Placement 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 Placement Liaison will be responsible for seeking out placement resources for children court ordered into out of home care. They will begin with least restrictive family, or safe informal supports and seek alternative or higher levels of care as required. This role supports case management by identifying resources where child can be safely placed that matches the child’s level of needs.

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in social work or related field required.
• Social Work certification preferred. 
• Child Welfare experience required. 
• Experience working with families of a diverse ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic background strongly preferred.
• Assessment skills to determine the best placement matches for children in need of out-of-home caregivers.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Professional relationship building skills to guide communication, problem solving and critical thinking in resolving unmet placement needs.
• Organization and time management skills.
• Basic computer skills required. eWiSACWIS experience preferred.
• Proficient in the usage of computer software; demonstrate an understanding of computer file systems and computer software packages, e.g., Microsoft Office, Excel, Outlook, Teams, ADP, etc.
• Must be honest, dependable, and able to meet deadlines; Self-motivated and able to work independently.
• Physical exam, drug screen, motor vehicle report, and background checks are required for this position.
• A valid Wisconsin Driver’s License or occupational driver’s license, reliable transportation and insurance is required.

Duties:

Placement Search

•Members of the placement team are required to respond to those pursuing placement within 30 minutes for all referrals/requests

•Ensure all children in need of out-of-home care are matched with the best placement option that will meet the individual needs of each child.

•Search for out of home placement resources with relatives, foster homes, treatments foster homes, group homes, and other higher level of care types.

•Actively collaborate with intake, initial assessment, licensing, case managers and permanency consultants to determine best placement match that meets the needs of the child including exploring sibling and relative placement options. 

•Actively assess and pursue information about child level of need to determine appropriate level of care necessary and match. 

•Meet and exchange information with case management to plan for child placement and placement support needs.

•Serve as a short-term conduit between case management and placement providers to engage, secure, and prepare placement providers to receive children.

•Work in conjunction with the After-Hours leadership and Specialist to transition duties, daily.

Collaboration and Partnership

•Collaborates with ongoing case managers, licensing specialists, and permanency consultants to explore sibling and relative placement throughout the duration of child’s placement in out-of-home care. 

•Advocates for placement stability whenever safe and appropriate with providers and case management teams. Educate other professionals on the placement process and available resources.

•Engages with placement providers in trusting relationships for seeking to understand their needs while working toward preservation of placements for children/youth.

•Build and maintain collaborative relationships with DMCPS, Treatment Foster Care agencies, Assessment Centers, Group Homes, Residential Care Centers, and Emergency Shelters.

Data and Information Sharing

•Provide accurate and professional documentation in all referrals, files, and data tracking.

•Maintain and update data regarding placement needs of children and available resources in each child’s record and tracking form. Ensure that this is kept in designated centralized location.

•Maintain placement data and placement moves in Cobris within 48 hours of receipt of information.

After-Hour Placements

•Prepares and provides a list of available placement resources to the PSG Placement Unit by no later than 4:00pm each business day.

•Ensures all open placement requests/child tracking lists are updated each day by 4:00pm for transition to the After-Hours team.

•Consult with staff on after-hours coverage, as required, during 4:30pm After Hours transition meetings.

Agency Engagement

•All employees will be evaluated on their demonstration of a consistent commitment to the Agency’s Seven Essential Ingredients, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and engagement in the strategic initiatives of the organization. This will be measured by their active participation in committees and workgroups, and by their communication and practice within their daily work and in the community.

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

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

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.

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