconcile differences. Service Orientation — Look for ways to help people. Social Perceptiveness — Be aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Problem Solving/Decision-making: Complex Problem Solving — Identify complex problems and review related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. Time pressure decision-making — Make decisions without much analysis or time to consider alternatives. Time pressure planning — Plan and be responsible for regularly meeting strict deadlines. Judgment and Decision Making — Consider the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one ensuring that decisions made have an impact on others, the image/reputation of Caritas, and/or the financial resources.

Resource Management: N/A

Technical: N/A

Trauma-informed: Must display a willingness to adopt trauma informed interventions, principles, and practices as well as commitment to ongoing development of their capacity for application of trauma informed care. Realizes the prevalence of trauma among persons served by Caritas and the general population. Recognizes how trauma affects everyone involved-including clients, their families, staff, and community; and impacts behaviors. Responds to trauma by actively implementing the guiding principles of trauma informed care into their daily practice. Resists re-traumatization of persons served and staff providing services, by creating safe, welcoming, and supportive environments.

Proficient Computer Skills In: Outlook, Word, Database Management Software

Expert Computer Skills In: Outlook, Word, Database Management Software

MENTAL EFFORT/COGNITIVE ABILITIES REQUIRED: Concentration/intensity — Focus on higher order mental functions at average to high intensity when performing the majority of job tasks. Have limited opportunities for breaks. Deductive Reasoning — Apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. Inductive Reasoning — Combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). Memory — Remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures. Performance of job tasks rely on memorization of tasks or sequences of events. Consider amount and type of information. Number Facility — Add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly. Oral Comprehension — Listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. Oral Expression — Communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. Problem Sensitivity — Tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem. Selective Attention — Concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted. Written Comprehension — Read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. Written Expression — Communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Medium work. Exert up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 30 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES REQUIRED: Stooping/Kneeling/Crouching/Crawling — Bend body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles. Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees. Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine. Crawling. Moving about on hands and knees or hands and feet. Reaching — Extend hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction. Lifting — Raise objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles. Fingering/Grasping — Pick, pinch, type or otherwise work, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling. Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm. Feeling — Perceive attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips. Standing — Particularly for sustained periods of time. Walking — Move about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another. Sitting — Particularly for sustained periods of time. Pulling — Use upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion. Speech Clarity/Talking — Express or exchange ideas by means of the spoken word. Those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly. Includes the ability to understand the speech of another person. Hearing — Perceive the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discriminations in sound. Repetitive motion — Substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. Coordination, including eye/hand, hand/feet.

VISUAL ACUITY: The worker is required to have visual acuity to operate motor vehicles and/or heavy equipment.

WORK CONTEXT/ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Subject to environmental conditions. Protection from weather conditions but not necessarily from temperature changes.Subject to both environmental conditions. Activities occur inside and outside.Subject to an environment working in a vehicle. Subject to noise — There is sufficient noise to cause the worker to shout in order to be heard above ambient noise level.

Other PPE Required: N/A

VEHICLE RELATED REQUIREMENTS:

Access to reliable transportation to get to/from work: Required.

Access to a reliable automobile: Required.

Must provide proof of auto liability insurance (and continue to while working in this position): Required.

Must possess a valid driver's license: Required.

Additional license requirements that are necessary: N/A

Additional considerations for this position: N/A