Family Based Care Specialist

StepStone Family & Youth Services

StepStone Family & Youth Services provides trauma informed, youth centered services to children and families involved in foster care. The Family Based Care Specialist plays a vital role in recruiting, preparing, and supporting foster families to provide safe, stable, and nurturing homes where children and youth can heal, grow, and thrive.

We are seeking a compassionate and relationship focused Family Based Care Specialist who is passionate about supporting children and families through trauma informed, strengths based, and family centered practices. This role is ideal for a professional who enjoys community engagement, foster parent recruitment, family assessments, training, and building meaningful relationships while helping families navigate the foster care process.

The Family Based Care Specialist is responsible for recruiting and engaging prospective foster parents, conducting home assessments, coordinating foster parent orientation and training, assisting families throughout the licensing and certification process, and maintaining accurate documentation in accordance with agency policies and state regulations. This position collaborates closely with foster families, licensing teams, case managers, program leadership, and community partners to ensure families receive the guidance, resources, and ongoing support needed to provide quality care and promote placement stability.

The ideal candidate is compassionate, organized, adaptable, and solutions focused, with strong communication skills and a commitment to empowering foster families through education, advocacy, and ongoing support. They are dedicated to promoting safe, supportive, and healing environments that strengthen families and contribute to positive, lasting outcomes for children and youth in foster care.

* Within 48 hours of receipt of the Home Assessment Request form respond to the division's Clinical Supervisor and/or Unit Administrator.
* Complete and document initial foster parent interviews.
* Conduct Home Assessment and narratives for the Foster Care divisions and include in the report: Community References, Medication Storage Form, Sanitation Form, Foster Home Approval Form with strengths and weaknesses and if necessary a Plan of Action to prepare the family.
* Submit Home Assessment Narratives and completed paperwork within 5 working days of completing the assessment.
* Participate in the ongoing development of the agency foster parent orientation training to meet licensure standards.
* Conduct the required foster parent orientation training for the Treatment Foster Care divisions.
* Submit paperwork to verify foster parents' attendance at orientation training at the end of the training session to the Clinical Supervisor or/and Unit Administrator.
* Acquire and maintain trainer status for the following: CPR, Standard First Aid, Nonviolent Crisis Intervention - CPI and PRIDE trainers.
* Coordinate and notify potential foster parent applicants of home assessment dates and times and orientation training dates and times.
* Inform division representatives of potential foster parent applicants' status.
* Conduct CPR and Standard First Aid training during new personnel staff training and agency foster parent orientation training.
* Submit to supervisor monthly tracking report form for the previous month, by the first working day of the month.
* Provide on-going marketing of the foster care program.
* Attendance is an essential function of the job.
* Other job-related duties as assigned.

* The employee should have a working knowledge and understanding of culture and its function in human behavior and society.
* The employee shall deliver services that are sensitive to client's cultures.
* The employee shall demonstrate the ability to forge a mutually respectful partnership with persons served and their families in which they are helped to gain the skills and confidence to address any issues and problems they face.
* Conviction about the capacity of people to grow and change.
* Ability to work in partnership with other team members.
* Ability to set limits and maintain the helping role and to intervene appropriately to meet the needs of the persons served or other family members.
* Bachelor's degree (B,A, or B.S.W.) in the Human Services field from four-year college or university; * One to two years related experience and/or training.
* CPR, CPI and First Aid
* Valid Social Work License