Licensing Specialist

Join our team at FSS and enjoy comprehensive benefits including but not limited to:

• Tuition Reimbursement: Earn up to $5,250 per qualifying year to invest in your education.
• Health Insurance: Choose from three comprehensive Florida Blue health insurance plans to keep you and your family covered.
• Dental Plan: Enjoy an employer-paid dental plan for our valued employees.
• Life Insurance: Your peace of mind matters to us. We provide employer-paid life insurance.
• Well-Being Program: Stay healthy and engaged with our highly interactive well-being program.
• Paid Time Off (PTO): Relax and recharge with our generous PTO plan. You can even earn three additional days per plan year!
• Bereavement Leave: We offer 3 paid days of bereavement leave annually to ease the burden during a family member's passing.
• Paid Holidays: Enjoy the 12 holidays without the worry of receiving a paycheck (to include 1 floating holiday) and unwind with family and friends to celebrate and rejuvenate!
• 401k Plan with Matching: Secure your financial future with our 401k plan and employer matching.
• Additional Benefits: Explore our range of benefits, including Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Vision Plan, Short & Long-Term Disability coverage, Employee Discounts, and more.
  
  

The mission of Family Support Services is to be the leader in providing safety, stability, and quality of life for all children by working with the community to strengthen the family unit.

Job Summary

The major function of this position includes the initial and relicensing of family foster homes and ensuring statutory licensing requirements and guidelines are met. Responsible for assuring that the licensing of foster homes are in compliance with State standards and that we maintain and retain our foster homes. This position provides support to caregivers and assists with service coordination as needed. This position will be working in partnership with child welfare professionals from Department of Children and Families, Family Support Services and our subcontracted case management organizations. This position will work closely with the FSS placement team. This position will be part of our direct service personnel.

Essential Duties

• Responsible for providing completed re-licensing packets to the Licensing Supervisor 50 days prior to license expiration for a comprehensive review prior to DCF submission. Responsible for timely completion and submission of licensing packets to DCF.
• Completion of quarterly visits with foster parents.
• Contacting foster parents within a 48 hour time frame when new placements are made. Ensuring that any services they need are in place and then following up with placement/case management to let them know if anything is needed.
• Contact foster parent pre-service participants within 72 hours of assignment to begin initial licensing home study and completion of packet.
• Notification to placement/data of client placement activities (runaways, hospitalizations, moves) ASAP to ensure proper payment to foster parents.
• Complete follow-up on deficient packets as directed, usually 24 hour to 5 day period.
• Responsible for in-home visit for re-licensing purposes.
• Maintain accurate foster home records. Responsible for ensuring that all foster homes are in compliance with State standards.
• Provide documentation for evaluation / recommendation of foster home changes or closures.
• Attend Foster Home Association meetings on a scheduled rotation basis.
  
  

Other Duties

• Attend quarterly trainings and recruitment events. As needed
• Attend foster home related staffings. As needed
• Be available for foster parents if they have questions or concerns or need support. Always
• To treat foster parents, the public and co-workers with courtesy, respect and dignity and present a positive public image. Always
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.

Experience: Prior experience with licensing and working with at risk children preferred.

Licensure, Certification, and/or Registration: Valid drivers license. Current certification in First Aid and CPR is recommended. Florida child welfare case management certification is required for this position- active certification or ability to meet criteria for certification.

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.

Ability To

• Understand and commit to the FSS mission
• Represent self and the organization in a professional manner with strong emphasis on customer service
• Work independently with minimal direct supervision
• Communicate effectively verbally and in writing with professionalism and respect
• Work directly with caregivers to help them understand and meet licensure and benefit requirements
• Understand and interpret Florida statutes, Florida administrative rule, policies and procedures
• Determine work priorities, assign work, and ensure proper completion of work assignments within required timeframes
• Mange time effectively
• Work collaboratively with professionals within and outside of our organization.
• Demonstrate personal leadership to include working with integrity, maintaining ethical standards, adhering to agency expectations and policies for professional conduct.
  
  

Skills

• Strong written and verbal communication
• Strong organizational and time management
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office to include Excel and Word. Experience with Power Point and Outlook.
  
  

Other Requirements

• Clear a Level II background screening.
• Clear a reference check.
• Clear a local background check from the County in which you reside.
• Clear a substance abuse screen.
• Provide a copy of all degrees prior to your first day of employment.
• Clear a Motor Vehicles Records check and must be insurable under the company’s automobile policy.
• Provide copy of automobile insurance.
• Provide proof of and maintain a minimum personal auto liability insurance level $100,000/$300,000 if deemed to be a driving risk.
• Clear an E-Verify check to substantiate that the successful candidate meets the Department of Homeland Security authorization requirements to work in the United States (for more information visit www.dhs.gov/e-verify
  
  

Family Support Services Team Members Follow 5 Core Values

Partnership: At FSS, a belief that we are better together is core to who we are. Partnership is an essential component of a healthy system of care. Our team is committed to a respectful, open-minded, collaborative approach to co-creating solutions with the community. This extends to the children and families we serve as well.

Excellence: FSS challenges ourselves to always strive for better on behalf of those we serve. We foster innovative practices, encourage continuous quality improvement, and engage in strategic planning with our partners to achieve the highest possible outcomes for children, families, and the community.

Accountability: FSS recognizes our leadership role within the system of care and strives to be accountable to the community by being trustworthy partners. FSS is committed to ethical and transparent practices, and to operate with integrity as we pursue positive outcomes.

Compassion: We recognize that we often meet families at their most challenging moment and people are more than the sum of their circumstances. We provide trauma-sensitive care for the children and families in our system to reach their full potential. We embrace a service leadership approach and commit to finding the strengths in everyone we encounter while we foster resiliency.

Equity: Equity goes beyond the fair treatment of all people. For FSS, equity is the commitment to recognize the social justice issues intrinsic to our work with marginalized communities. We strive to amplify the voices of individuals and families impacted by poverty, racism, and discrimination in any form. We obligate ourselves to a belief that none of these factors should be a predictor of child welfare involvement or outcomes.

FSS is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information. FSS is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. If you require a reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to Human Resources at c6.hr@fssnf.org.