Licensing Specialist - Foster Care

Brightpoint invites you to join our team of mission-driven staff who share a common vision: an equitable world where all children and families thrive in strong communities. As a leader in the human services sector for 140 years, we aim to advance the well-being of children by investing in families and strengthening communities through data-informed, collaborative, and preventative solutions.

The Licensing Specialist is a critical member of the region’s child welfare team, supporting the recruitment, licensing, approval, and monitoring of homes licensed to care for youth being served by our Foster Care Programs. You will work collaboratively within and across programs to ensure a relentless focus on keeping children safe and supporting families, consistent with our agency's Blueprint for Impact, which includes replacing what we currently think of as child welfare services with what we know to be child, family, and community well-being solutions. As the Licensing Specialist, you will advocate for foster families to have the tools and resources they need to help children thrive in their homes, recruit individuals and families as potential foster parents, complete assessments, provide ongoing monitoring of licensed foster homes and collaborate with foster care teams to understand placement needs. 

Candidate qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work or a closely related field required. 
• You have a Child Welfare Employee License (CWEL), Child Endangerment Risk Assessment Protocol (CERAP), Child Abuse and Neglect (CANS) certification, and or you’re able to obtain within 90 days of hire.
• Ability to attend in-person meetings and events as needed required.
• Valid driver's license, insurance, and a reliable vehicle required.
• Previous foster home licensing experience and successful completion of licensing/approval examination preferred.

Job details:

• Compensation: Range is between $50k-52k, offers are commensurate with experience and bilingual candidates may receive additional compensation. The salary range provided represents our current estimate for this role at the time of posting and is subject to change. The final salary will be determined based on a range of factors, including but not limited to, a candidate's relevant experience, education, qualifications, skills, certifications, and alignment with organizational needs. We are dedicated to fair and equitable compensation practices and are committed to fostering a diverse workforce while providing equal opportunities for all candidates.
• Additional compensation: A $3,000 CWEL Stay Bonus payable in two installments: $1,500 after 6 months of consecutive employment and $1,500 after 12 months of consecutive employment. Eligibility for the bonus is contingent upon the role requiring the CWEL certification.
• Benefits: Medical/dental/vision insurance, 3+ weeks paid time off in the first year including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day (PTO increases with tenure); 11 paid holidays, supplemental insurance options, 401(k) with match (more benefits details here).
• Location: Hybrid (remote/in office); combination of in-office and community-based work in the Rockford area, with other opportunities to complete service documentation and other case coordination from your preferred location (in office, or remotely).
• Schedule: Full-time, salaried; general business hours with some flexibility for occasional evening or weekend hours. 
• Student Loan Forgiveness: Brightpoint is an approved agency for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).