Foster Home Support Specialist

Responsibilities and Duties: Working under the supervision of the Lead Foster Home Support Specialist, the Foster Home Support Specialist (FHSS) is primarily responsible for conducting training, interviews, home visits, and writing the home study to get MillarRich Children’s Services (MCS) Foster Parents approved to provide foster care services for children in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS). In addition, the Foster Home Support Specialist is responsible to provide ongoing support to the Foster Parents and to ensure home compliance is maintained. The Foster Home Support Specialist maintains an ongoing on-call status to respond to urgent and/or emergent situations for families supported.

Specific Duties include:

1. Teaching Knowledge Empowers You (KEY) courses and monitoring completion of all pre-approval training; 
2. Completing file audits of Foster Parent candidates’ submitted documents in the MillarRich Children’s Services (MCS) online database system to ensure submission and accuracy and thoroughness of content in the completion of the documents;
3. Completing KEY training assessments and issuing training certificates when the Foster Parent candidates have met the KEY training requirements;
4. Tracking initial training for MCS Foster Parents;
5. Conducting interviews, completing home visits, and writing home studies as outlined in DCS policies and procedures;
6. Reviewing draft documents of the Minimum Contractual Outcomes (MCO) and Contract with all MCS Foster Parent candidates to ensure they have a clear understanding of expectations and what it means to contract with MillarRich;
7. Entering MCS Foster Parent information into Tennessee Family and Child Tracking System (TFACTS), uploading the home study and requesting DCS approval upon completion;
8. Notifying the Lead Foster Home Support Specialist of any inappropriate MCS Foster Parent candidates so those candidates can be screened out and sent a declination letter;
9. Participating in ongoing development meetings for children’s services to ensure MillarRich is adapting as changes are made at the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, needed policies and procedures are identified, and best practices are implemented;
10. Participating in Initiation of Services (IOS) meetings to help identify appropriate matches between children referred and families completing the process to become MCS Foster Parents, creatively thinking outside the box to overcome barriers to services and helping problem solve challenges;
11. Assigning and monitoring for completion refresher training for MCS Foster Parents, including auditing and tracking Relias Training , Mock Fire Drill, Crisis Prevention Training, Medication Administration, CPR and First Aid, when applicable; 
12. Completing bi-monthly or quarterly home visits as outlined in the DCS Visitation Policy to monitor home compliance and provide support to Foster Parents and maintaining documentation of these visits in the DCS and MillarRich database systems;
13. Completing assigned reassessments of foster homes to ensure they stay in compliance;
14. Submitting addendums for demographic or structural changes (e.g., home address, number of persons living in home, etc.) occurring in assigned homes as needed;
15. Overseeing the implementation of all record keeping processes for MCS Foster Parents to ensure that all required initial and ongoing documentation is adequately filed and available for review by any team member including: 
16. Tracking and monitoring renewals of all home and vehicle insurance for MCS Foster Parents, working to secure copies of compliant insurance declarations, if insurance documentation requires updating;
17. Tracking driver’s license renewals for MCS Foster Parents;
18. Tracking nursing license renewals for MCS Foster Parents;
19. Tracking vehicle registration renewals for MCS Foster Parents;
20. Acquiring and tracking the completion of Abuse, Neglect or Exploitation (ANE) and Attestation forms on an annual and bi-annual basis, respectively;
21. Teaching and tracking ongoing training courses to ensure MCS Foster Parents have the opportunity to obtain the required annual training;
22. Assisting Foster Parents with the development of professional self care plans and providing support to ensure they are being implemented;
23. Providing Foster Parents support and links to resources as needed when situations arise;
24. Ensuring appropriate background checks and training are completed and maintained for all respite providers;
25. Developing and maintaining strong relationships with all relevant stakeholders (e.g., Prospective and Active Foster Parents, Family Service Workers (FSWs), State personnel, DCS Program Specialists, etc.) to promote effective communication, effective identification of solutions as problems arise, and high satisfaction;
26. Documenting efforts made toward collaboration, document obtainment, etc. in the MCS documentation system.
27. Other duties may be assigned as circumstances warrant.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Personal Characteristics:

1. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college with a major in social work or a related discipline is required.
2. At least one year of previous training experience preferred.
3. One year of experience as Home Study writer preferred.
4. Knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Word is required.
5. Ability to learn new computer programs and perform data entry assignments with precision and reliability. 
6. Attention to detail is mandatory with this position.
7. Excellent interpersonal/human relation skills.
8. Excellent oral and written communication skills.
9. Ability to maintain confidentiality.
10. Ability to work autonomously and work flexible hours, as situations require.
11. Ability to plan, organize and prioritize events within the office setting. Managing stressful situations utilizing excellent problem-solving techniques is required.  
12. Outgoing and positive disposition.