Texas Department of Family and Protective ServicesCPS Conservatorship Specialist IV
Jun. 2013 - Sep. 20171501 Texas Dr. Ste. 200 Weatherford, TX 76086-Developed strategies and arranged services for children and families in order for children to achieve positive permanency.
-Responsible for ensuring the safety of children while in DFPS custody, that their well-being and needs were met, and that their experiences while in DFPS custody were similar to children outside of state custody. Ensured appropriate referrals for testing, evaluations, records, or further assessments were made.
-Routinely interacted with children and families, caregivers, the judicial system, representatives from various organizations, DFPS, and the general public.
-Met with parents to assess risk and safety issues, identified behavior changes necessary to achieve child safety, referred parents to appropriate services to address the identified needs to move towards positive permanency and discussed with parents their progress towards making changes to behaviors that posed dangers to their child.
-Visited children monthly to assess the child’s feeling of safety in their current home, to plan for permanency, and to discuss their needs, wishes, and progress while in care.
-Attended and participated in court hearings about the child and family, which included contacting the parties in the case before hearings, preparing court reports, and testifying in court on the child’s needs, the family’s progress, and the department’s efforts to achieve permanency for the child.
-Transitioned children home during reunification services and provided support to the family until the legal case was closed.
-Responsible for documenting case records by completing forms, narratives, and reports to form a written record for each client. I developed and maintained effective working relationships between Child Protective Services staff and law enforcement officials, judicial officials, legal resources, medical professionals, and other community stakeholders.
-Trained and mentored two new hires until they met all competency requirements.