The candidate must reside within the following county(s) within Region 8: Bexar, Bandera, Kendall, Comal, Guadalupe, Wilson, Atascosa, and Medina County.

PRIMARY FUNCTION/RESPONSIBILTY

Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiter will identify and explore potential adoptive homes and secure placements for children waiting in foster care, and support families through the finalization of adoptions, in accordance with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Child Focused Recruitment Adoption model. The job requires sensitivity to the service populations’ cultural and socioeconomic characteristics.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Conduct initial referral services. Establish contact with the child’s Adoption Specialist to introduce the role of WWK, gather initial referral information, establish a date to begin case file review and schedule an initial meeting with each child.
Establish a relationship with the child. Have, at a minimum, monthly meetings with each child in person to develop openness and trust.
Review case record and initiate recruitment plan. Conduct in-depth case record reviews of existing files to identify:
Date and reason the child entered the system.
Child’s most recent profile and assessment.
Chronological placement history.
Significant services provided to the child, currently or in the past.
Identification of needed services.
All significant people in the child’s life, past and present, including caseworkers, foster parents, attorneys, court-appointed special advocate (CASA) volunteers, teachers, therapists, relatives, mentors, faith-based representatives, extracurricular activity leaders, etc.; and
Next upcoming court date.
Conduct diligent search. Implement the process of identifying, locating, and contacting people with whom the child already has, or had, a bond or relationship with, including birth, kin, and adoptive relatives, with the knowledge and approval of the child’s case worker. Recruiters diligently search for potential adoptive families to include aggressive follow-up with identified contacts. Utilize available databases to support diligent search activities.
Assess adoption readiness. Develop an initial written assessment of each child’s readiness for adoption and provide updated assessments quarterly to assess the child’s strengths, challenges, desires, preparedness for adoption, and any needs that should be addressed before moving forward with adoption.
Prepare child and family for adoption. Provide adoption preparation to understand and address any barriers to adoption, including the child’s willingness to be adopted and educate the child about adoption. During the matching process, the WWK recruiter will assess whether the family is adequately prepared to meet the needs of the child.
Build a network with people close to and knowledgeable about the child, such as relatives, foster parents, caseworkers, CASA volunteers, teachers, mentors, faith-based representatives, etc. Maintain regular and on-going contact with the child’s network.
Maintain recruitment plan. Maintain a comprehensive recruitment plan or enhance the existing recruitment plan. The plan shall be based on file review, interviews with significant adults, and the input of the child. The plan will be customized and defined by each child’s needs. The plan will be reviewed at minimum monthly and updated quarterly.
Document efforts. Maintain case files to document child-focused recruitment efforts in multiple databases by specified due dates.
Compose final reports for court and testifies in court when necessary.
Provides services after normal working hours and on weekends when necessary.
Attend Family Group Conferences or Circle of Support meetings and provide updates on recruitment efforts when necessary.
Attend Permanency Round Table Meetings to offer guidance on Child Focused Recruitment Model when needed.
Attend required DTFA Child Focused recruitment training in person in Dublin, Ohio when scheduled.
Attend annually the WWK Child Focused Recruitment Summit in person in Columbus, Ohio.
Promotes and demonstrates appropriate respect for cultural diversity among coworkers and all work-related contacts.
Attends work regularly in accordance with agency leave policy.
Travel is required for this position, up to 95% of the work week.
Performs other duties as assigned as required to maintain agency and unit operations.

GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

Adheres to all policies and procedures of the agency and its accrediting and standard setting bodies, such as Council on Accreditation (COA), DFPS and HHSC.
Maintains client confidentiality per SJRC Texas/Belong standards and all applicable codes of ethics.
Learns, understands, and supports the SJRC Texas/Belong mission, purpose, and function.
Carries out the Trauma Informed Care principles and practices for both internal and external stakeholders.
Responsible for the environmental, cultural, safety, diversity issues and needs of the clients and others that enter the work area.
Attends mandatory training as defined in positions training matrix.
Attend continuing education as necessary to expand knowledge and maintain certifications or licenses.
Uses outside professional collaboration and intra-agency teamwork appropriate to the agency.
Skilled in organizing work in an environment with multiple challenges and priorities with minimal supervision.
Avoid all conflicts of interest, real or perceived.

KNOWLEDGE / SKILLS / ABILITIES

Knowledge of child development.
Knowledge of family dynamics.
Skill in effective verbal and written communication.
Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships.
Skill in problem solving techniques.
Ability to operate a personal computer.
Ability to travel and attend child and family visits as well as other work-related appointments and meetings after 5PM.
Ability to be on call on a rotating basis and work irregular hours when necessary.
Ability to work in an emotion-filled environment which may require conducting home visits in isolated or high crime areas and may involve exposure to substandard and unsanitary living conditions.
Comprehensive knowledge of the DFPS Impact System including how to read case history, how to conduct person searches, and where to find important information in different stages of service.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

Associate’s degree from an accredited college or university in Child Welfare or related field plus two (2) years of relevant work experience OR 60 accredited college credit hours plus two (2) years relevant work experience OR 90 accredited college credit hours plus one (1) year of relevant work experience.
Experience may be substituted for Education

Preferred

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Child Welfare or related field OR Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in Child Welfare or related field.
Previous work with child/youth in Texas DFPS (Department of Family and Protective Services) care.
Working knowledge or Minimum Standards for Child Placing Agencies.
Bilingual English/Spanish.

Certifications/Licenses/Registrations

Valid Texas Driver’s License, safe driving record, ability to provide own transportation and proof of current automobile insurance.

PHYSICAL/MENTAL REQUIREMENTS

Body mobility to stoop, kneel, bend, reach, walk briskly to interact with and monitor children.
Stamina to work long days and drive long distances.
Moderate to heavy lifting up to 60 pounds.
Must have the ability to communicate both verbally and in writing.
Environment requires dexterity to remain calm and adapt to fast paced and emotional environments consisting of children with moderate to severe emotional and psychological needs.
Minimum 40 hours per week but may necessitate additional time to complete assigned work, which would include evenings and weekends.
Home-like settings with varying moderate to high degrees of background noise.
Campuses are smoke-free, except on permitted campuses in designated areas.

DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIP/REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

Supervised by: WWK Supervisor

Supervises: N/A

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