Permanency Recruitment Liaison

At Wellpoint Care Network, our mission is to facilitate equity, learning, healing, and wellness by restoring the connections that help children and families thrive.

Every person deserves the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. It’s part of human nature, and the promise of our country, that everyone be given a fair chance to be and do their best. Yet, many in our community live with unresolved childhood and generational trauma.  

That’s where we come in. We believe we can create a world where children and families have a clearer path to their fullest potential. Wellpoint Care Network has championed the restoration of families for nearly 175 years.

Job Purpose: 

Our next Permanency Recruitment Liaison will be responsible for ensuring all children in need of an adoptive, relative or like kin home are matched with the best placement option that will meet the individual needs of each child and allow that child to achieve permanency.

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work (BSW) from an accredited program or a related field is required. 
• It is preferred that BSWs are certified by the state of Wisconsin as a Social Worker within 18 months of hire.
• It is preferred that Non BSWs complete approved training within 24 months of hire and State certification by 36 months of hire.
• Case management experience required. 
• Experience in Child Welfare child welfare and/or a related human services field preferred. 
• Knowledge of community resources and services available to program participants.
• Ability to work and communicate effectively and implement problem solving strategies in partnership with staff and families. 
• Exhibit professionalism while working effectively and harmoniously with staff, program participants, and others.
• Demonstrates knowledge of the child welfare system, systemic barriers and encourages innovation.
• Demonstrates ability to work independently and effectively with staff, clients, caregivers, and purchasers.
• Must be honest, dependable, and able to meet deadlines; Self-motivated and able to work independently.
•  A valid Wisconsin Driver’s License or occupational driver’s license, reliable transportation and insurance is required. Required reliable transportation to conduct on-site learning throughout the state.
• Ability to demonstrate critical thinking skills, detail oriented, highly effective verbal, and written communication skills.
• Demonstrate an ability to effective understanding and practice of cultural humility and ability work and communicate respectfully with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Proficient in the usage of computer software; demonstrate an understanding of computer file systems and databases, e.g., Microsoft Office, Excel, Outlook, Teams, ADP, etc.
• Physical exam, drug screen, motor vehicle report, and background checks are required for this position.

Duties:

Recruitment & Matching

• Collaborates with licensing, case managers, and placement liaisons for the purpose of permanent placement recruitment that meets the needs of the child.
• Assesses and gathers all known information about children to determine the most appropriate level of care for the child and best placement match.  
• Contacts potential families who are most likely to meet the needs of specific youth through Mobility Mapping, Connectedness Map, Tree of Life, Data Mining, video recruitment and other child specific recruitment methods
• Facilitates, tracks, and monitors the matching of children with prospective caretakers, which includes processing prospective families’ inquiries in database for future matches, reviewing home studies submitted from photo listing and statewide recruitment, and meeting with case management team to discuss potential matches.
• Acts as the point person for Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, Wisconsin Adoption Exchange, and other incoming referrals, which includes monitoring referral statuses, performing related tasks like responding to the photo listing requests, and completing quarterly updates.
• Completes child description in eWiSACWIS for all children in need of adoption statewide recruitment. 

Family Meetings

•Conducts Initial Family Meetings ensuring informal supports are included as identified by the family, child’s parents, and any alleged father(s), and caregiver(s) in partnership with the case manager, child welfare supervisor, family preservation, nurse, foster and kinship navigator) as applicable.

•Conducts Post Initial Family Team Meetings (approx. 5 month) to discuss families and trauma/permanency/services as determined upon completion of the Initial Family Team Meeting, which includes coordinating meetings and ensuring essential participants are invited (case manager, child welfare supervisor, family preservation, nurse, foster and kinship navigator) as applicable.

Initial Licensing

•Facilitates all aspects of initiating foster care/adoption licensing including talking with families about the licensing process, preparing and submitting all foster home licensing and re-licensing documents, sending out authorization forms and BID forms to prospective foster families, following up on status of licensing and assisting with any barriers (for child specific recruited homes only).

•Assists with ongoing program planning and development. Including recommending community resources.

Self-Management & Teamwork

•Collaborates with child welfare colleagues to best meet the needs of the families we serve.  

•Exhibits professionalism in all aspects of the position; adheres to agency’s code of conduct and DMCPS expectations, policies, and state safety standards.

Agency Engagement

•The Agency is committed to the philosophy and practice of trauma informed care including the participation of all employees in an active understanding and promotion of the agency’s trauma informed care model, The Seven Essential Ingredients.

•Participates in assigned meetings, events and learning as required.

•Other duties as assigned, including serving in a coverage role for other department members

Position Details & Extras:

• Full time.
• Onsite / Hybrid work is available with reliable broadband connection.
• Fast paced, flexible work schedule includes evenings and some weekends to accommodate program needs.
• Moderate exposure to noise.
• Subject to frequent interruptions with ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the cultural differences among diverse groups and the need to adapt service provision to match these differences in respectful ways.
•  Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) - Wellpoint employees may be eligible for loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. 
• Regular travel in personal vehicles is required with the ability to move intermittently throughout the workday.
• Willingness to work beyond normal working hours: evenings, nights, and weekends.

Organizational Information: 

At Wellpoint Care Network, we have seen exactly how trauma, poverty, systemic racism, social injustices, and other barriers create instability in all areas of life. The people in our care face education and health disparities, high unemployment rates and unaffordable housing. What’s worse, many have lost connections to resources, family, friends, and other support systems. We have seen the toll it has on a person’s physical, emotional, and financial well-being to try and successfully navigate complex systems that may have failed them in the past.

We believe there is a better way. So, we have anchored ourselves in our 170 years of caring for our neighbors through modernized human services.

Wellpoint Care Network provides a rich continuum of services, including:

•        Child Welfare and Foster Care 

•        Support for youth who have aged out of care

•        Care Coordination and Wraparound services 

•        Mental health therapy and supports such as our Clinic, Family Preservation, Caregiver Support, and Integrated Community Treatment

•        Professional education and clinical consultation (for organizations, schools, and individual/family) 

Wellpoint Care also works to promote a diverse and caregiving environment to ensure that those we serve, and employ are valued, accepted, respected, and treated equitably.

•        Equity means we work tirelessly toward fair and just treatment, systems, and policies. At Wellpoint Care Network, we believe that we are accountable – individually and collectively – when inequity or injustice replaces equity and inclusion. 

•        Inclusivity means that we consciously build groups that welcome and celebrate differences in age, race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, gender expression, education, socio-economic background, personal history, geographical location, marital status, parental status, and work experiences.   

Interested parties please apply online. We are committed to enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion and strongly encourage minority candidates to apply. For more information, visit our website www.wellpointcare.org.

Equal Opportunity Employer