Home Study Specialist (1285)

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

LSF is seeking a talented Home Study Specialist who wants to make an impact in the lives of others.

Purpose and Impact:

The Home Study Specialist provides critical support to the child welfare case management teams through conducting comprehensive assessments for potential placement of children with removal parents, non-custodial parents, relatives and non-relatives to ensure children are placed in a familiar and least restrictive environment while in out of home care. This position also responds to out of county requests for home studies and assumes a caseload of out of county (non-jurisdictional) cases for supportive case management. 

Essential Functions: 

• Participates in all staffing for cases involving families in which unsupervised visitation and/or reunification is planned for the parents and children. Makes recommendations for appropriate service planning and safety management. 
• Initiates requests for out of county home studies within two working days of assignment and completes within 14 business days. 
• Maintains a caseload of out of county cases to support case management team. 
• Refers families for reunification support services in order to provide family, individual, or other counseling/services to ensure a robust safety management plan is in place prior to and post reunification. 
• Engage potential relatives and non-relatives in the home study assessment process. 
• Schedule potential placement resources for necessary background screening. 
• Work with community providers and stakeholders to minimize barriers to placement in prospective homes. 
• Coordinate the tracking of all referrals for home studies for children and share updates with case management teams on a weekly basis or as appropriate. 
• Maintain professional communications and teamwork as a liaison with referral agencies.  
• Serve as an advocate for family preservation/unity. 
• Ensure home study assessments are thorough, uploaded in FSFN, and filed accordingly with the courts. 
• Attend staff meetings, supervision sessions and inter-agency staffing on clients as required. 

Other Functions: 

• Responsible to carry and maintain an agency cellular phone. Other duties reasonable assigned by the Quality Assurance Manager/Program Director. 
• Adhere to professional standards and ethics. 
• Effective clinical and case management/support services to client and families assigned by the program. 
• Effective function as a team player 
• Effective leadership as a co-worker/team player. 
• Empowerment, assuring proper professional accountability 
• Effective assumption of additional responsibilities as assigned by the Quality Assurance Manager/Program Director 
• Accurate, complete and timely documentation of client case information in the FSFN child welfare system. 
• Accurate, complete and timely submission of reports and documents as required by LSF. 

Physical Requirements: 

Ability to drive, operate a computer, sit for long periods of time, develop coherent written correspondence and progress notes, perform light lifting, as needed. 

Possess a valid Florida driver’s license and be able to use own vehicle to perform job duties. Ability to travel locally and out of the area in the execution of professional duties and training/conferences. 

Education: 

• Master’s degree in human services field preferred; Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services required; 

Experience: 

• A minimum of one year of child welfare leadership experience (Florida preferred). Must pass child welfare certification within one year of hire or possess current child welfare certification. 

Skills: 

Good written and verbal communication, time management, organizational and interpersonal leadership skills. Ability to function in a team setting, and professionally serve a diverse multi-cultural client population. Must have good organizational, verbal and written skills. Dependability, discretion and good judgment, ability to communicate effectively with clients, parents, co-workers, volunteers, governmental and other agencies and the general public.  

Other: 

• Must demonstrate sensitivity to our service population’s cultural and socioeconomic characteristics and needs.  

Principal Accountabilities: 

• Team player with other members of the Case Management Organization and colleagues employed by Lutheran Services Florida (LSF). 
• Adherence to the Personal Policies and Procedures of Lutheran Services Florida and the policies of Dependency Case Management. 
• Professional execution of program responsibilities to the Lead Agency and Department of Children and Families as the grantor agencies and the source of the program referrals.  
• Adherence to the professional standards and ethics of the social service and counseling profession.  
• Faithful adherence to work rules, documentation of work hours, availability to an on-call status to clients and maintenance of communication with program administration as to whereabouts on agency time.  

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
• Teladoc (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