Community Care Worker

Portland, ME | Community & Social Services | Full-time

Apply by: Jan. 9, 2025

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Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)Resource Family/Foster Care LicensingOpening Date: December 26, 2024Closing Date: January 9, 2025Job Class Code:5088

Grade: 21 (Pro & Tech. Svcs.)

Salary:$21.54 – $30.14 per hourPosition Number:02000-3534Location: Portland

Core Responsibilities:

As a Community Care Worker you will ensure resource family home applicants meet required standards to be approved as a licensed resource family capable of providing foster, adoptive and/or permanency guardianship services to children in care of the Department. With the Department’s focus on prioritizing placement of children with kinship families, you will be expected to explain the resource approval process to placement families and actively support these families through the steps to become an approved resource. Your duties will include:

1. Conducting home studies, foster home investigations to determine possible violations, or kinship assessments for relatives and fictive kin placements

2. Assisting in securing placements for youth entering care through OCFS utilizing available resources and best placement practices.

3. Playing a key role in providing information to teams about strengths which an approved resource family can contribute toward meeting the needs of a specific child.

4. Providing ongoing support to resource family applicants and approved resource families

5. Recruiting and providing training and support to resource families.

This work requires frequent overtime, emergency kinship coverage, and other overtime according to operational need. Additionally, this position regularly travels within the geographic area served by the District Office.

Minimum Qualifications:

In order to qualify, you must have a Bachelor’s Degree in a Social Services or a Behavioral Science area -OR- a four-year combination of education, training, and/or professional experience providing services to and working directly with children and/or families. Experience must demonstrate proficiency in public contact work, information gathering, analysis, documentation, and collaboration. The background of well-qualified candidates will demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Knowledge of motivational interviewing and information gathering methods and techniques.

2. Proven ability to gather and analyze information, reach valid conclusions, and make sound recommendations (please provide specific examples representative of your experience).

3. Ability to develop and conduct recruitment and training workshops and meetings.

4. Strong oral and written communications skills.

Thinking about applying?

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Agency information:

TheDepartment of Health and Human Services (https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/) (DHHS) is dedicated to promoting health, safety, resilience, and opportunity for Maine people. The Department provides health and social services to approximately a third of the State's population, including children, families, older Mainers, and individuals with disabilities, mental illness, and substance use disorders. The Department also promotes public health, operates two state psychiatric hospitals, and provides oversight to health care providers.

The Office of Child & Family Services (OCFS), within DHHS is responsible for ensuring the safety, permanency and well-being of children and families through community networks, local resources, and life-long family connections throughout Maine.

Application Information:

Please submit all documents or files in PDF format.

For additional information about this position please contact Michelle Freeman at 207-822-2178. To apply, please upload a recent resume (if available) and cover letter addressing each of the preferred skills/experience areas above.

To request a paper application, please contact Mandy.L.Harman@Maine.gov

Benefits of working for the State of Maine:

No matter where you work across Maine state government, you find employees who embody our state motto—"Dirigo" or "I lead"—as they provide essential services to Mainers every day. We believe in supporting our workforce's health and wellbeing with a valuable total compensation package, including:

• Work-Life Fit – Rest is essential. Take time for yourself using 13 paid holidays , 12 days of sick leave , and 3+ weeks of vacation leave annually. Vacation leave accrual increases with years of service, and overtime-exempt employees receive personal leave.

• Health Insurance Coverage – The State of Maine pays 85%-95% of employee-only premiums ($11,196.96 - $12,514.32 annual value), depending on salary. Use this chart to find the premium costs for you and your family, including the percentage of dependent coverage paid by the State.

• Dental Insurance – The State of Maine pays 100% of employee-only dental premiums ($387.92 annual value).

• Retirement Plan – The State contributes the equivalent of 13.29% of the employee's pay towards the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS).

• Parental leave is one of the most important benefits for any working parent. All employees who are welcoming a child—including fathers and adoptive parents—receivesix weeks of fully paid parental leave. Additional, unpaid leave may also be available, under the Family and Medical Leave Act .

  State employees are eligible for an extensive and highly competitive benefits package (https://www.maine.gov/bhr/state-jobs/compensation-benefits) , covering many aspects of wellness. Learn about additional wellness benefits for State employees from the Office of Employee Health and Wellness (https://www.maine.gov/bhr/oeh/) .

  Note: Benefits may vary somewhat according to specific collective bargaining agreements and are prorated for anything less than full-time.

There's a job and then there's purposeful, transformative work. Our aim is to create a workplace where you can learn, grow, and continuously refine your skills. Applicants demonstrate job requirements in differing ways, and we appreciate that many skills and backgrounds can make people successful in this role.

As an Equal Opportunity employer, Maine State Government embraces a culture of respect and awareness. We are committed to creating a strong sense of belonging for all team members, and our process ensures an inclusive environment to applicants of all backgrounds including diverse race, color, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, physical or mental disability, religion, age, ancestry, national origin, familial status or genetics.

If you’re looking for a great next step, and want to feel good about what you do, we’d love to hear from you. Please note reasonable accommodations are provided to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request.