QM Specialist - Independent Living

Mission Statement

The Childrens Network of Southwest Florida is committed to working with the community to protect children and preserve families.

General Purpose of Job

• Assist in the implementation of Quality Management system
• Develop and implement System of Care (SOC) policies and procedures
• Prepare and analyze monthly management and performance reports
• Complete the State and Federal reporting process
• Complete System of Care training programs
• Identify System of Care needs and provide technical assistance to supply them
• Deliver services that assure the safety, permanency, and well-being of children in the care of the Childrens Network of Southwest Florida
• Provide performance assessment and feedback at provider Team Meetings
• Perform programmatic monitoring of contracts
• Track and report incidents and complaints

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Participate in implementation of Quality Management System

• Participate in ALL Child Safety reviews per year
• Monitoring process will begin in July to June of every year
• Perform any other activities as needed by the CNSWF
• Participate in program monitoring as needed
• Perform court visits
• Implement and maintain Quality Improvement systems to:
  • Comply with Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)
  • Meet goals or improve current performance by 2%
  • Increase performance by 5% over current base

• Develop and implement System of Care procedures

• Develop new policies and procedures as needed
• Review existing policies and procedures to ensure consistency and compliance with Federal, State, Region and Local laws/mandates/policies/procedures as well as the agencys SOC.
• Maintain electronic / hard copy of approved policies and procedures
• Stay current with Federal and State Laws, rules, and best practices

• Performance Reporting

• Prepare and analyze monthly management and performance reports
• Provide analysis utilizing FSFN reports

• State and Federal Reporting

• All State and Federal reporting requirements will be met in a timely manner, including:
  • AFCAR error reports
  • CFSR Performance Improvement Plan
  • Independent Living Spending Plan
  • Independent Surveying Instruments (e.g., NYTD, Checklist etc.)
  • Other Reports as required

• Training

• Participate in all certification / training necessary for the fulfillment of job responsibilities
• Attend at least one approved conference annually
• Assure Child Professional certification is kept current
• Disseminate information from statewide/region meetings/conference calls to local staff to assure best practices are being implemented
• Identify SOC training needs and resources
• Coordinate training with Staff Development Unit

• Technical Assistance

• Identify technical assistance needs
• Provide technical assistance on federal and state laws, rules, programmatic and procedural issues
• Provide programmatic expertise for CMO Staff, External and Internal Customers re: potential benefit eligibility for youths 13 in Out of Home, Adoptions, Extended Foster Care (EFC), Postsecondary Educational Services and Support (PESS)

• Deliver services that assure the safety, permanency, and well-being of children

• Assure100% of youth between the ages of 13 to 17 in licensed foster care are referred to the IL service provider, are receiving the required Independent Living staffings, supports and services as required by law, and the IL specific court hearings are conducted timely
• Ensure 100% of youth between 13 to 17 in out of home unlicensed care are assessed for life skills at the appropriate intervals and services are implemented as needed, have a transitional plan at the statutorily required ages and IL court hearings are held in accordance with the law
• Assure 100% of youth Ensure all children aging out of care will be staffed at age 17 and a transitional plan is developed and implemented
• Conduct Quality Management Review on specific cases per directive of QM Director, COO, CEO

• Role of the Quality Management Specialist when conducting staffings of any type:

• Whenever possible, review relevant case information in advanceto gain knowledge of the most current issues (Clerk of Court, FSFN, ASK etc.)
• Always maintain a professional demeanor
• Maintain neutrality without alliance to any of the parties
• Engage all attendees participation in the meeting by requesting their perspective on the matters being discussed
• Listen objectively and consider all opinions provided
• Step in and mediate immediately if there are obvious personal attacks
• Be flexible and balance the need for participation with the need to keep things running efficiently and within the allotted timeframe
• Pay attention to group behavior, both verbal and non-verbal
• Recommendations / plans that are developed must be aligned with statute, code, policy and require either consensus by all participating attendees or approval by the court

• Team Meetings

• Participate in Case Management Organization Team Meetings and others relevant to area of expertise
• Provide performance report and assessment of improvement initiatives

• Complaint/incident tracking and reporting

• Follow up on incident reports when necessary
• Identify training and technical assistance needs
• Provide unit support for RTI Specialist as needed
• Provide unit support for Missing Child /Incident Reporting when that the primary Specialist is unavailable

• Other duties may be assigned as special projects may be requested

Working Hours

CNSWFLs work week is Monday through Friday, 40 hours per week. Your supervisor will advise you of your work hours; however, business office hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Travel

Travel in and outside of Circuit 20 (Lee, Charlotte, Collier and Hendry/Glades counties) is required.

Training

All employees must complete fifteen (15) hours of on-line or classroom Training on an annual basis. If the employee is a Certified Child Welfare Professional, Training hours must total twenty (20) annually.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position does not have direct supervisory responsibilities.

Education and Experience

• A bachelors degree from an accredited college or university in psychology, social work, sociology, or related human services degree.

• Official transcripts are a mandatory requirement

• Certification as a Child Protection Specialist within one year of hire, unless exempted by Childrens Network management. A minimum of two years experience in child welfare is preferred and knowledge of quality management systems and procedures

Skills and Abilities

Must be able to operate standard modern office machinery, including fax, telephone, calculator, computer, scanner, printer, copier, and mail machine. Must be competent with Microsoft Office Suite programs, including Word, Excel, Power Point, Access, Publisher, and Outlook. Must be competent with basic e-mail protocol and procedures including sending, receiving, replying, attachments, and meeting scheduling; excellent written and oral communication skills; effective listening skills; ability to work as a team member, and the ability to work in a multi-cultural environment. Must possess excellent organizational skills and abide by the highest standards of confidentiality.

pre-employment requirements

Certificates, License, Registrations, backgrounds, drug screens, Etc.

• Must meet the Childrens Network requirements for certification as a credentialed Child Welfare Case Manager within one year of hire into the position unless exempted by Childrens Network management
• Valid drivers license required, with proof of insurance
• Clean Drivers License check is a requirement
• Criminal background screening (fingerprinting) (Local Law Enforcement and FBI/FDLE)
• Drug Screening is a requirement
• Childrens Network participates in E-Verify

Other Requirements

Language Skills

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, board of directors, clients, customers, and the general public. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees.

Mathematical Skills

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, percentages, ability to draw and interpret bar graphs.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to be proactive, as well as handle problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This job requires the ability to sit for extended periods; walk; stand; use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel or crouch; talk and hear. This job requires visual acuity sufficient to read and to operate standard modern office machines. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This is administrative work in an indoor office environment with a moderate noise level (business machines, printers, computers, telephones).

ADA: Childrens Network of Southwest Florida, LLC will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

EEO: Childrens Network of Southwest Florida, LLC does not discriminate based on race, national origin, gender, religion, veteran status, or disability in employment, in provision of services, or in access to programs.

Childrens Network of Southwest Florida, LLC is a Drug-Free Workplace.

I certify that the statements above to the best of my knowledge accurately describe the duties performed and agree that I am qualified in education and skill to meet the requirements of the position. If the employee does not agree, indicate here:

• A bachelors degree from an accredited college or university in psychology, social work, sociology, or related human services degree.
  • Official transcripts are a mandatory requirement
• Certification as a Child Protection Specialist within one year of hire, unless exempted by Childrens Network management.
• A minimum of two years experience in child welfare is preferred and knowledge of quality management systems and procedures