Regional Director

Office location: Central Region (Springfield, Decatur, and Quincy)

Travel is regularly expected to site and the surrounding counties for work related responsibilities.

What We Do

Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois improves the well-being of people across the state by protecting children, strengthening families and building futures for those who have experienced trauma. We do this as a leading provider of a variety of child welfare services. LCFS is a welcoming organization serving children, individuals, families and communities of all faiths, races, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender expressions and gender-identifications.

Who We Are

• Champions in supporting children, youth and families throughout Illinois so they are able to reach their full potential.
• Dynamic and innovative leadership who believe in collaboration with their team of professionals and are revolutionizing the impact on services to families.
• A community which embraces and is committed to being WIDE (welcoming, inclusive, diverse and equitable).
• Impacting the child welfare community by addressing institutional racism and implicit bias to increase positive outcomes for children and families of color.
• Creating a culture focused on supporting families and ensuring all children find safe, loving permanent homes, particularly by reuniting them with their families.
  
  
  

Under the direction of the Associate Vice President, the Director is part of the child welfare team that leads the achievement of the LCFS vision for all children and families having the opportunity for safe, healthy and meaningful lives. The Director specifically leads a team of Managers and Supervisors who are responsible for direct service Child Welfare Specialists in foster care, home based services, licensing and other supportive child welfare, medical and mental health personnel building relationships, supports, partnerships and strengths amongst youth, families and communities to ensure the achievement of safety, permanency and well-being. Some goals are:

• Family reunification;
• Prevention of substitute care placement;
• Successful and sustainable transitions and maintenance in the least restrictive family living arrangements;
• Wraparound and case coordination services for social, emotional and physical well-being;
• Natural and formal life-long supports, connections, safety, stability and permanency;
• Supportive trauma informed, family centered and strengths based linkages, positive development and collaborative services;
• Highly competent, well-resourced and committed workforce, system of care and service delivery dedicated to positive children and family results.
  
  
  

Job Responsibilities (non-exhaustive List)

• Leads a team of managers, supervisors and direct service child welfare professionals in partnering with children, parents and community providers to assess, plan, evaluate and make linkages for in-home stabilization, prevention, safety, permanency and well-being outcomes.
• Implementation of home-based, foster care and specialized services for youth and families through management and direction of staff who are responsible for service delivery.
• Collaborate with multi disciplinary teams and partners for continuous quality improvement, interventions, service delivery and the achievement of program outcomes
• Represents, markets and promotes the program vision, goals and works toward growth, development and alignment across the site, region and other areas of jurisdiction. (This includes seeking expansion opportunities, leverage for alliances, referrals and the assurance of agency visibility, resource availability, program/ process development and solution-focused barrier elimination.)
• Provides effective supervision, mediation, problem resolution, oversight and crisis response to staff by effectively responding to workforce, parent, child, provider and other stakeholder concerns and demonstrating the ability to effectively manage crisis and difficult case situations. (This includes ensuring coverage for on-call support and supervisory mechanisms are in place/efficient.)
• Assesses and maintains knowledge of child welfare and population specific laws, policies and trends for recommending program adjustments and implementation that aides program effectiveness, children, families and communities.
• Adheres to the agency strategic plan and goals for operational growth, interviewing, training and evaluation of employees for the site/region that yields a competent, well-resourced workforce and effective provision of services.
• Provide oversight, input and supervisory action and consultation to administrative and managerial staff in charge of the various functional service areas on a regular basis concerning local site/regional matters, including workforce, programs, services, budget, site operational needs and overall Agency performance outcomes. (This includes measuring and achieving performance on Key Performance Indicators metrics/dashboards, etc.)
• Confers with the Associate Vice President concerning budgetary and organizational recommendations for programs and services. (This includes monitoring and adherence to agency and contractual policies, practices and regulations for fiscal management, revenue/expense recoupment, census tracking, ratios and reporting toward agency objectives.)
• Directs the processes for case management activities such as assignment, transfer, closings and assessment of workloads, issue analysis, service authorizations, critical decisions and practice recommendations.
• Represents clients’ needs and Agency interest to referral sources, DCFS, the judicial system and governmental agencies.
• Exercise discretion and judgment (under supervision) in performance of duties in conformance with applicable policies, procedures, statutes, rules and regulations
• Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the within the values, philosophy, policies procedures and scope of the duties enumerated above.
  
  
  

Knowledge And Abilities

• Knowledge of risk and safety assessment, and developing effective safety plans that reduce/mitigate future risk of child abuse, neglect and improve child safety.
• Ability to write, prepare and give clear, actionable. accurate, and comprehensive feedback for reports or documents.
• Knowledge of child mental health, development, educational
• Knowledge of the medical and mental health diagnosis, treatment methodologies and crisis intervention for high risk situations
• Knowledge of readiness of change, grief, human development and the impact of trauma.
• Knowledge and understanding of the role of a change agent and interventions needed for a successful helping relationship and maintenance of confidentiality
• Ability to demonstrate critical thinking skills, be detail oriented with highly effective verbal, facilitation and written communication skills
• Ability to develop skills and the skills of others via training, application and supervision.
• Knowledge and ability to be open and accepting of other’s ethnicities, race, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE)
• Proficiency in the usage of computer software; demonstrate an understanding of computer file systems and databases, e.g., Microsoft Office, Excel, Outlook, Teams, etc.
• Ability to travel and work flexible hours
  
  
  

Educational/Experience Requirements

MSW or masters in a related human service field with 5 years of related experience and 3 years of prior supervisory experience in child and family casework services. Management experience involving multiple staff in several locations and outcomes performance is highly preferred. Candidates must also have a demonstrated ability to plan, budget, organize and communicate in a management capacity. A Child Welfare Employee License (CWEL) in IL is required. Candidates must be able to obtain pass the Child Care Act and 402 Licensing Exam within 6 months of hire, if not already obtained. (Proficiency in speaking, reading and writing in English and Spanish preferred.)

PHYSICAL AND SPECIAL DEMANDS

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to sit. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, or controls; reach with hands and arms. Objects include a computer and keyboard, calculator, typical business machines such as a fax machine and copier. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision and the ability to adjust focus. The employee may work in and/or visit Agency offices, children and families throughout Illinois and must be able to transport him/herself to these environments. The employee is required to have a valid driver’s license and must be able to safely operate a motor vehicle.

LCFS is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.