Family Find Specialist

We're growing our innovative team at Paths for Families, dedicated to the life-long work of building and sustaining families.

Position Overview

The Family Find Specialist provides intensive case work services to achieve permanency and prevent entries into foster care for children and youth in Baltimore City. The Family Find Specialist works collaboratively with the Department and other providers to locate and engage relatives that can provide support and/or be a placement resource that will provide safety and stability preventing entries into foster care.  

The Family Find Specialist is a full-time, hybrid position with occasional travel in the Baltimore City area as needed. This position requires flexibility in the work schedule, with the ability to work occasional evenings and weekends if necessary.  

Who We Are

Paths for Families is an adoption and family well-being organization that partners with communities dedicated to the life-long work of building and sustaining families. For over 30 years, we've been here for expectant parents exploring adoption, birth parents, prospective and current adoptive families, children in need of adoption, people who were adopted, and professionals in the community. Our mission is to build and support healthy lifelong connections for every child and advocate for continuous improvement of systems that strengthen family well-being.

We practice IDEAS Principles (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, and Social Justice) and welcome all children, families, and team members regardless of gender identity, gender expression, age, race, religion, wealth, health, marital status, or sexual orientation. With IDEAS Principles as one of our core values, we believe in cultivating a healthy environment in which all employees feel supported while working to achieve our mission.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

• Provide a range of permanency services with a holistic child welfare approach for children/youth in the care and custody of Baltimore City Department of Social Services.
• Conduct a variety of assessment activities in collaboration with the children/youth.
• Coordinate and facilitate team meetings.
• Perform case mining on individual cases where appropriate, to include searching for family and significant figures in the child's life.
• Identify barriers and determine the most effective approach to achieving permanency.
• Meet with children/youth, foster parents, family members, extended relatives, and community members as a part of the search and engagement process.

Education & Experience

• Familiarity and knowledge of the public child welfare system.
• At least one year of relevant experience working with the public child welfare system (especially Family Preservation and Child Protective Services) is preferred.  

Preferred Skills & Abilities

• Excellent clinical skills and comfort interacting with a wide variety of adults and children from different socioeconomic, ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds.
• Excellent communication and time management skills.
• Ability to think and work independently and adjust work priorities and flow in fast-paced and dynamic work environment.
• Microsoft 365 Proficiency including SharePoint, OneDrive, Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Attention to detail and ability to identify critical elements.
• Ability to foster teamwork and collaboration between staff members, various service agencies and stakeholders.
• Demonstrate tact and discretion when dealing with confidential or sensitive information.
• Demonstrate initiative and creativity by working towards continuous improvement.
• Skilled in accessing, navigating, and researching internet searches, social media searches public records and court databases.
• Bilingual Spanish is a plus.

Paths for Families does not expect every applicant to have every skill and qualification listed here. A strong candidate interested in growing and learning in this role will possess at least 75% of the following qualifications. If this is you, then we strongly encourage you to apply for consideration.

Why Join Us?

If our mission and vision align with your personal values, we may be a good fit

This salary for this position is $64,000 - $67,000, commensurate with experience with full benefits including:

• Flexible working environment
• Paid Vacation & Sick Leave - Over 4 weeks to start
• Health, Dental & Vision Insurance - Including an HRA and FSA
• Paid Life, Short-Term, and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• 401k Retirement Plan with employer match
• Paid Holiday Leave And more

To apply, a detailed cover letter outlining your qualifications for the position along with your resume is required. Interviews will be conducted virtually.

Additional Notes

Each employee is required to complete (and maintain as necessary) a physical exam to include a TB test, a criminal background check in identified jurisdictions, and Child Protective Services Registries check in identified jurisdictions, and orientation training.

Paths for Families is an equal opportunity employer and offers a pleasant, flexible work environment. To learn more, please visit https://pathsforfamilies.org/careers/

Principals only, no recruiters. No phone calls please.