Senior Foster Care Support Manager - 23818

Position Summary: The New York City school system is the largest in the country, composed of approximately 1.1 million students and 75,000 teachers in over 1,800 schools. In the NYC school system there are approximately 7,000 children and youth in foster care at any given time These children and youth face a wide range of educational, health, safety, and employment risks due to trauma that comes from family separation, as well as increased risk exposure to traumatic incidents that can harm their development and wellbeing. National research shows that children in foster care experience a greater likelihood of reduced academic performance, graduating late or dropping out of school altogether.

The Office of Community Schools (OCS) works with schools and communities to advance equity by embracing a “whole child, whole community” approach – looking holistically at students, families, and communities to ascertain assets and needs and decide together which services and supports should be employed. The OCS Students in Temporary Housing (STH) team leads citywide efforts to provide whole child-based supports to students and families affected by homelessness and students in foster care.

The Senior STH Foster Care Support Manager, reporting to the Director of Clinical Services, will spend roughly two-thirds of their time leading a team of Foster Care Support Coordinators to provide equity-based, whole child supports to students who are living in foster care, their caregivers, and to schools with large numbers of these students. This includes conducting hiring, providing regular, one-on-one supervision for non-clinical staff, leading training sessions, conducting site visits to support program compliance, and implementing individual and team goals to achieve success in reducing chronic absence, improving academic achievement, and related tasks.

The Foster Care Support Manager will spend the remainder of their time developing and implementing programs designed to meet the unique needs of students in foster care, escalating and problem-solving complex student and family needs, and strengthening the coordination of case management between schools, families (both biological and foster), the Administration for Children’s Services, and nonprofit foster care provider agencies. A key component of this work will be using data to understand trends in STH attendance and achievement to support continuous improvement, responding to crises in schools, and advocating for the needs of STH.

This role also ensures compliance with all appropriate City, State, and Federal regulations, as well as the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. Performs related work.

Reports to: STH Director of Clinical Services

Direct Reports: Foster Care Support Coordinators

Key Relationships: Other members of the STH team, including Directors of Regional Support, Capacity Building and Clinical Services, STH Regional Managers, and school- and shelter-based staff; leadership in the Office of Community Schools; NYC DOE Borough/Citywide Offices; other DOE Offices/Divisions, including the Office of Pupil Transportation and the Office of Student Enrollment; foster care agencies, colleagues in other city agencies including the Administration for Children’s Services; school principals and other school-based personnel providing support to STH; policy and advocacy experts and community-based organization (CBO) partners.

Responsibilities

• Hires, supervises, and supports a team of Foster Care Support Coordinators.
• Lead hiring, coordinating with STH team management, divisional Human Resources and Operations staff to track vacancies, post openings, interview candidates, recommend finalists, tender offers, and onboard new staff.
• Provide weekly supervision meetings and monthly professional development series to ensure staff support students to receive timely interventions, services, access to supplementary education supports and enrichment, and related whole child supports.
• Conduct site visits w/ Coordinators to evaluate the implementation of policy and programming, ensure compliance, documentation, and recordkeeping, and meet with school staff to resolve challenges or offer training.

• Serves as one of the divisional leaders in reducing chronic absence and advancing student achievement, and resolving escalated needs for all matters related to students in foster care.
• Make recommendations regarding resource allocations for programs and services designed to meet the unique needs of Students in Foster Care, aligning these to meet centrally established success measures.
• Support oversight of contracted service providers to insure quality programming and adherence requirements, as needed.
• Facilitate case conferences and manage escalations on Student in Foster Care cases, in collaboration school-based staff, Field Support Center staff, and others working with the foster care population.
• Work with other City agencies to maintain optimal service delivery for homeless students and their schools, such as the Administration for Children’s Services, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Department of Youth and Community Development, as well as the New York State Education Department and other stakeholders such as the Fair Futures coalition.

Works closely with the Capacity-building team to coordinate professional development to the borough, district, and school-based staff, including the Child Abuse designated liaison and the Tiered Response protocol point person, on topics including, but not limited to:

• Addressing and reducing chronic absenteeism
• Implementing the Tiered Response Protocol in schools
• Understanding the rights of students in foster care and their families
• Supporting trauma-informed care
• Role of school staff in best interest determinations for school enrollment or transfers
• Post-secondary planning and transition to independence for students in foster care
• Develops ongoing working relationships, liaise with other DOE offices; Special Education, Community Schools, School Health, ENLs, etc.
  
  

Qualification Requirements

Minimum

• A master’s degree from an accredited college or university in education, educational psychology, educational leadership, public administration, public policy, social work, or a closely related field, and two years of satisfactory, full-time progressively responsible professional experience in education administration, in such areas as: portfolio planning, educational grants/funding, student enrollment, assessment and accountability, youth development, special education, early childhood, program evaluation, policy research, college and career readiness, health and wellness, immunization, diagnostic and treatment services for parents and children, out of school programs, career and occupational education, curriculum development, evaluation and testing, educational planning, and educational statistics, or a related field, at least 18 months of this experience must have been in an executive, managerial, consultative, administrative or supervisory capacity in education administration; or
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and four years of satisfactory, fulltime progressively responsible professional experience, in one or more of the areas as described in “1” above, at least 18 months of which must have been in an executive, managerial, consultative, administrative or supervisory capacity; or
• A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and six years of satisfactory, full time professional experience, in one or more of the areas as described in “1” above, at least 18 months of which must have been in an executive, managerial, consultative, administrative or supervisory capacity; or
• Education and/or experience equivalent to “1”, “2”, or “3” above. Undergraduate education above the high school level may be substituted for professional experience, in the areas described in “1” above, at the rate of 30 semester credits from an accredited college or university for each year of experience, up to a maximum of 4 years. Graduate education in areas other than those mentioned above, may be substituted for the professional experience, at the rate of 15 graduate semester credits from an accredited college or university, for 6 months of experience, up to a maximum of 1 year of professional experience. However, all candidates must have a high school diploma or its educational equivalent and 18 months of experience in an executive, managerial, consultative, administrative or supervisory capacity in education administration as described above.
  
  

Preferred

• Versed in current laws, regulations, policies, and guidance governing education services for youth in foster care, such as the Fostering Connections Act, ESSA, and the Children’s Services Act (CSA).
• Experience working with vulnerable populations in a school-based setting (including lived experience), with knowledge about trauma informed strategies, nonprofit student support services, and youth development approaches.
• Have an understanding of the public education system and the foster care system, and how to access school-based resources (e.g. - transportation, health and mental health, etc.) for youth in foster care.
• Systems thinking approach, with the ability to make connections and align services to better support students in foster care
• Strong skills in relationship management and project implementation, and experience providing presentations and skill building support to adult learners.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively with school aged youth, educators, families, and communities from a wide range of cultural, social, and economic backgrounds.
• Strong facility with Excel; moderate knowledge of other Microsoft Office applications, e.g., Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Exceptional project management and implementation capabilities.
  
  

Salary: $96,181 - $105,800

(Internal candidates who are selected for this position and who currently hold comparable or less senior positions within the DOE will not earn less than their current salary.)

Please include a resume and cover letter with your application.

NOTE: The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability and/or grant funding.

• New York City Residency is NOT Required *
  
  

We encourage all applicants from the New York City tri-state area to apply.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

DOE Non- Discrimination Policy

The Department of Education of 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 upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's actual or perceived sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or pregnancy. For more information, please refer to the DOE Non-Discrimination Policy.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education's website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.