Are you searching for a way to use your compassion, knowledge, and leadership skills? Camelot Care Centers have offered a broad range of youth and family services since 1972. All services provided are designed to maintain children at the lowest and least restrictive yet the most appropriate level of care and to support or seek permanent living arrangements. Camelot Care Centers ("Camelot") is a Child Welfare Agency licensed by the State of Illinois, a member of the Child Care Association of Illinois, and is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA).

Camelot Care Centers is a subsidiary of Pathways, a mental health family of providers, that offers foster care, mentoring, community based and outpatient counseling services to support children, their families, and adults in the most effective and respectful manner. Our employees live out their passion for helping the community and are looking for a hardworking, dedicated, and passionate person to join the team!

For your passion and dedication, we offer paid training, career advancement opportunities, medical/dental/vision, PTO, paid holidays, and much, much more (read below)! We realize that your growth is paramount to our continued reputation of quality and service excellence, so we are ready to invest in YOU from day one!About Your Role:Ensures that intensive family finding initiatives are pursued for children under DCFS guardianship to facilitate and encourage kinship connections, possible placement and long term support. Uses strong communication and engagement skills to collaborate with staff, other providers, and community members to perform job duties.Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Conduct extensive research, investigation and outreach in locating absentee parents/guardians.

Identify and locate potential extended family/fictive kinship relationships.

Provide professional technical assistance and resource development support to case managers who serve children with specialized and problematic behavior service needs.

Assist the family caseworker with facilitating the expansion of resources needed to better serve children and their families involved in foster care.

Travel to various locations to attend meetings, conferences, or to locate and assess family homes as needed.

Utilize a family-centered, trauma-informed, strength-based, and equity, diversity and inclusion lens through which youth and family needs are assessed.

Engage youth (as age-appropriate), birth parents, family and social connections, foster parents, and staff to facilitate and support stability and permanency for the youth.

Use non-traditional search methods to identify and locate family members and supportive connections.

Use data analysis to conduct diligent search activities across multiple databases, systems, social media, and other websites. Will complete required forms and SACWIS documentation, send written correspondence, and log / track data for use by the foster care team.

Use ecomaps, genograms, and other tools to map and locate prospective supports and placement resources for the youth and family.

Serve as a team member within the multidisciplinary team or Child and Family Team Meeting consisting of case manager, supervisor, foster parent, birth parents and youth to facilitate connections between newly found family/fictive kin members, supports, and other collateral resources to resolve complex and stalled cases to improve permanency outcomes.

Identify and engage familial supports and connections including relatives and fictive kin for the purpose of life-long connections and permanency achievement.

Works with Case Management and Clinical teams to explore regional and statewide resources for families.

Assists with subcontracting process for needed services for families involved with Camelot.

Participates in the Continuous Quality Improvement processes at the local level.

Provides consultation to staff on family finding for youth in care.

Other duties as assigned

Physical Aspects and Work Environment:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, talk and hear.

The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms, and climb or balance.

The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl.

The employee may occasionally be required to lift and /or move up to 20 pounds.

Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and ability to adjust focus.

The noise level is generally moderate.

This position requires travel of approximately 75% of the time.

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

Required Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree in Human Service areas as approved by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services; demonstrated success in client engagement, organization, and timeliness in documentation.

Compliance with State or contractual requirements.

The above degrees will need to have course curriculums/transcripts reviewed and approved before being accepted under this employment classification. Coursework must exceed 50% concentration in the above areas of human services to qualify for exemption.

Education and Experience:

Bachelor's degree with experience in investigation, research, and working with families.

Experience in child welfare preferred.

The number of years of experience and exact type of experience shall be in accordance with applicable state requirements.

Certifications, Licenses, and Registration:

CERAP preferred

DCFS licensure (CWEL) preferred

Valid State Driver’s License (In good standing.)

If moving to Illinois after position is accepted, must obtain an Illinois Driver’s License within 30 days from Date of Hire.

Appropriate automobile insurance (at least state minimum)

Additional Qualifications:

Valid State Driver’s License (In good standing).

If moving to Illinois after position is accepted, must obtain an Illinois Driver’s License within 30 days from Date of Hire.

Current physical and TB (PPD) test within 30 days of employment.

Appropriate automobile insurance (at least state minimum)

Signed employee acknowledgement of physical health and infection control responsibilities.

Ability to handle confidential information.

Ability to utilize computer programs including but not limited to Microsoft Word, Excel, and other office software products.

Essential Skills:Language Skills

Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.

Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.

Ability to communicate effectively with employees, managers, clients, vendors and others.

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, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

Reasoning Skills

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.

Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations

Additional Eligibility Qualifications:

Current physical and TB (PPD) test within 30 days of employment.

Signed employee acknowledgement of physical health and infection control responsibilities.

Ability to work as a team member

Investigative skills

Technology driven

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Time management skills

Ability to work flexible hours

Perks of Working with Camelot Care Centers (Pathways):

Competitive Salary

Paid Vacation Days (1st year 7 days; increases with tenure)

Paid Sick Days (Accrual per pay period)

9 Paid Holidays (including Day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve)

Medical, Dental, Vision including a Health Savings Account or FSA

Health, Dependent and Transportation Flexible Spending Accounts

Basic and Optional Life Insurance for Employee, Spouse and/or Dependents

401K

Access to Daily Pay: get instant access to daily earnings and never wait for payday gain!

If you're #readytowork Pathways is #readytohire!

Not the job you’re looking for?

To Learn More About Us:

Pathways @ http://www.pathways.com/mission-vision-and-values/

Pathways @ https://www.pathways.com/

Pathways is an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic.