This is a professional social services position for the Medical Foster Care (MFC) program reporting to the Registered Nursing Supervisor. The individual in this position utilizes the social work process to provide pediatric and family social work expertise in the assessment, training, implementation, and evaluation of MFC program services.
This position is designated as on-site, though it may begin remotely until the on-site transition is implemented.
Your Specific Responsibilities:
Assessment: Completes pre-service assessment for potential MFC parent. Completes interview and written assessment of prospective MFC parents and their home environment, including a home visit for on-site observation review. Completes annual and, as needed, written assessment of evaluative process of MFC parent providers services from the social work and administrative perspective. Completes quarterly MFC parent and child/youth dyad assessments in context of the MFC child/youth's specific care needs, to evaluate MFC parent strengths, skills, and needs for quality and safety in-home service provision under the MFC program. Retention of MFC parents.
Completes assessments from social work perspectives. Provides, at least quarterly, comprehensive review of MFC parent provider documentation requirements. Completes documentation from social work and administrative perspectives. Completes, at least quarterly, home visits for assessment purposes and observation of the condition of the home and interaction of the MFC child/youth in the MFC home setting from the social work perspective. Completes community visits as needed for additional assessment needs, from the social work perspective. Assesses availability of MFC beds statewide by conducting initial and monthly statewide MFC bed searches, as requested and directed by Community-Based Care (CBC) organization and Department of Children and Families (DCF), when local MFC beds are unavailable for referred children/youth.
Completes psychosocial summary information, tracks responses to requests and provides follow up information as indicated by local area offices and central office. For fee-for-service (FFS) Medicaid clients, completes MFC child/youth social work assessments.
Communication: Provides quality verbal and written communication with MFC and community stakeholders to ensure understanding and engagement throughout process. Facilitates coordination in the scheduling of MFC staffing's ensuring timely notification and engagement of necessary MFC stakeholders including but not limited the MFC client's Medicaid Managed Medical Assistance (MMA) plan and CBC representative. Engages, advocates, and supports opportunities for current or future caregiver participation, as appropriate, and family-centered approaches in the MFC program.
Provides verbal and written psychosocial and administrative education and documentation of training and technical assistance to MFC and community stakeholders. Provides consistent messaging that aligns with statutes, rules, policies, procedures, and processes which affect decisions, determinations and management of the programs need. Responds to regional and statewide requests for information about MFC program coordination. Acts as the MFC program liaison in communication with other community providers and stakeholders. Serves as a liaison between the MFC provider and the MMA Plan. Disseminates assessments and reports, as appropriate, to MFC program stakeholders. Attends and participates in other meetings as assigned.
Education and Training: As the social services member of the MFC team, provides pre-service MFC training for foster parents considering the MFC program and provides MFC program onboarding training. Provides or coordinates and oversees annual psychosocial and administrative training requirements. Tracks program training requirements to ensure completion. Provides training and technical assistance to MFC parent to ensure program requirements and MFC parent skill requirements are exceeded or met. Provides community outreach and education to community stakeholders regarding the MFC program and requirements. Provides community outreach and education to community stakeholders to identify potential families for MFC parent recruitment.
Implementation: Coordinates all social services and administrative day-to-day operations of the MFC program. Reviews MFC program referrals and related documentation to determine availability of MFC parent provider with the appropriate strengths, skills, and home dynamics to match individual child/youth complex medical needs. Reviews potential appropriate matches, from a medical psychosocial administrative perspective with the MFC medical director for consideration of authorization of recommendation for placement authority consideration. Prepares and coordinates the admission of MFC child/youth into the MFC program and parent home, collaborating with necessary stakeholders.
Assists in the facilitation or completion of required activities such as the MFC Plan of Care (POC); obtains necessary equipment, medications, supplies, and other client specific necessary resources and supports. Prepares and reviews the MFC in-home record and child/youth specific needs with the MFC parent, from a psychosocial and administrative perspective. Completes other admission activities as needed. Completes 2-week post admission home visit to MFC parent to ensure quality and safe admission into program. Documents activities accordingly. Provides ongoing medical social work parent support activities and follow up for MFC parent, home and program requirements including ongoing reviews of services and documentation requirements with verbal and written guidance, feedback, or technical assistance.
Ongoing medical social work support of MFC parent includes ensuring necessary competencies and resources for the quality and safety of in-home service provision, in the context of the specific parenting care needs of the MFC child/youth in their home, with a focus on retention of MFC parent and quality program outcomes. This includes arranging for temporary caregiver relief services and assistance in obtaining community resources when indicated. Accompanies MFC providers and children/youth as necessary to appointments. Requests and reviews documentation accordingly to ensure the quality provision of MFC parent services.
Prepares for and participates in the multidisciplinary MFC monthly staffing process. Provides social work and administrative perspective in the assessment review of the MFC parent and child/youth dyad, in context of the specific MFC child/youth in their home, to review status in the quality and safety with in-home service provision. Develops strengths-based strategies for resolutions with identified challenges or concerns. Completes, at least quarterly, home visits to assess MFC provider in context of MFC child/youth admitted into home from the medical-social work perspective. Assist MFC parents with navigating Medicaid enrollment processes as needed. Provides MFC parent with coordination to MMA plans for their credentialing and billing process. Provides psychosocial or administrative documentation or participation in court hearings, when requested by court order, to provide input or testimony to the court. Provides after-hours on-call program support to MFC parent, as assigned, to facilitate urgent/emergent support to MFC parent in context of the MFC program child/youth in their home. Attend and participate in Children's Multidisciplinary Assessment Team (CMAT) staff meetings for MFC related clients. Documents all psychosocial and administrative program activities in electronic documentation system in accordance to program requirements. For fee-for-service (FFS) Medicaid clients, assists in the coordination and completion of the MFC POC.
Quality Assurance: Maintains, reviews, and monitors MFC related data and Electronic Health Record (EHR) entries. Reviews data, assessments, and documentation entries, verifying accuracy and quality as they are being completed in the EHR. In coordination with MFC stakeholders, such as the CBC or licensing agency and MMA plan, evaluates MFC parent skills, competencies, documentation, timeliness, quality of services provided and other indicated data points. Develops and monitors technical assistance plans for MFC parent for quality improvement. Provides continuous monitoring to assure correction and sustainability of performance with desired thresholds. Implements organization, program, and individual quality assurance standards, in conjunction with management. Provides monitoring of program activities for quality assurance purposes. Participates in program quality assurance and improvement needs. Implements documented activities identified in the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles. Participates CMS training, evaluation, monitoring, and related follow-up activities to improve MFC processes, activities, and outcomes. Provides reports from database systems as requested by management.
Other duties as assigned: Includes coverage of CMAT SW duties as assigned.
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Minimum Qualifications: