What are the responsibilities and job description for the Home Study Specialist 3 (SSS3) - Spokane Central position at State of Washington Dept of Children, Youth, and...?
Description
Our vision is to ensure that “Washington state’s children and youth grow up safe and healthy—thriving physically, emotionally and academically, nurtured by family and community."
Job Title: Home Study Specialist 3 (SSS3)
Location: Spokane, WA – This position is Full-Time/Permanent/Flexible/Hybrid.
Closes: Friday, April 11th, 2025
Salary: $5,370 - $7,226 Monthly
Are you a highly skilled and motivated individual ready to make a difference in your community? Our Licensing Division (LD) team in Spokane is seeking a Home Study Specialist to help eliminate disparities in child and youth outcomes based on race and ethnicity.
This position works within the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), Licensing Division, Assessment. This position utilizes kin-first culture to support families in ensuring children in the care and custody of the Department can maintain cultural and community connections by evaluating kinship and community foster care caregivers throughout the life of the case. This position requires the incumbent to align practice with the guiding principles of the racial equity and social justice framework.
Click here to learn more about DCYF.
The Opportunity:
As a Home Study Specialist (SSS3), you will partner with families, service providers, and others to address safety risks through cultural competency and strength-based communication. You will facilitate child-specific licenses and placements; help locate the opportunities within the family's everyday life and identify behavior(s) that may lead to maltreatment. You will develop co-constructed plans to target primary safety areas and other child needs, develop skill-based objectives, and take additional action as needed. This position receives little supervision and the incumbent exercises independent judgment in devising own work methods to provide an advanced level of specialized, culturally competent and strength-based case management.
Some of what you'll do:
- Perform assessments through intensive interview and information gathering process to complete Family Home Studies for kinship and/or adoptive placement and/or community foster home licensing based on compliance with the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) and Washington Administrative Code (WAC).
- Provide consultation to the applicants, refer to services or training and provide support throughout the home study and/or licensing process.
- Produce written home studies that accurately and clearly describe the potential caregivers’ family history and include a discussion of their strengths and limitations in the recommendation of approval/denial of the home study using clinical skills.
- Assist caregivers to overcome barriers that may hinder their ability to care for children or to become licensed.
- Review completed background checks, collateral information, waivers and disqualifications.
- Assist licensed foster families to retain the family as a service provider, when appropriate.
- Make timely notification of foster home licensure to other staff, including Placement Coordinators, Targeted Recruitment Specialist, contracted providers and other administrations, as appropriate.
- Work collaboratively with the Child Welfare Program, DCYF divisions and other administrations to maintain communication in order to maintain safe and stable placements in the home during the home study process.
- Conduct field work, including but not limited to; completing physical facility inspections, interviewing caregivers or potential applicants and household members, interviewing verbal children, observing caregiver/child interactions when children are non-verbal and working with other professionals as needed to achieve the goal of safe and healthy home placements for children.
- Provide testimony and declarations at administrative hearings and other court proceedings related to written home studies and licensing action.
- Utilize Department databases to document licensure/home study activities and maintain provider records within program and policy standards, accountability requirements and agency’s documentation practice.
- Participate in efforts to recruit foster families, including community presentations or meetings.
Required Qualifications:
- One (1) year of experience* as a Social Service Specialist 2.
OR
- Six (6) years of paid social service experience* AND 30 semester or 45 quarter credits in a Social Service discipline.
OR
- A Bachelor's degree in social services, human services, behavioral sciences, or any degree that includes 30 semester or 45 quarter credits in a Social Service discipline AND Two (2) years of paid social service experience* in planning, administering, developing, or delivery of public child welfare, social, health, or chemical dependency treatment programs.
OR
- A Master's degree in social services, human services, behavioral sciences, or any degree which includes 30 semester or 45 quarter credits in a Social Service discipline AND One (1) year of paid social service experience* in planning, administering, developing, or delivery of public child welfare, social, health, or chemical dependency treatment programs.
Note*- Paid Social Service experience must include at least one (1) year of assessing risk and safety to children and providing direct family-centered practice services.
In addition to those required qualifications, our ideal applicant will also have some or all of the following:
- Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively with diverse populations.
- Demonstrated foundation and understanding of agency policies, WAC, and RCW related to licensing foster homes.
- Demonstrated program management experience in a regulatory or supervisory capacity for facilities providing care to children.
How do I apply?
In addition to completing the online application, applicants must attach the following documents to their profile in order to be considered for this position:
- Cover Letter
- Resume (updated/current)
Supplemental Information:
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is committed to Washington’s children and youth growing up safe, healthy, and thriving. We invite all candidates to join us in our mission to create a diverse and equitable workplace that reflects the communities we serve. If you are excited about this role but you believe that your education and/or experience might not align perfectly with every qualification in the job posting, we encourage you to apply anyway.
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained service animal by a person with a disability.Prior to a new hire, a background check including criminal history will be conducted. Information from the background check will not necessarily preclude employment but will be considered in determining the applicant's suitability and competence to perform in the position.
This position requires a minimum of at least two years of driving experience and a valid driver's license.
This position is included in the supervisory bargaining unit represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE). For more information, visit https://wfse.org/.
This recruitment may be used to fill multiple vacancies.
If you have any questions pertaining to this recruitment or if you would like to request an accommodation throughout the application/interview process, contact Veronica Jones (Talent Acquisition Specialist) at veronica.jones@dcyf.wa.gov. If you're experiencing technical difficulties creating, accessing, or completing your application, call NEOGOV toll-free at (855) 524-5627, or email support@neogov.com.
Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may call the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (360) 664-1960.
2025-02069
Salary : $5,370 - $7,226
