Director of Best Practices

Job Summary

Forestdale is a child welfare agency working to enhance family well-being and prevent child maltreatment through parenting, prevention, and foster care services for families in Queens and Brooklyn. We help thousands of families work   through complex trauma, parents raise the next amazing generation of children, and youth successfully launch into adulthood. Forestdale’s mission is “to ensure that children and families have the fundamental assets they need to thrive     and live independently.”

The Director of Best Practice oversees the delivery of Solution Based Casework (SBC) model implementation, Best Practice Casework, Family Team Conferencing and training supports for foster care and prevention programs. The Director of    Best Practice and their team work closely with Preventive and Foster Care managers and staff to ensure that high-quality supports enhance and complement case planning services, centering family voice and choice. Solution Based       Casework is an evidence-informed model that organizes a practical, family-centered approach to case planning.  Family Team Conferencing ensures that family members and their chosen support networks drive planning conversations.

Major Responsibilities/Activities

• Ensure that Family Team Conferencing and SBC implementation interface effectively with all programs and deliver consistent service, assistance, and data;
• Assist programs in conducting holistic and deep work with families by ensuring agency best practice and achieving regulatory standards in these areas, continually improving performance and meeting challenges proactively and effectively;
• Provide ongoing supervision to Family Team Conference Facilitators Supervisors, Solution Based Casework Coordinators and trainers;
• Ensure staff receive required and practice improvement training, including funder and agency required training and model-specific training by conducting, tracking, monitoring and creating training for staff;
• Help develop and implement new programs, projects and initiatives
• Utilize data to inform planning, service delivery and overall management
• Perform all other duties assigned.

Core Competencies

• Strong interpersonal and team building skills
• Ability to work under pressure in a calm and reassuring manner
• Work from a strength-based perspective with families and staff

• Ability to identify gaps in services and develop plans to address them

• Knowledge of child welfare
• Strong clinical, risk assessment and safety planning skills
• Knowledge of effective operational and administrative strategies

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Counseling or a related subject area.
• NYS License, including LMSW, LCSW, LCAT, LMHC, or LMFT preferred.
• Minimum of five years of post-masters experience in the field of child welfare, including at least 4 years of supervisory experience.
• Knowledge of Solution Based Casework, certification preferred
• Experience facilitating training in a variety of topics for social services staff in casework practice and treatment models.
• Must have experience with Family Team Conferences (FTC); FTC facilitator experience preferred
• Ability to accommodate a flexible work schedule, including evenings
• Ability to read, analyze and interpret policies and procedures related to the job
• Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations
• Ability to travel in and around the metropolitan New York City region
• Ability to speak and read another language a plus

Salary: $ 90,000 - $100,000

Benefits:  Join the Forestdale Team and Enjoy Excellent Benefits

Four weeks’ vacation

Medical/dental/vision/life/disability insurance

401(k), 7% employer contribution + 2% match

Tax-deferred health care/dependent care/commuter plans

Flexible Schedule

Opportunities for educational scholarships

Location:

67-35 112th Street Forest Hills, NY 11375

Additional Information

Forestdale Inc. is an equal opportunity employer that is proudly committed to becoming an anti-racist and multicultural organization that stands up for justice and equity. We welcome prospective employees from diverse backgrounds, for administrative support and direct service and leadership roles, who will join us on that journey, uphold our values and approach, and believe in our mission. Additionally, we aim to have a racially representative leadership and workforce that is reflective of the communities we work in partnership with.

Forestdale Inc. is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, participants, volunteers, subcontractors, and vendors. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of our activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and termination of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services.