Children's Services Supervisor

Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) envisions a world where children are safe, families are strong, and communities are vibrant.

LSF is looking for a talented Children's Services Supervisor who would like to make an impact in the lives of others.

Child Welfare Certification is required for this role.

Purpose & Impact:

This position supervises and monitors the work of an assigned group of workers under the employee's direct supervision. The employee in this position is expected to become familiar with agency contract goals and requirements and to ensure staff performance toward those goals. In addition, advanced knowledge of Florida Child Welfare statutes, administrative code, and operating procedures as mandated by local and state compliance and regulatory entities is necessary for the proper performance of this position. The Children's Services Supervisor is required to demonstrate advanced skills in communicating with, motivating, training, and evaluating employees, and is expected to meet regularly with each worker under supervision to mentor and monitor performance. Additional responsibilities include the on-boarding of new staff, the coordination and tracking of required training hours for certification, as well as assessing progress of new case managers in preparation for child welfare certification. Supervisors are expected to participate in the recruitment and hiring of workers for their units and may need to create Employee Improvement Plans to address deficiencies in staff performance.

Essential Functions:

• Develops Performance standards and job duty expectations with workers, reviews standards and plans for continuous improvement.
• Communicates worker's compliance with these expectations on a regular basis.
• Creates, identifies, and coordinates the activities of newly hired case managers including shadowing experiences, compliance with training requirements, and opportunities for field/classroom training.
• Reviews each case in unit caseload at a minimum, on a quarterly basis. This review must include a one-on-one discussion with the assigned case manager, recommendations for case progress, documentation of the review and recommendations in Florida State regulatory databases. Cases identified as high risk will need a more frequent level of oversight.
• Monitors and directs the day-to-day work of case managers. This monitoring must include the completion of home visits within required time frames, the completion of required tracking tools, court documentation, staffing packets, family assessments, safety plans, database case documentation within 48 hours, file maintenance and other required case work in timely manner.
• Attends/ensures preparation for all unit case staffings, reviews incoming cases, and determines how best to assign new cases within the unit.
• Reviews and assists with complex cases, provides guidance and support.
• Reviews work products such as family assessments, home studies, court reports, case plans and case documentation with case managers, and provides consultation and direction to them to ensure appropriateness, clarity, quality, and thoroughness.
• Identifies performance needs of case managers and other assigned staff and develops and implements training plans and/or other opportunities for performance improvement.
• Provides guidance to case managers and other staff by coaching, motivating, training, and providing staff development activities.
• Identifies and promotes outstanding performance.
• Participates in court proceedings as necessary, and monitors worker performance in court.
• Mentors all new case managers in the field each month by participating in a home visit with the case manager and providing the case manager with appropriate feedback after that home visit. These mentoring visits are to be documented by the supervisor within required time frames with appropriate entities.
• Keeps supervisors and directors advised of high risk or problematic cases and arranges for multi-disciplinary staffings for cases as necessary.
• Attends program Supervisor meetings as scheduled and shares information gathered with unit workers and other team members.
• Conducts regular unit meetings with staff to share information, provide training, discuss cases and participate in team building activities.
• Develops training and staff development plans with each staff person under his/her supervision.
• Conducts all required performance evaluations with assigned workers in a timely manner. Submits evaluations supervisor and/or director for discussion and review.
• Provides community education through public presentations.
• Participates in agency quality improvement activities as required.

Other Functions:

All duties are performed in accordance with the following standards:

• Courtesy: Treats customers, the public and staff with courtesy, respect and dignity and presents a positive public image.
• Communication Skills: Keeps supervisors and directors fully informed of activities, pertinent issues, upcoming events, and potential problems. Demonstrates effective oral and written communication skills in daily work.
• Teamwork: Supports the unit, department and/or organization and works with others to accomplish the goals of the unit, department and/or organization.
• Safety: Employee makes a reasonable effort to adhere to established safety procedures and practices in the work area and ensures that unit workers do the same.
• Training: Attends and successfully completes all mandated training courses, must attend and successfully complete LSF Leadership training curriculum. Must complete all agency requirements certifications within designated timeframes.
• Confidentiality: Adheres to all confidentiality rules.
• On-Call: This position expected to be available and on call at all times. The position carries an active cellphone during regularly scheduled work hours, as well as after hours and on weekends, in order to immediately respond to all calls.
• Must demonstrate sensitivity to our service population's cultural and socioeconomic characteristics and needs.

Physical Requirements:

• Must have a high level of energy, be adaptable to irregular hours, be flexible to cover on-call as needed, be able to travel as needed.

Education:
Must possess a bachelor's degree in human services field. Must have a Child Protection Certification. Master's Degree is preferred.

Experience:
Must have a minimum of three years of experience supervising child welfare programs, preferably in the Florida Dependency system.

Skills:

• Knowledge of theories and practice of child protection, social work, and family assessments.
• Knowledge of professional ethics related to child protection and counseling.
• Knowledge of theories of adult learning, ability to facilitate group and individual training activities
• Knowledge of physical and behavioral indicators of abuse and neglect.
• Knowledge of effective management skills.
• Knowledge of interviewing techniques.
• Knowledge of court procedures and legal requirements.
• Knowledge of methods of collecting, organizing, and analyzing data.
• Knowledge of supervision techniques.
• Skilled in direct observation of case manager's abilities in interacting appropriately with families, community stakeholders, service providers and other professionals.
• Ability to assess case manager's performance and develop performance improvement plans.
• Ability to analyze the effectiveness of service programs and identify resources or make adjustments needed to meet needs.
• Ability to plan, organize and coordinate work assignments.
• Ability to communicate effectively.
• Ability to effectively supervise staff members.
• Ability to understand and apply relevant laws, rules, regulations policies, and procedures.
• Ability to conduct thorough case staffings and other meetings.

Other:
Must demonstrate sensitivity to our service population's cultural and socioeconomic characteristics and needs.

Principal Accountabilities:

• Reports directly to assigned supervisors and directors
• Team player with co-workers, administrators, and funders
• Accurate, complete, and timely submission of required statistical reports
• Adherence to all licensing and quality assurance standards
• Adherence to agency policies and procedures

Why work for LSF?

LSF offers 60 programs across the state of Florida serving a wide range of populations in need. Mission Driven staff members become part of the LSF community while transforming the lives of those in need. Our staff additionally find growth opportunities as they explore areas of interest within the organization.

Amazing benefits package including:

• Medical, Dental and Vision
• Teledoc (24/7 online access to Doctors)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Employer paid life insurance (1X salary)
• 13 paid holidays + 1 floating holiday
• Generous PTO policy (starting at 16 working days a year)
• 403(b) Retirement plan with 3% discretionary employer match OR 3% student loan repayment reimbursement
• Tuition reimbursement

Lutheran Services Florida embraces diversity, equity and inclusion in all business practices. LSF is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.