Summary of Position
The Elevated Needs Specialist plays a vital role in advancing the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition’s mission to deliver high-quality foster care services for youth with complex behavioral, emotional, and medical needs. This position focuses on strengthening community-based care by working closely with partner agencies to recruit, train, and retain foster families capable of supporting children who require a higher level of care—helping to prevent unnecessary placement in restrictive residential settings.
The Specialist facilitates comprehensive training for prospective Elevated Needs foster parents, conducting evening sessions once per week over a nine-week period, typically serving two cohorts annually. Beyond training, the role provides ongoing support to foster families through regular home visits, often scheduled in the evening to accommodate caregivers’ availability. Elevated Needs Specialists manage a caseload of up to ten families, monitoring children’s well-being, ensuring adherence to treatment plans, and promoting placement stability.
As part of a growing program, the Elevated Needs Specialist actively contributes to continuous program evaluation and improvement. Working collaboratively with the Elevated Needs Team, the Specialist helps deliver ongoing training and support to licensed foster and adoptive parents throughout Missouri. This position offers a meaningful opportunity to help build a critical service that strengthens foster placements and improves long-term outcomes for children in care.
Essential Functions & Responsibilities
- Educate and Support Families: Provide education, guidance, and ongoing support to individuals and families navigating foster care, adoption, guardianship, and Elevated Needs/Treatment Foster Care (TFC).
- Resource Coordination: Assist families in identifying, accessing, and utilizing appropriate community resources and support services.
- Assess Foster Parent Readiness: Conduct initial and ongoing assessments of foster parent competencies, including Elevated Needs and Treatment Foster Care, to ensure preparedness and effective caregiving.
- Maintain Ongoing Communication: Engage in consistent communication with families participating in training and services through phone, virtual, and in-person contact.
- Deliver Flexible Training: Facilitate training sessions during evenings (after 5 p.m.) and select weekends on a rotating schedule.
- Support Placement Stability: Conduct in-home and community-based visits to address concerns, reinforce treatment plans, and promote stable placements.
- Documentation and Data Management: Complete accurate, timely documentation and maintain activity logs, assessments, progress notes, and required reports using agency systems, including Salesforce.
- Promote Cultural Responsiveness: Demonstrate cultural humility and inclusivity in all interactions, ensuring respectful engagement with individuals from diverse backgrounds and identities.
- Professional Collaboration: Participate in supervision, training, coaching, and team-based collaboration to support professional growth and program effectiveness.
- Timely Responsiveness: Respond promptly and professionally to inquiries from families, partners, and other professionals.
- Meetings and Engagement: Attend team, agency, and professional meetings, with in-person participation when feasible.
- Program Outreach: Support community awareness of the Elevated Needs and Treatment Foster Care programs through presentations, outreach, and speaking engagements.
- See job description for a complete list of responsibilities.
Qualifications & Requirements
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in social work or a related field required.
Experience
- Demonstrated experience working with interdisciplinary teams utilizing innovative strategies to overcome obstacles.
- Direct experience in the child welfare field with knowledge of foster care and adoption and experience in family interview, engagement, and assessment.
- Proven ability to coach foster parents in trauma-informed approaches to support youth with complex emotional and behavioral needs.