Director of Family Engagement

Director of Family Engagement  

We are looking for a Director of Family Engagement (DFE) who can champion the family engagement work done by CASA and lead the program team in efforts to integrate family engagement into all advocacy efforts.

CASA of Travis County believes every child who has experienced abuse or neglect deserves to have a dedicated advocate speaking up for their best interest in court, at school, and in our community. To accomplish this, the team at CASA educates and empowers community volunteers who ensure each child's needs remain a priority in an overburdened child welfare system. Through inclusive, honorable and respectful involvement with families, courts and all parties, CASA makes independent and educated recommendations that prioritize children’s safety and, wherever possible, preserve connections to their families.       

As the Director of Family Engagement, you will report to the Senior Director of Advocacy and be a member of the Advocacy Leadership team and the Program Leadership team. The DFE supervises the Family Engagement Specialist (FES), Early Family Engagement Specialists (EFE), Promising Futures Specialist (PFS) and the Resource Specialist (RS), and takes the lead in ensuring a focus on the value of family engagement and relational permanency for the Program Team. The DFE manages case assignments for all new cases assigned to CASA, provides guidance on goal setting and case management of the PFS, RS, and FES referrals, and coordinates the flagging of other cases at higher risk for permanency barriers for technical assistance and support. The DFE coordinates at least quarterly training opportunities for CASA staff and volunteers on best practices related to family engagement. In collaboration with the Senior Director of Advocacy, the DFE compiles and analyzes family engagement data and makes recommendations for data-informed quality improvement in family engagement practices. The DFE will demonstrate collaboration in their interactions with staff, volunteers, children, and families and will demonstrate a commitment to volunteer engagement, child safety, and relational permanency in all endeavors.

At the end of your first year, success would mean demonstration of collaborative relationships across the program team so that family engagement is more fluidly integrated across each team and a positive presence in the community with relevant stakeholders and community partners. 

The Director of Family Engagement is a critical role to move CASA of Travis County towards meeting our vision of providing a volunteer advocate, safe home and promising future for every child in Travis County who needs us. 

Responsibilities 

1. Family Engagement Leadership and Staff Management
   • Leads CASA efforts to develop and maintain a culture in which family engagement is prioritized for all families served by CASA of Travis County.
   • As a member of the Program Leadership Team, ensures that family engagement is integrated into training and advocacy efforts.
   • Acts as technical expert to assist the advocacy team in managing family engagement work.
   • Demonstrates a strong understanding of the importance of relational permanence for children and youth and promotes relational permanence as a priority for the Program team by addressing barriers to stability and permanency.
   • Provides coaching, motivation, and mentoring to the Family Engagement Specialist, Early Family Engagement Specialists, Promising Futures Specialist, and Resource Specialist.
   • Provides weekly supervision to each specialist on the team.

• Provides regular feedback and annual performance evaluation to those on the team. Supports those on the team in ensuring that volunteers receive appropriate and sufficient training and coaching in their specialized advocacy on cases.
• Ensures that activities of the Family Engagement program staff and volunteers are thoroughly documented in internal database.
• Manages the assignments of new case appointments, referrals to FES, RS, and PFS, and ensures case entry is completed timely and accurately.
• Assesses all new case assignments for immediate safety concerns, collaborates with Director of Quality and Safety in planning as needed, and makes note of concerning trends to address with Senior Leadership.
• Flags cases identified as at higher-risk for permanency barriers to be reviewed for possible technical assistance by the Family Engagement team, including children exiting the EFE stage without a plan for relative/fictive kin placement, children exiting the EFE stage with a parent identified as “missing” or otherwise unengaged in the case, and children whose cases are transitional from Temporary to Permanent Managing Conservatorship without an imminent or viable permanency plan.
• Assists in the identification of community organizations for CASA to utilize as resource partners and assists Resource and Promising Futures Specialists in assessment and rapport building with identified stakeholders.

1. Family Engagement Program Development and Evaluation

• Monitors research evidence to ensure that CASA follows best practices regarding family engagement advocacy efforts.
• Advances CASA’s knowledge of best practices in family engagement by seeking and consuming collaboration and training from other experts in the field.
• Crafts standardized questions to be used with community service providers to assess for child safety, and accessibility, which can be replicated by other CASA programs and families seeking resources.
• Works with Senior Leadership and Resource and Promising Futures Specialists to maintain an effective, accurate resource library and enhance CASA staff and volunteer understanding of community service providers, helping to reduce barriers to relative permanency.
• Collaborates with Chief Program Officer and Senior Director of Advocacy to develop appropriate family engagement program goals and outcome measures focused on relational permanency for children and youth to whom CASA is appointed.
• Oversees family engagement data collection and analysis, including collaborating with the Director of Data and Evaluation on the creation of unique tracking streams and reports specific to family engagement efforts for Family Engagement and Program teams.
• Monitors progress toward family engagement program goals using quantitative and qualitative data and uses this data to set the culture of the team.
• In collaboration with Senior Director of Advocacy, reviews Program data regularly and adjusts program activities accordingly to ensure optimal family engagement practices are followed across the Program team.
• Schedules and facilitates family engagement trainings for CASA staff and volunteers at least quarterly.
• Participates as a member of the Program Leadership team and ensures a continuous focus on relational and legal permanency at the Program Team level for the children to whom CASA is appointed.

1. Community Awareness and Partnerships

• Builds and maintains effective relationships with others on the CASA Program team, CASA volunteer advocates, attorneys, CPS staff, and other stakeholders in the Travis County child welfare system.
  • Develops and maintains relationships with leadership at Child Protective Services to support and foster collaboration and enhance family engagement efforts.
• Assists in problem-solving with external stakeholders on case-specific and/or systemic challenges related to permanency and family engagement.
• Attends and participates in community meetings as directed by the Senior Director of Advocacy and Chief Program Officer.

1. Other Responsibilities 
   • Attends and participates in required CASA meetings.
   • Participates in CASA and external committees as needed.
   • Attends and participates in volunteer-related events for recruitment and retention, including but not limited to Swearing In and Closed Case Recognition ceremonies, volunteer meet-ups, and volunteer appreciation events. 
   • Assists with fundraising events as needed. 

• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree is required. CASA of Travis County welcomes employees from diverse educational backgrounds and degree programs. In lieu of a degree, significant professional relevant experience may be considered.
• Demonstrated integrity, honesty, and ethical conduct.
• Demonstrated passion for CASA’s mission and the work of the Family Engagement program.
• Experience in innovative programming and training staff and volunteers on best practices. 
• Understanding of child and family advocacy issues as they relate to the child welfare system, particularly in Travis County.
• Ability to clearly identify permanency planning issues for youth and to provide effective advocacy to move families toward permanency.
• Experience utilizing data collection and analysis to drive programmatic decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Demonstrated ability to work under time constraints, be goal-oriented, and maintain productive and effective relationships with staff, volunteers, and community stakeholders.
• Demonstrated resilience, flexibility, and self-awareness.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supervising paid staff.
• Experience in the Travis County child welfare system and/or with the CASA model. 
• Training or experience in permanency issues, both legal and relational, for children involved in the child welfare system.
• English/Spanish fluency. 

Physical Requirements and Work Environment

The Director of Family Engagement (DFE) will spend some time in the office that could involve intermittent physical activities including bending, reaching, sitting and walking during working hours.  The DFE will be expected to have daily transportation to attend court hearings, staffings, visitations, fundraising events, etc.  Position requires a flexible schedule as communications with advocates may occur in the evenings or on weekends. Additionally, it is anticipated that the DFE may spend several hours each day seated at a computer.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable a person with physical disabilities to perform the job