Jurisdiction Site Senior Advisor (Kentucky)

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JURISDICTION SITE SENIOR ADVISOR (KY)

WHO WE ARE

Foster America is transforming the way our nation supports families. Together with communities and local governments, we’re creating a just, equitable alternative to today’s child welfare system – so parents and children stay together with access to the resources they need to thrive. To foster a future where all children and families thrive, we:

Drive Innovation: We are designing solutions alongside our nation’s boldest governments and communities. Together, we demonstrate that bolstering support for families is an effective alternative to referring them for a child welfare investigation that may lead to the separation of families.

Develop Changemakers: We’re building a network of people with the imagination – and determination – to transform the child welfare system. We nurture and connect leaders, growing their skills and amplifying our collective impact.

Disseminate Knowledge: We share what works, so more families and more organizations in more places have the support they need. Our workshops and training allow child welfare practitioners, community leaders, and those who have experienced the foster care system firsthand to learn from our team and one another. 

Foster America cultivates a network and staff team that values and elevates diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise as we shape new ways forward for children and families. 

To learn more about Foster America, please visit https://www.foster-america.org/  

THE OPPORTUNITY

Foster America is joining national funders and leading national research and technical assistance organizations to partner with local jurisdictions to design ways to prevent formal child welfare system involvement. 

In 2024, at least three jurisdictional partner sites will join a multi-year effort to design community-based, equity-centered alternatives to traditional child welfare system approaches. New approaches to be tested include: 

• Building “warmline” alternatives to child abuse hotlines, with a specific focus on providing a service pathway for calls screened out from the child welfare hotline. 
• Supporting families in navigating voluntary community-based services.
• Meeting the needs of families through cash and material assistance.
• Increasing engagement of families. 

Foster America seeks three Senior Advisors for this effort, each to be embedded in one of the selected jurisdictions, with the strategic and grant support of the Doris Duke Foundation. The Senior Advisor will bring experience in community co-design, collective impact, participatory governance, organizing, or a similar field – demonstrating the ability to motivate and align diverse networks of stakeholders and contributors to innovate together. The Senior Advisor will engage and facilitate as members of an advisory body (including parents, advocates, young people, community groups, service providers, and inter-governmental agencies) collaborate with public child welfare partners to innovate on prevention-focused family supports. The right candidate will demonstrate strong listening, project management, facilitation, trust-building, and problem-solving capabilities. They will help others share their perspectives, use data to bolster collaboration, unite diverse contributors, and innovate to build a more just and equitable future for children and families.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Equip leaders to support systems change.
• Co-design innovative approaches with communities.
• Develop or strengthen existing advisory structures comprising lived experts, community advocates, and system partners working alongside governmental leaders to design, test, and continuously improve the alternative well-being system. 
• Develop diagnostic and readiness assessments to support development of services.
• Coordinate national technical assistance for the site. 
• Support collaboration and learning within the jurisdiction, developing mechanisms to gather and share insights across all participating sites.
• Participate in regular cadence of planning and implementation meetings within the Kentucky Community Based Services  
• Host an annual jurisdiction-wide convening.
• Track impact and results related to jurisdiction work and share with community members, persons impacted by child welfare, and state partners. 

The Senior Advisor will support processes and build capacity within local government to share leadership and power with families and communities. Partners must be responsive to ongoing feedback from Black, Indigenous, and communiti