Child Welfare Specialist Location: Remote telework is permitted anywhere in the U.S., travel is required.

This position will support the Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in administering the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) and other state child welfare program monitoring activities. Under general supervision, facilitates and oversees state reviews, negotiates and monitors State Program Improvement Plans (PIP) and interprets and articulates state and national data and measurement of PIP progress. This position is involved in both Traditional Reviews and State Conducted Case Reviews.

Duties:

• Supports the Children's Bureau with all review preparatory activities, including planning calls and related communications with states; examination and evaluation of the capacity of states’ case review systems; reviews and comments on statewide assessments; reviews and evaluates sources of data and information for evaluation of systemic factors; evaluates and selects data and review sites; develops case samples and reviews of states’ sampling plans; and resolves state-specific review issues.
• Participate as Site Leader, reviews states’ quality assurance processes, conducts quality assurance reviews of case review instruments on and off site and supports the Children’s Bureau’s Child and Family Services Reviews Unit State Leader through all phases of the process, including post-review activities.
• Participates with the CFSR Unit and federal Regional Offices in the support provided to states as they develop their Program Improvement Plans and integrate those efforts with the Child and Family Services Plan and Annual Progress and Services Report.
• Negotiates benchmarks and activities, quarterly monitoring of state implementation progress and completion and ongoing improvement of the Child and Family Services Reviews Unit's Program Improvement Plan process and management.
• Assists with analysis of review data findings, production and management of Final Reports, monitoring of Program Improvement Plan completion, analysis of Program Improvement Plan data, identification of additional technical resources for states, development of technical and policy transmittal bulletins for the Children’s Bureau and identification of cross-cutting Program Improvement Plan strategies to share with states.

 Knowledge & Experience:

Minimum of 5 years of direct field experience and/or supervisory, administrative, or management experience in a public or private child welfare agency. This may include providing services or supervising, administering, or managing programs supporting child protective services, foster care, adoption, family preservation, family support, independent living services, or licensure/approval of foster and adoptive families.

• Strong assessment skills, including the ability to: (1) gather information from interviews and from written documents; (2) pursue the collection of information from various sources; (3) take notes and compile information obtained from multiple sources; and (4) make professional judgments based on the information collected during the reviews.
• Strong interviewing skills with either individuals or groups.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Preferred knowledge: Fluent in Spanish or another second language.
• Preferred experience: Supervisory, administrative, and/or management experience in a public (federal, state, or local) or private child welfare agency; or at least 2 years of direct experience working for a state Court Improvement Project or juvenile or family court dealing with child welfare cases.
• Preferred experience: Experience in quality assurance or performance reviews of child welfare services.

 Personal Attributes:

•  Experience at working both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment is essential.
• Can conform to shifting priorities, demands and timelines through analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Proactive in handling complex situations, negotiations and problems.
• Reacts to project adjustments and alterations promptly and efficiently.
• Flexible during times of change.
• Ability to read communication styles of team members and contractors who come from a broad spectrum of disciplines.
• Persuasive, encouraging, and motivating.
• Ability to elicit cooperation from a wide variety of sources, including upper management, clients, and other departments.
• Ability to defuse tension among project team, should it arise.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Adept at conducting research into project-related issues and products.
• Must be able to learn, understand, and apply new technologies.
• Customer service skills an asset.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment is crucial.
• Client-centric – driven to delight the client.

Work Conditions:

• Frequent travel is required.
• Working more than 40 hours per week may be required to meet project deadlines.
• Physically able to participate and present in reviews, training sessions, presentations and meetings.

Educational Requirements:

Bachelor’s or master’s degree in social work, human services, public administration, counseling, or a closely related field; or a juris doctor degree with experience working for a state Court Improvement Program or juvenile or family court dealing with child welfare cases. Preferred educational requirement:  Master’s degree in social work, human services, counseling, public administration, or a closely related field; or juris doctor degree with experience working for a state Court Improvement Project or juvenile or family court dealing with child welfare cases.