PAY RANGE: EP 27
(Children and Youth)
(Juvenile Justice Services)
GENERAL DEFINITION
This is management level social service work directing, through multiple subordinate levels, major operational sections of the City's Children and Youth Division (CYD), or Juvenile Justice Services (JJS) divisions of the Department of Human Services Department. The class includes two specialties, one in each Division, each of which involves managing large multi-discipline staff. The CYD specialty includes three assignments Hotline/Screening, Investigations and Case Management.
· Hotline/Screening manages the process of receiving initial calls and requests for DHS
· Investigations manages in-depth investigation of new cases received by Hotline/Screening service
· Case Management manages all CYD cases and thus oversees and monitors all CYD service delivery. This responsibility grouping typically has multiple incumbents.
The three JJS positions do not include separate assignments.
Employees of this class are responsible for ensuring that all mandated or other services are provided to children and youth who are DHS clients or prospective clients. Work in all groupings includes planning, developing, administering, evaluating and coordinating the implementation of the goals and objectives for the section. Employees in this class are senior DHS managers and have input in establishing the agency's comprehensive social service program's overall goals and objectives and have primary responsibility for carrying out the programs intended to meet these goals and objectives within their assigned area. Incumbents must be fully knowledgeable of all federal and state mandates pertaining to their area of responsibility. Work is performed under the direction of the head of the Division; incumbents have frequent contact with the DHS Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners.
ALLOCATING FACTORS: (The following conditions must be met for a position to be approved for this class.)
1. Employees in this class must direct, through multiple subordinate levels, one of the major operational sections of the City's Human Services Department. Within CYD these include: Hotline/Screening, Investigations and Case Management. Within JJS they include a major program or group of programs.
2. Within CYD, one position will be allocated to the Hotline/Screening and Investigations assignments; and several positions will be allocated to the Case Management assignment.
3. Three interchangeable positions will be allocated to the JJS specialty.
TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF WORK (ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY)
All Specialties
Directs through subordinates a major comprehensive social service program of Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services (DHS); plan, organize and direct program implementation and operations; establish goals and objectives within framework of agency's overall plans and policy; confer with social service staff on the implementation of respective program plans, priorities and policies; participate in the development and preparation of annual service plan; manage sections that include administrators, supervisors, degreed social workers, program analysts, consultants and administrative staff, with staff size within each section ranging from 70 to over 130 employees.
· Evaluate programmatic needs and develop social service priorities that maximize client service and ensure compliance with appropriate federal, state and local standards.
· Analyze administrative, operational and managerial problems affecting provision of these services.
· Initiate organizational and/or operational changes within section as necessary.
· Effectively and efficiently manage fiscal, staff and program resources through budgets and reports and develop justifications for personnel or supply requirements within departmental guidelines; establish staff performance goals and objectives.
· Ensures that all staff effectively utilize current and evolving departmental data systems and automated reporting systems; directs data planning efforts; may direct data system improvement as necessary in conjunction with information system specialists.
· Report on program progress to Director of Operations, Deputy Commissioner, Commissioner or other parties as necessary
· Negotiates contracts and agreements with public and private agencies, prepare grant applications for funding of programs and review contract proposals to assure their conformance to program needs and objectives.
· Meets with union officials to discuss operational and disciplinary issues
· Represents program to community and news media through conferences with individuals and groups and addresses to various organizations.
· Direct or participate in divisional, departmental, interdepartmental and outside public and private services agency committees, conferences and meetings to develop more effective programs for children and youth; evaluate service providers and program achievement; attend a variety of meetings for the formulation and coordination of overall program objectives; confer with appropriate federal and state and local officials.
· Performs related work as required.
The Children and Youth Division (CYD); oversees the CYD operations from input of potential cases (Hotline/Screening), to investigating the circumstances and backgrounds of potential cases (Investigations), to actual management of clients’ cases once the Division accepts them.
Review and evaluate through subordinate administrators and supervisors the activities of a large staff of social service and professional personnel engaged in the provision of a variety of continuous, protective and/or centralized social services for children and youth as mandated at the federal level by the Adoptions and Safe Families Act of 1997 as well as by state and local mandates and regulations; failure to provide these mandated services will place clients at risk and jeopardize DHS funding and incur other penalties.
Hotline/Screening
· Manage through subordinates the DHS hotline that receives all calls to the Department regarding potential cases that the Department may eventually assume; direct social workers capable of quickly responding to caller concerns, gathering appropriate information, making appropriate decisions and routing appropriately.
· Manage through subordinates the CYD customer service function that is responsible for effectively responding to all client and outside questions and concerns and assessing CYD’s customer responsiveness.
· Manage through subordinates the professional social workers that provide information requested by the courts concerning the Department’s specific cases.
Investigations
· Manage through subordinates all investigation activities of potential cases processed through the Hotline/Screening section; directs investigations that typically involves extensive fieldwork, interviews, visitations and transition of cases to the eventual case worker assigned to client.
· Responsible, through subordinates, for recommending a course of action for each potential case investigated, that may be taken by DHS, referred to another agency or determined to be not appropriate for DHS action; may become directly involved in decisions involving the most complex cases.
Case Management (multiple incumbents)
·
Manages all CYD
cases through subordinates and contracted agencies;
ensures through caseworker subordinates that all services contracted for each
case are successfully delivered.
·
Maintains through
caseworker subordinates periodic contact with all clients and those individuals
directly responsible for the care of the clients;
ensures through subordinates that all delivered services meet DHS policies and
practice standards
The Juvenile Justice Services Division of DHS provides childcare, custody, counseling and social work services to youth, as well as support service and facility management, within Philadelphia’s Juvenile Justice Services. This includes services while youth are in the court system, in the Youth Study Center and in community-based detention. The JJS specialty within this class includes these responsibilities:
· Responsible for the day-to-day operations of the City's youth detention facility: plans, directs, and evaluates, through subordinate administrators, the operational activities of a large youth detention facility; establishes staff performance objectives and controls; analyses operational and managerial problems; initiates organizational and/or procedural changes to resolve these problems; directs the formulation of staffing and overtime schedules for shift coverage based on security and care needs at the facility; instructs subordinate managers in pertinent policies, practices and procedures; identifies, initiates, evaluates and approves in-service and contracted training programs for staff; ensures that facility operations conform to sound detention principles and statutory and administrative rules.
· Directs a large residential service staff engaged in security and counseling functions; coordinates staff activities to ensure that security and resident care needs are being met; discusses resident problems with staff and directs the implementation of appropriate procedures and actions through subordinate detention managers; makes decisions on the required use of interventional measures and techniques in resident disturbances; directs staff in responding to riotous or hazardous conditions; participates in the investigation of allegations of resident abuse; determines and approves disciplinary actions.
· Directs, through subordinate administrators, a staff of social workers and counselors engaged in providing emergency placement, custody and counseling services to clients in group, foster or in-home detention programs; may administer contracts for provision of these services.
· Directs through subordinates, the program monitoring, disposition planning and shared case management functions for JJS; ensure that reimbursement applications are completed in a timely manner; plan, organize and direct program operations; review reports on program progress and evaluate conformance to established standards.
·
Coordinate and
oversee American Correctional Association accreditation efforts and State
licensure for the Youth Study Center by ensuring that practices, procedures and
guidelines are consistent with established guidelines.
Oversees JJS performance-based standards program by interpreting standards and
ensuring accurate data input.
· Chairs weekly Youth Review Committee.
·
Oversees or
develops various forums and conferences related to JJS mission.
Performs related work as required.
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF AND SKILL IN:
· Philosophy and objectives underlying the provision of social services for children and youth
· Social service administration especially as they apply to children and youth programs
· Administrative organization and management and its application in resolving a variety of operational and administrative problems
· Social service program planning and evaluation
· General management
· Community, civic and social organizations and resources available to support social service programs
· Principles, practices, methods, techniques, literature and current developments in the field of social service planning for children and youth
· Legal provisions and regulations applicable to the delivery of social services to children and youth.
· Evaluating the effectiveness of administrative and operational programs and implementing changes to provide for more effective and efficient operations.
AND SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE OF AND SKILL IN:
· Case management principles techniques
· Procedures to identify appropriate disposition of presented cases
· Provider management, oversight and evaluation
· Thorough knowledge and understanding of juvenile justice
· Management principles involved in oversight of a large juvenile detention or child welfare facility
· Community-based detention principles, risks and alternatives
GENERAL ABILITY TO:
· Plan, organize, direct and coordinate the activities of a large multi-discipline staff overseeing the provision of a variety of social services to children and youth.
· Evaluate program quality and effectiveness.
· Establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, associates, public and private officials, civic groups, community groups, the judiciary, and the general public.
· Express ideas, both orally and in writing.
· Prepare and analyze reports as they pertain to the delivery of social service programs for children and youth.
AND SPECIFIC ABILITY TO:
· Manage directly and indirectly large organizational units in case management
· Maintain positive relationships with providers
· Develop detention or community-based programs for youth
· Oversee institutional and community-based detention providers
· Maintain positive relationships with providers
MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE (The following statement represents the minimum training and experience standards that will be used to admit or reject applicants for tests. Applications submitted by candidates for this class will be reviewed based on training and experience requirements as approved on 4/12.)
EDUCATION
Completion of a master's degree program at an accredited college or university with major course work in social work, social work administration, criminal justice, public administration or a related field.
GENERAL EXPERIENCE
Three years of social services experience
AND
SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE
CYD
Four years of experience supervising, through subordinate supervisors, a program in a large children and youth welfare agency.
JJS
Four years of experience supervising, through subordinate supervisors, the care and custody of delinquent youth in a youth detention facility, and involved directing residential and/or ancillary service programs.
Or any equivalent combination of education and experience determined to be acceptable by the Office of Human Resources that has included a master's degree as described above and the specific experience.
PHYSICAL AND MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS
Ability to physically perform the duties and to work in the environmental conditions required of a position in this class.
Class Established 5/81
Spec. Revision 3/87
CSC - 3/03; Ad. Board - 7/03
Latest Spec. Revision: CSC - 3/12; Ad. Board - 4/12
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