Support Practitioner

**Support Practitioner**

**Churches of Christ, Children, Youth and Families,**

**Permanent, Fulltime Opportunity**

**Employee Benefits**

As a not-for-profit entity, our employees can package up to $15,900 p.a. of their taxable income on everyday expenses (such as mortgage payments, vehicles, insurance, and entertainment). We are also able to offer a range of compelling benefits including:

- Flexible working environment
- Five (5) weeks of annual leave and the ability to purchase more
- Career development
- Study Assistance
- Onsite parking
- Discounts through our large network of retail partners

To learn about what salary sacrifice can mean for you click here.

**About the role**

The CIS program support is primarily targeted at children to reduce their emotional distress, improve relationships (with carers, peers and family), learn new skills in coping with the challenges of daily life and improve the child’s problem solving skills and overall wellbeing. Foster and Kinship carers receive a benefit by learning new ways to support the child in their care.

Our CIS service takes a wholistic approach and will engage with the child and the child’s extended network including their Foster and Kinship Carers, their family or origin (where relevant) and/or other important people that care for the child to assist them to learn new ways to support the child in their care.

**Intervention Focus could include working with the child on**:

- Expanding their window of tolerance
- Developing emotional literacy
- Developing healthy coping strategies
- Carer coaching/ sharing resources and strategies
- Supporting them to develop a positive self-image
- Empower them to safely express their trauma

**Key responsibilities**:

- Undertake screening, intake and placement partnering processes for children and young people with foster and kinship care families.
- Utilise a range of assessment, crisis and short-term intervention skills and therapeutic approaches to clients; report issues to management.
- Contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of programs and care arrangements to meet individual needs.
- Facilitate the delivery of evidence-based parenting programs to parents and carers and utilise appropriate modelling techniques to address identified needs and vulnerabilities; collaborate with community agencies and referral partners to build professional networks.
- Coordinate recruitment of and provide ongoing support to carers.
- Generate comprehensive assessment and/or reports regarding the initial and ongoing suitability of carers and/or young people and facilitate the foster care approval process (where relevant to the role).
- Negotiate, coordinate and implement case management and planning and support the integration of joint case management processes; maintain detailed and accurate client records.
- Provide direct in-home and flexible support services, including the provision of after-hours and ‘on-call’ services on a rotational basis as required; negotiate intervention plans when necessary; provide advice and make appropriate referrals.
- Work sensitively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, children, young people, families and communities to provide culturally inclusive services and achieve sustainable outcomes within a culturally safe environment with the aim of circumventing the intergenerational cycle of over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in care.

**About you**

You are passionate about the welfare of children and achieving the absolute best outcomes for them. You will have the ability to easily establish and build rapport with people, in addition to being a naturally caring and positive individual.

This is a role working with people and as such, you should really thrive on those daily interactions. With excellent communication skills, you are capable of liaising comfortably with a range of internal and external stakeholders.

To be suitable for this position, your qualifications for the role will consist of:

- Degree qualification in social work, psychology, social sciences or a related discipline (or an equivalent level of expertise (more than 4 years’ experience) attained through previous appointments, service and/or study (minimum Certificate III Community Services) as approved by the State Manager or Operations Manager).
- Applied knowledge and understanding of child protection and out-of-home care frameworks, including knowledge of, or the ability to acquire knowledge of the Child Protection Act 1999.
- Demonstrated ability to complete assessments for care.
- Demonstrated knowledge of the contemporary challenges for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Demonstrated understanding of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 and Child Protection Act 1999.
- Sound understanding of child development and trauma theory to inform assessment and decision making.
- Current driver’s licence - P2 minimum.

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