Foster Caregivers Support Program Specialist

Role Responsibilities

The Child Intervention Delivery Division (CID), Youth in Transition Branch (YIT) leads Children & Family Services in the delivery of targeted approaches to support youth and young adults, in and from care as they transition to adulthood, through the Transition to Adulthood Program (TAP), Advancing Futures (AF) and Youth Strategies initiatives. YIT programming and supports empower young adults from care to meet their full potential through self-selection of specialized programming that supports their unique needs. 

The Transition to Adulthood (TAP): Foster Caregivers Caring for Young Adults, Program Specialist, is the provincial lead / has provincial oversight for the program, and reports to the Manager of Youth Strategies & TAP Centralized Services & Supports.

The Foster Caregivers Caring for Young Adults initiative is a sub-program under the Transition to Adulthood Program (TAP), that assists young adults transitioning out of care to remain with their current caregiver post 18 years of age, to support a successful transition into adulthood, continuing connections that have been made and to foster building long term natural supports. The program recognizes the contributions of foster caregivers by continuing to provide a skill fee for the time that the young adult continues to reside in the caregiver's home. The skill fee is recognition of the time and expertise that the caregiver provides to the young adult as they transition to adulthood.

 

Role cont'd

Program Specialist responsibilities include: 
 

Oversee program operations: 

• Monitor and oversee the administrative processes gathering vendor information of Adult Foster Caregivers to ensure payment processing is accurate and timely. 
• Coordinate with the Adult Caregiver Support Workers (North & South) for issues resolution and flagging/ responding to provincial trends and issues.
   

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Consults and collaborates with a wide variety of professional individuals, not-for profit agencies, service delivery organizations, businesses, employers, representatives of youth/ young adults (e.g., Child Intervention case workers, TAP Practitioners), government departments, Indigenous communities, and other stakeholders.
• Build awareness; strengthen relationships and connections between groups, networks, and programs within the ministry, cross-ministry partners, and external stakeholders to engage support and interest or participation in the Foster Caregivers Caring for Young Adults Program. 
   

Connecting Youth and Young Adults to the Foster Caregivers Caring for Young Adults Program: 

• Possesses a solid understanding of the consulting process.
• Maintains a working knowledge of the types of programs, services, and resources that exist across the province/ Country in the areas of young Adult from care programming. 
• Maintains program related information so it is readily available for Foster Caregivers, CFS staff supporting youth and young adults from care, and for potential clients.
   

Program Development:

• Take a leadership role in planning as it relates to the development, implementation, and maintenance of the Foster Caregivers Caring for Young Adults Program.
• Creates and implements operation plans and performance measures to ensure youth and young adults in transition are able to access and receive the supports they need to prepare for their transition to adulthood in alignment with other ministry and GoA adult services.
   

Reporting and Data Analysis:

• Prepare briefings, reports and data summaries for relevant local and provincial partners, government departments and ministries
• Analyzes and reports on metrics in relation to program goals and objectives, and makes recommendations based on the findings.
   

Qualifications

To be considered for this position, you must have:
 

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in a related field plus 4 years progressively responsible related experience; or equivalent as described below.
• Related education can include: Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Communication, Cultural Studies, Economics, Geography, History, International Relations, Governance, Social Policy, and Information and Library Science.
   

Equivalency: 

Directly related education or experience may be considered on the basis of:

• 1 year of education for 1 year of experience; or
• 1 year of experience for 1 year of education
   

Assets: 

• Registration with the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW). If so, please be prepared to provide your registration details at the time of interview. For more information, please visit http://www.acsw.ab.ca/  
• Previous youth work and working with young adults
• Delivery and support of Caregiver programming
• Knowledge of the Youth in Transition program and policies
• Key relationships with stakeholders such as Foster Care Agencies and Alberta Foster Care Association
   

Please note that all dates listed on a resume must include both a month and a year to ensure inclusion towards noted experience during the screening process.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification.  Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards
 

Notes

This competition is for a full-time, permanent position and may be used to fill other vacancies for Program Specialists. Please be advised that relocation/moving costs are not provided as part of this role. 
 
Hours of work:  Monday to Friday – 36.25 hours per week. 
 

Regular travel is REQUIRED.
 

Role Requirements:

• You carry a valid Class 5 Driver's License and access to a reliable vehicle.

In your resume, please include dates (including months and years) associated with all education and work experience. 
 

Links and information on what the GoA has to offer to prospective employees:

• Working for the Alberta Public Service - https://www.alberta.ca/advantages-working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx
• Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) - https://www.pspp.ca
• Management Employees Pension Plan (MEPP) - https://www.mepp.ca
• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits
• Professional learning and development - https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive
• Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool – https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca
• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance
• Opportunity to participate in flexible work arrangements such as working from home up to two days per week and modified work schedule agreement
• Leadership and mentorship programs