Minimum Requirements: Master’s degree in Social Work or a similar degree from an accredited university. 3-4 years of recent experience in Child Welfare. 1-2 years prior Foster Care experience required. At least 1 year supervisory experience preferred. Must be CWEL licensed and be able to effectively communicate and work with staff, foster parents, applicants, and the community at large. Must possess high level of computer literacy. Must support and follow the mission and Christian values of Lydia Home.

Function: Supervises case managers toward achieving the following outcomes: Children in traditional and home of relative foster care; will live in safe home environments; will maintain a stable placement that assures their well-being; and will achieve a permanent living arrangement. The supervisor oversees the placements and progress toward permanency. The supervisor develops staff and teaches them the skills needed to accomplish program outcomes. The supervisor provides clear expectations, regular supervision, reinforcement of positive performance and corrective discipline. The supervisor promotes and provides strong leadership to the assigned team and creates a sense of teamwork and cohesiveness among team members. The supervisor represents the program to participants, outside providers and within the Agency; and ensures a customer service approach is consistently utilized by staff.

Responsibilities: 

1. Maintain a high degree of personal and professional integrity in serving the children, families, staff and community. 

2. Maintain a high level of timeliness, quality and thoroughness of documentation.

3. Provide day-to-day direction, training support and supervision of placement service staff overseeing foster care cases; collaborate with external stakeholders and staff to ensure proper management and care of caseloads.

4. Monitor case management team’s documentation; ongoing support services to foster parents, youth in care and biological family members (e.g., crisis intervention, parenting classes, domestic violence service, mental health services, etc.) and ensure their performance is consistent with DCFS and Lydia Home Foster Care Policies and Procedures.

5. Review and sign-off on all court reports, referrals, ACR documentation, and related documents.

6. Attend court hearings, ACRs, family visits and other meetings in the absence of case managers and when support or assistance, is necessary.

7. Provide monthly supervision with staff and document in SACWIS.

8. Ensure scheduling and participate in all decision-making meetings, including quarterly staffings, CIPP’S, and Child and Family Team Meetings.

9. Help staff stabilize foster homes to avoid disruptions by training staff how to intervene before crisis escalation.

10. Complete annual evaluations for each team member.

11. Meet weekly with Foster Care Program Director for supervision.

12. Communicate and meet with DCFS as directed by Foster Care Program Director.

13. Provide 24-hour on-call crisis services to foster parents.

14. Help staff move cases to permanency by providing necessary training, monitoring, and supervision of staff.

15. Participate in quality assurance/quality improvement activities.

16. Other duties as assigned.

To Apply: Email resume and questions regarding the position to ahernandez@lydiahome.org

Minimum Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in social work or human services field and some experience in child welfare. The worker needs to be able to communicate and work effectively with all members of the child care team including foster parents, biological parents, and Lydia staff.  Good writing and organizational skills are essential.  Must be willing and able to support the mission of Lydia Home Association.  Must successfully complete licensure in Child Welfare within the established time frame, which includes passing the CERAP, 402, CCA & Child Welfare licensing exams.

Function: The foster care case manager bears responsibility for the case management duties related to children in placement, including the biological and Foster Care families.

Responsibilities: 

1. Provide reasonable efforts for biological parents through ongoing assessment and referrals.  Work effectively with parents to help them improve parenting skills and fulfill the service plan to effectively care for their children.

2. Effectively move cases toward permanency, whether that means return home, adoption, guardianship or independence, within court determined time frames.  This includes extended family evaluations & concurrent permanency planning.

3. Conduct and document regular home visitations to foster homes to ensure safety and welfare of the child and to monitor the placement.  The frequency of visitation is dictated by contractual obligation & case specific need.  Develop a positive relationship with foster children. 

4. Provide and document ongoing support services to foster care parents (i.e., in-service training, crisis intervention, etc.)

5. Provide and document ongoing case management services to children in care, including: development of service plans, attending court and administrative case reviews, establishing visiting plans for parents and siblings,  and completing comprehensive assessments.

6. Maintain a positive working relationship with foster parents to provide support and encouragement for a high standard of care.

7. Assessment for & referral to all services needed for the children, the biological parents and the  foster parents.  Coordinate & facilitate communication between service providers.

8. Prepare all necessary paper work for adoption and guardianship subsidies within mandated time frames.

9. Pursue ongoing professional development through participation in training, seminars and course work.

10. Participate in fundraising activities on behalf of the agency.      

To Apply: Email resume and questions regarding the position to ahernandez@lydiahome.org

About the Program: The mission of LYDIA Home Association is to care for children and strengthen families. The residential program at LYDIA Home Association serves youth ages 6-17, who are involved with the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS). The youth reside at LYDIA Home and are provided with a structured living environment in addition to mental health treatment that focuses on skill-building, regulation, and recovery from the trauma/neglect they endured.      

Job Description: The Residential Therapist bears major responsibility for the therapy and coordination of services for children living on residential units. Duties of the Residential Therapist may include, but are not limited to, providing individual and family therapy, documenting therapeutic services, participating in program development as it relates to the integration of therapeutic principles, conducting training, and providing clinical leadership to the treatment team.

Location: Chicago, IL

Minimum Requirements: Must be a qualified mental health professional and have a master’s degree or doctoral level degree from an accredited school of psychology or social work or an equivalent degree in a human services field. Must possess skills to work effectively with children and their families. Must demonstrate good writing and social skills in order to communicate and work cooperatively with members of the child care team and the various systems and agencies in the community. Must be willing and able to support the mission of LYDIA Home Association (LHA).

To Apply: Submit resume with cover letter to Dr. Heather Baranowski, residential director, by email to hbaranowski@lydiahome.org.

LYDIA Counseling Center is focused on serving children and families in the community, especially those with limited resources who are struggling with issues such as trauma, adoption, substitute care, and child behavior problems. Additionally, we provide individual and marital counseling from a faith-based perspective. Our clinicians use a strengths-based approach to provide individualized care to clients. 

Therapist Responsibilities:

• Establishes positive, trusting rapport with clients.

• Diagnoses and treats mental health disorders.

• Creates individualized treatment plans according to client needs and circumstances.

• Meets with clients regularly to provide counseling, treatment, and adjust treatment plans as necessary.

• Conducts ongoing assessments of client progress.

• Involves and advises family members when appropriate.

• Refers clients to outside specialists or agencies when necessary.

• Maintains thorough records of client meetings and progress.

• Follows all safety protocols and maintains client confidentiality.

• Contributes to the counseling center by accomplishing related tasks as needed.

• Contributes to counseling center by participating and contributing as a member of counseling team.

Therapists establish their own work hours in accordance with their availability and client need. Therapists determine their caseload, with a minimum availability of 4 weekly client sessions. Liability insurance and office space are provided. This is a part-time position that does not include benefits. 

Therapist Qualifications/Skills:

• Strong clinical skills

• Strong interpersonal skills

• Ability to manage time and prioritize tasks

Education, Experience, and Licensing Requirements:

• Master’s degree in psychology, social work, counseling, or related field

• Current with all state licensing requirements, including LCSW, LCPC, and LMFT

• Previous clinical experience

Full or Part-time: Part-time

Location: Chicago, IL

To Apply: Email resume and questions regarding the position to  kanderson@lydiahome.org.

Minimum Requirements: The candidate must be at least 21 years old and must have either a bachelor’s degree in human services, a bachelors in any field with 1 year supervised human services experience or 5 years supervised experience in mental health or human services, valid Illinois driver’s license (preferred). In addition, the candidate must have experience with at-risk/challenging youth; open to supervision and able to work as part of a team; role model appropriately; nurture, teach, and structure the daily living setting; and willing to support the mission of LYDIA.

Responsibilities: The residential program at LYDIA services youth ages 6-17, many of whom are involved with the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS). The youth reside at LYDIA and are provided a structured living environment in addition to treatment that focuses on skill-building, regulation, and recovering from the trauma/neglect they endured. The opening is for a child care worker to facilitate group activities for boys ages 13-17. Role includes enhancing clients’ daily living skills; monitoring clients at all times to ensure safety; participation in training; assisting clients in growing emotionally and socially through informal counseling and facilitating skill-building groups; encouraging clients in education by monitoring and assisting with homework, teacher communication, school behavior, and special school activities; planning, supervising, and participating with clients in recreational activities; documenting mental health services provided.

Full or Part-time: Part-time & Full-time

Location: Chicago, IL

To Apply: Email resume and questions regarding the position to jromero@lydiahome.org.

Minimum Requirements: Bachelor’s degree with analytical and statistical abilities. The qualified person should have experience with research design, data analysis, and report writing. Knowledge of databases and statistical programs is preferred. Must be willing and able to support the mission of Lydia Home Association.

Function: Primary job responsibilities are the development, implementation, and monitoring of the Continuous Quality Improvement program. This individual is to ensure that the organization’s practices are consistent with governing standards from the Department of Children and Family Services [DCFS], Council on Accreditation [COA], and the Family First Act.

Responsibilities:

1. Oversee the development and implementation of the Continuous Quality Improvement program (e.g. data collection, development and tracking of outcomes, file reviews, client satisfaction surveys, and ensure adherence to governing standards).

2. Develop appropriate database to track data.

3. Create user-friendly forms that can be used by staff and clients to track trends related to program and client development.

4. Develop analytical reports capturing qualitative and quantitative trends and provide practical application of data findings to governing/accrediting bodies, Lydia Home administration, Lydia Home staff, and the Board of Directors.

5. Complete DCFS related reports and a quality improvement plan [QIP] for DCFS administrative meetings. Verbally articulate given findings.

6. Respond to feedback from DCFS related to program observations and CQI related matters.

7. Monitor Performance Based Outcomes generated by DCFS/Northwestern. Review data, submit data errors to DCFS, and contextualize data trends.

8. Oversee risk management committee addressing and tracking areas of strength and needed growth. Devise solutions to identified matters and strategize ways to solidify progress.

9. Stay up-to-date on governing standards, including but not limited to COA, DCFS, Family First, Medicaid, COVID, and YouthCare. Ensure program compliance with these standards [1] in the writing of Lydia Home policies and procedures, [2] the training of necessary staff on the standards, and [3] tracking the progress of meeting the given standards within program operations.

10. Attend CWAC DCFS and Residential Provider meetings. Ensure Lydia Home policies and procedures reflect information relayed during these meetings. Communicate via staff memos updates to policies and procedures.

11. Lead and organize materials for audits and case reviews. Complete case reviews and audit-related reports in accordance with governing standards.

12. Oversee and direct accreditation process, ensure continual compliance, and complete associated reports.

13. Hold meetings with program staff and clients to create a feedback loop, ensuring that staff and clients are informed about and contribute to the CQI process, tracking of data trends, and collection of data [as needed].

14. Participate in strategic planning meetings in addition to program-specific meetings to maintain familiarity with operations and program models.

15. Obtain familiarity with therapeutic program models [e.g., Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competency (ARC) and Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Therapy (SMART)] for the purposes of operationalizing and tracking components that promote client progress.

16. Attend Behavior Treatment Committee meeting with other assigned agencies.

17. Track the delivery of required and recommended trainings. Ensure that program directors are aware of the requirements for training on necessary topics and at which frequency. This spreadsheet of trainings should be accessible for auditing purposes.

18. Oversee and provide guidance to interns/practicum students that assist with data collection, analysis, and reporting.

19. Track staff billing and the meeting of benchmarks for service delivery. Report performance related matters to direct supervisor of employee.

20. Schedules are approved by the Director of Programs. Approval is given by the Director of Programs for changes to work schedule and time off requests.

21. Be familiar with and follow agency and residential policies and procedures. Comply with mandated reporting guidelines. Maintain client confidentiality and HIPAA standards.

22. Participate in supervision on an informal and formal basis (i.e., scheduled). Supervision is provided in individual and group format.

23. Other duties as assigned.

Lydia Home Association is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Job Type: Full-time

To Apply: Email resume and questions regarding the position to jromero@lydiahome.org.

Description: We are looking for a few volunteers to serve as administrative support at our front desk. We are hoping to cover a total of 40 hours a week between 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Shifts would be 4-8 hours long, depending on volunteer availability.

Responsibilities: Greeting guests, answering the phone, organizing mail, updating calendars, and maintaining office supplies.

(This could be an ideal position for a retired person who wants to spend a few hours a week doing meaningful and essential work).

This is an unpaid volunteer position.