Case Manager, Program Coordinator, Placement Coordinator

STEPHANIE D. GONZALES

*** ******** ***** ********, ***** 77503

Email: ***********@*******.*** Cell: 346-***-****

QUALIFICATIONS SUMMARY

** ***** ** ********** ** coordinating placements of children in the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), Children’s Protective Services (CPS) system.

Skilled in fostering positive relationships with DFPS placement units to ensure consistent census building for residential treatment centers and general residential operations that generated an increase in revenue.

Communicate effectively with local, regional, and state placement departments regarding appropriate placement and discharge of emotionally disturbed and traumatized youth resulting in shortened length of stay and placement in least restrictive environments.

Managed case services to children and families including service plans development, assessments, health checks and medical appointments, proper medication monitoring, staff supervision and scheduling, food and clothing purchases as needed, etc.,

Maintain records electronically in the extended reach data base system and manually update documents in children’s and foster/house parents hard copy binders.

Certified to Train Pride

Certified in TBRI

CPR Certified

EDUCATION

University of Houston - Clear Lake, Psychology Major, Bachelor of Arts Degree 2006

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Case Manager- Family Promise of Clear Creek

Webster, TX 9/2022-Present

Assist families with navigating the social services system. Conduct telephone screenings and intake interviews with prospective families and make recommendation to Executive Director those families meeting requirements to move into the program. Provide weekly, documented case management for guest families in the program to include monitoring progress in attending Life Skills classes, assist, as needed in securing employment, job training, child care, financial budgets, debt pay-down and other social services needs, assist and provide referrals to other organizations as appropriate, and advocating with agencies for guests as needed under the direction of the executive director. Maintain written documentation of all visits, goals and updates. Maintain a full census and graduation rate of at least 75%. Serve as main point of contact with guest families and church coordinators. Coordinate church rotation for guest families. Maintain updated Resource list and all other duties assigned by the executive director.

Program Coordinator/Placement Coordinator/Case Manager - Today’s Harbor for Children, LaPorte, TX 5/2021 – 7/2022

Program Coordinator

Assist with transitioning from a General Residential Operation (GRO) only, to a Child Placing Agency (CPA) and GRO while developing CARF accreditation standards. Aided the program staff with creating documents and mock files for our CPA, Youth for Tomorrow (YFT), and CARF onsite visits. In creating documents, we reviewed the CPA and GRO minimum standards to be sure we met and exceeded them along with CARF accreditation standards. Heightened Monitoring (HM) required our Program team to create and maintain binders for the 5 tasks that are being scrutinized during unannounced weekly visits based on five previous years of deficiencies (prior to the onboarding of our current Program team.) Coordinating events with Development Director and the families and volunteers.

Placement Coordinator

Screen up to 30-31 prospective placement packets to determine appropriateness of admission on average monthly.

Create summary reports to review and assess with the Program’s Team for final acceptance.

Correspond with DFPS, Single Source Continuum Contractor (SSCC), and/or private placement clients regarding the status of their placement request.

Report vacancies to DFPS, and SSCCs, coordinate date and time of intake placement and check all requested documents to perform the intake process as needed.

Train the house parents, foster parents and other staff who may conduct the admission intake process.

Case Manager

Maintain children’s files, communicate with house/foster parents timelines for doctor appointments, schedule psychological evaluations, CANS assessments, and arrange therapy sessions.

Meet with each child to write assessments and service plans to address their unique needs and goals.

Relay all incidents and other requested updated information to the child’s caseworker, i.e., educational, behavioral, medical, health, social and recreational progress notes.

Ensure children’s community involvement and participation by communicating events and campus volunteer activities to house and foster parents.

Collect weekly documentations, order groceries, and submit allowance requests.

Supervise overnight and relief staff, arrange their schedules, order groceries, ensure household supplies, submit their timesheets, and submit children’s allowance requests. In addition, respond to any calls after office hours and communicate needs or concerns to the Program Directors.

Placement Coordinator – Grammy’s Home Emergency Shelter, 11/2019 – 10/2021

Screened placement packets to determine appropriateness of client admissions. Type summaries of referrals and emails to facility placement team for review. Corresponded with referring facility personnel to request additional information regarding client information, stayed updated on placement vacancies, and pending discharges. Contacted referral sources regarding the status of the facility’s placement decision. Coordinated the placement of the child with facility staff if the child was accepted. Documented and maintained records of client profiles that were declined placements. Coordinated admissions and discharges with the facility case manager to ensure census goals are maintained. Submitted required placement information to TDFPS as requested. Communicated with TDFPS caseworkers and placement workers to ensure necessary paperwork was provided at the time of admissions. Provided training to assist in expediting the admission and discharge processes.

Placement Coordinator – Life’s Purpose Residential Treatment Center, 4/2017 – 2/2022

Reviewed placement packets to determine appropriateness of admission. Typed summaries for placement team to make final decision. Corresponded with program personnel to obtain information regarding prospective client data, kept updated on vacancies, and pending discharges. Contacted referral sources about the facility’s final placement decision. Maintained records and profiles of declined placements. Coordinated admissions and discharges with the case managers to make sure placement goals were maintained. Submitted required placement data to TDFPS as requested. Communicated with TDFPS caseworkers/placement workers collecting paperwork required during intake. Provided training on documents to expedite admission and discharge processes

Placement Coordinator – DePelchin Children’s Center, Houston, TX 3/2007 – 11/2009

Worked with external placement agencies to coordinate placement of children into the residential treatment centers and child placement agency. Gathered and synthesized all required placement information to expedite referrals. Consistently maintained a high census to meet budgeted revenue. Played central role in a statewide initiative to place children in less-restrictive environments to achieve permanency a stability. Worked with placement teams from RTC, CPAs, and TDFPS/ CPS to achieve initiative’s desired outcomes.

Office Manager – Cryogenic Transportation, Inc., 1/2002 - 3/2007

Managed the daily operations of the office. Developed a filing system and maintained data entries required for drivers’ schedules. Processed detailed paperwork for drivers and ordered office supplies.

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