Post Adoption Therapist

About Ada S. McKinley

Ada S. McKinley Community Services, Inc. is driven by its mission to empower, educate, and employ people to change lives and strengthen communities.

Founded in 1919 by Ada Sophia McKinley, a schoolteacher and social reformer, the agency began as a settlement house to assist veterans returning from World War I and African Americans migrating from the South.

Today, the agency serves more than 7,000 people annually at over 70 locations.

Services include tutoring, mentoring, college placement, foster care, housing opportunities, youth and family counseling, employment training and placement, and Head Start programs.

Job Description Summary

Under the direct supervision of the Director of Family Support Program (FSD), the Post-Adoption Therapist provides short-term counseling to children/youth and their families in their homes, the office, or via Zoom. The goal is to prevent disruption of adoptive/subsidized guardianship placements.

The therapist assists in identifying appropriate services for families, maintains confidential client records, conducts initial clinical assessments, and assists clients with developing and completing service goals. The position also requires completion of monthly and quarterly reports and other duties as assigned.

Reporting Relationship

Reports To: Director of Family Support Program

Supervises (Position Title): None

Essential Responsibilities & Duties

• Provides counseling/therapy services to children/youth and their families in home and/or office settings. These clients typically represent more complex or difficult cases.
• Provides clinical input and direction to Family Support Specialists and other program staff.
• Conducts clinical assessments.
• Prepares and submits reports and data as required.
• Attend community committee meetings as required.
• Available evenings and weekends as prescribed by the Program Director.
• Maintains necessary records of client services and documents case notes in the funder-provided database in a timely manner.
• Completes monthly statistics and reports and prepares summaries for consultation, monitoring, and referral purposes.
• Establish trusting relationships with all family members.
• May serve as a liaison/coordinator of services between other agencies and practitioners.
• Facilitate parenting curricula individually or in groups.
• Participates in team staffing and case conferences.
• Performs other duties as assigned within the Family Support Program.

• Non-essential duites

Essential Competencies

Interpersonal Skills

• Possesses the ability to partner with clients individually and/or in a family setting to help them mobilize resources and build resilience.
• Maintains appropriate boundaries, even during emotionally charged and difficult situations and interactions with clients.
• Demonstrates experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and awareness that indicate cultural sensitivity to the client populations served.
• Objectively evaluates situations through observation, discussion, and research.
• Works with other staff in a fair and honest manner while treating others with respect, compassion, and understanding.

Communication Skills

• Communicates effectively orally and in writing.
• Demonstrates active listening, concentration, and empathy skills to engage and establish trust with clients.

Organizational Skills

• Effectively manages paperwork and caseload while prioritizing tasks.

Technological Skills

• Demonstrates the ability to navigate Microsoft Office and related technologies to communicate with the team and complete documentation.
• Demonstrates a willingness to learn and utilize new technologies.

Commitment to Mission

• Comply with all Ada S. McKinley policies and procedures as outlined in the organizational operating procedures and Human Resources manuals.
• Participates in the Teamwork, Innovation, and Excellence initiative.
• Contributes to the One Ada Culture.
• Embraces and practices the concepts of a growth mindset.

Core Competencies

• Adaptable: Adjusts to new conditions, changes, challenges, and experiences.
• Communicator: Is understood by others, both verbally and in writing, and understands the ideas and perspectives of others.
• Uses a Growth Mindset: Embraces the potential to learn and grow and views successes and failures as development opportunities.
• Has Integrity: Demonstrates honesty, trustworthiness, ownership, accountability, and respect.
• Collaborator: Cooperates and works well with peers, colleagues, and team members by giving and receiving ideas, comments, and feedback with an open mind.

Requirements

• Master's degree in counseling, social work, psychology, or a closely related field.
• Two years of experience counseling children and families.
• Valid Illinois driver's license and insurance.

Compensation

$55,000-$58,000 Annually

Benefits

• Paid vacation
• Paid Sick Time
• 12 Paid Holidays
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 403(b) Plan
• Life Insurance
• Long-term & short-term disability
• Employee assistance program (EAP)
• Family medical leave
• Tuition reimbursement

Benefit options and eligibility vary by Fulltime and Part-time positions.

Compensation within the posted salary range varies based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, and performance at the time of the offer.

Mental/Physical Demands

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

Work requires concentration while using a computer to analyze and manipulate data. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to sit and occasionally is required to stand and walk.

The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Environmental Conditions

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Duties are performed in a typical office environment. No unusual or adverse working conditions exist.

This description documents the general contents and requirements of the job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements. The principal duties and responsibilities shown are all essential job functions except for those indicated with an asterisk (*).

The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.