The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) protects and promotes the safety and well-being of New York City’s children and families by providing child welfare, juvenile justice, and early care services. In child welfare, ACS contracts with private nonprofit organizations to support and stabilize families at risk of a crisis through preventive services and provides foster care services for children not able to safely remain at home. Each year, the agency’s Division of Child Protection responds to more than 50,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. In juvenile justice, ACS manages and funds services including detention and placement, intensive community-based alternatives for youth, and support services for families. ACS is also a key part of NYCs early childhood and education continuum, providing childcare assistance to thousands of child welfare involved and low-income children so they can access safe, affordable, quality care.

Under the direction of a Best Practice Coach Manager, The Best Practice Coaches provide consultation to the Preventive Provider agencies on individual cases in order to build the providers’ capacity to respond to challenging practice issues and to improve well-being outcomes for children in PPRS.

The Best Practice Coaches are subject-matter experts in areas affecting families in child welfare. Some of these areas include: Safety and Risk assessments, DV, Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Sexual Abuse etc. Responsibilities include:

- Serves as in-house expert in at least two subject matter areas such as (LGBTQ, Domestic Violence, Sex trafficking, Mental Health etc.) and consults with other OPTA staff and Preventive providers on cases with identified concerns related to those specific areas of expertise.
- Develops expertise in the continuum of Preventive Services with specific focus on 2 to 3 Evidence Based Models.
- Follows up with the Preventive Providers about Elevated Risk Conferences (ERCs) and assists the Provider with overcoming obstacles deterring the achievement of the goals set during the ERC. Assistance to the provider may include, but it is not limited to, facilitating communication with other ACS internal and external stakeholders i.e. (DHS, DCP, FPS, HRA etc.). - Assists with the tracking of Step-up referrals from time of package submission to case disposition.
- Provides individual case consultations to provider agency’s staff and assists them in navigating complex case issues.
- Provides guidance to the preventive providers, as assigned, on trial discharge cases receiving preventive services.
- Works closely with a portfolio of 6-8 Preventive assignments across the 5 Boroughs.
- Works closely with the Office of Family Team Conferencing, Preventive provider community and other stakeholders to develop Technical Assistance plans designed to improve family team conferencing performance.
- Observes Family Team Conferences as needed and provides feedback to the providers.
- Provides technical assistance to provider agency staff by conducting training and arranging meetings with internal and outside consultants.
- Represents DPS in workgroup/ committees such as Data, Predictive Analytics etc.
- Consults with child welfare staff, external stakeholders, and community-based organizations regarding families and child specific issues.
- Completes reports in narrative form by reviewing, summarizing, and explaining data to record/convey work activities/findings/recommendations.
- Completes Critical/Fatality Reviews
- Participates in special projects, as necessary and/or other tasks as assigned.
- Actively participates in group and individual supervision Preferred Skills

A Masters Degree in Social Work from an accredited school of social work and
1. A valid New York State Registration as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and at least one year of full-time, satisfactory, post-graduate experience that includes substantial experience in one or more of the following modalities of practice: facilitation of family team conferences or family group decision-making meetings utilizing a conferencing model which emphasizes family engagement and consensus based decision-making; clinical group work with children, youth, parents or individual families; or the conduct of professional training on topics related to child and family services; or

2. A valid New York State Registration as a Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW) and at least three years of the experience required in "1" above. Up to two years of this experience may have been in the supervision of social work practice areas described in "1" above; or

3. At least three years of the experience required in "1" above. A valid New York State Registration as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Licensed Master of Social Work license (LMSW) must be obtained within one year of appointment.

Note: Employees who fail to obtain their LCSW or LMSW within one year after appointment may have their probationary periods extended for no more than six months. Failure to obtain the LCSW or LMSW by the end of the probationary period will result in dismissal.

Note: At least one year of the required experience described in "1", "2" and "3" above must have been obtained in the last five years.

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This position is also open to qualified persons with a disability who are eligible for the 55-a Program. Please indicate at the top of your resume and cover letter that you would like to be considered for the position through the 55-a Program.

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.