Community Care Worker

Location: Portland, ME,None,None

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)

Resource Family/Foster Care Licensing

Opening Date: December 26, 2024

Closing Date: January 9, 2025

Job Class Code: 5088
Grade:  21 (Pro & Tech. Svcs.)    
Salary: $21.54 – $30.14 per hour

Position Number: 02000-3534

Location: 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: 

The Department of Health and Human Services (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