Senior Care Manager (may underfill as Care Manager) - Placement Care Resource Specialist

SALARY RANGE

$27.49 - $42.11

WORK ASSIGNMENT DETAILS

Join Waukesha County Child and Youth - Family Services and be part of meaningful work that strengthens families, protects children, and builds lasting community connections.

Our team provides high-quality, professional services to children, youth, and families throughout Waukesha County. We are committed to keeping children safely connected to their families and communities whenever possible by using family strengths, natural supports, and collaborative partnerships. Our work is guided by respect, compassion, confidentiality, and a shared commitment to helping families move toward safety, stability, independence, and long-term success.

The Placement Care Resource Specialist plays a key role in coordinating and strengthening a standardized, team-based placement support process for youth with complex needs. This position partners with care managers, supervisors, legal partners, shelter care, out-of-home care providers, and system partners to assess placement needs, explore the full continuum of resources, and support placement matching when standard referral pathways may not be enough.

Using a youth-centered, trauma-informed, and strength-based approach, this role helps coordinate placement searches, supports timely decision-making, strengthens provider relationships, promotes least restrictive placement outcomes, and provides consultation on complex placement planning, eWiSACWIS documentation, and shelter care coordination.

What You’ll Do

• Coordinate placement searches for youth with complex care needs across the full continuum of resources.
• Prioritize family, relatives, kin, fictive kin, and the least restrictive safe placement options whenever appropriate.
• Review assessments, case documentation, and youth needs to support informed placement recommendations.
• Partner with care managers, supervisors, legal partners, shelter care, providers, and system partners to support timely placement decisions.
• Strengthen and maintain relationships with out-of-home care providers and placement resources.
• Support placement stability, continuity of care, permanency considerations, and individualized planning.
• Facilitate team-based placement staffings, provider meetings, and decision-making meetings with clear next steps and accountability.
• Support placement-related documentation, referrals, court documentation, and eWiSACWIS entries.
• Track and analyze placement data, provider responses, outcomes, trends, and workflow needs.
• Serve as the Health and Human Services liaison to shelter care.
• Help improve placement workflows, escalation pathways, staff roles, documentation standards, and quality improvement efforts.

What You’ll Bring

• Experience or knowledge related to child welfare, out-of-home care, placement planning, or youth services.
• Experience providing services under Wisconsin Statutes Chapters 48 and/or 938.
• Strong communication, coordination, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• The ability to build effective relationships with staff, providers, legal partners, families, and community resources.
• A family-centered mindset and the ability to build trust with youth, families, and partners.

Why Join Our Team?

• Impact: Help youth with complex needs access safe, stable, and appropriate care.
• Purpose: Support placement decisions that promote safety, permanency, and long-term well-being.
• Collaboration: Work alongside dedicated professionals, providers, and system partners.
• Innovation: Help strengthen and improve a team-based placement support model.
• Growth: Access professional development through meetings, conferences, and trainings.
• Support: Receive guidance from knowledgeable leaders and experienced child welfare professionals.
• Meaningful Work: Contribute every day to better outcomes for youth and families in Waukesha County

Work Schedule

Primarily Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with some flexibility required to meet the needs of families. Remote work up to 50% of the time to be determined based on program eligibility.

CLASSIFICATION SPECIFICATION

To view the full classification specification for Senior Care Manager click here.  

Minimum Training & Experience Requirements
1.    A bachelor’s degree from a recognized college or university in sociology, social work, psychology, nursing, criminal justice, or a closely related field.
2.    Two years of responsible work experience in social work, counseling, nursing, criminal justice, or a closely related field.
3.    A master’s degree in social work, nursing, psychology, criminal justice, or a closely related field may substitute for one year of the work experience.
4.    Social work certification may substitute for one year of work experience. 
5.    Valid driver’s license.

The department may choose to underfill this position as a Care Manager.
To view the full classification specification for Care Manager, click here.
The 2026 salary range for Care Manager is: $27.49 to $38.19.

Minimum Training & Experience Requirements
1.    A bachelor’s degree from a recognized college or university in sociology, social work, psychology, nursing, criminal justice, or a closely related field.
2.    One year of related work experience in social work, counseling, nursing, criminal justice, or a closely related field.
3.    Valid driver’s license.

Please include a resume but not in lieu of fully completing the online application.

Waukesha County provides a comprehensive compensation and benefits package including excellent health/dental/vision, life insurance, generous paid time off (vacation, 10 holidays, 3 floating holidays, ample accrued sick time that rolls over each year), an exceptional pension plan with employer match and lifetime retirement payment plus an optional tax advantaged 457 retirement savings plan. Amongst many other benefits, employees are recognized and valued through a pay for performance system. Successful candidates will be eligible for performance-based merit increases and non-base performance awards.

Employee well-being is promoted through a balanced work-life culture and through an exceptional employee wellness program that offers a variety of programs and tools to help promote an employee's wellness and health, including an on-site health & wellness clinic.

About Us:
Waukesha County prides itself on operating in a business-like manner and is recognized as a leader delivering high quality services with competence and skill. With our vision of "Leading the Way", we value teamwork and collaboration, ethics and diversity, communication, efficiency and cost savings, innovation, and the wellbeing of our staff and the citizens we serve. Employees are provided professional development opportunities and encouragement to learn and practice continuous improvement and LEAN principles as we regularly ask ourselves "Is there a better way?"

Location:
Located in the City of Waukesha, our campus offers an on-site fitness center, free parking, and easy access to interstate highway systems. Waukesha County offers a perfect blend of urban and rural living where one can enjoy the benefits of quiet rural lake communities or opt for nearby attractions that the greater Milwaukee area offers including vast beach and park systems, public markets, performing arts, music festivals, and sports including the Milwaukee Admirals, Brewers, Bucks, Wave, Marquette University Golden Eagles and the UW-Milwaukee Panthers Basketball programs.

EEO:

Waukesha County is committed to equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in employment and adheres to all Federal, State and County Equal Employment Opportunity laws, policies, plans, rules, regulations and ordinances. The County recognizes and accepts its important leadership role in providing for equal employment/service opportunities. It is the express policy of Waukesha County to promote equal employment opportunity among all who are employed by Waukesha County and who seek employment with Waukesha County.

For further information visit: https://www.waukeshacounty.gov

 

The County does not sponsor applicants for work visas. Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.