Foster Care Licensing Specialist

Requisition: 2026-194503 Foster Care Licensing Specialist Job Locations US-OH-IRONTON ID 2026-194503 Line of Business StepStone Family & Youth Services Position Type Full-Time Pay Min USD $46,000.00/Yr. Pay Max USD $47,000.00/Yr. Our Company StepStone Family & Youth Services Overview StepStone Family & Youth Services provides trauma informed, youth centered services to children and families involved in foster care. The Foster Care Licensing Specialist plays a vital role in recruiting, educating, and supporting foster families to provide safe, stable, and nurturing homes where children and youth can heal, grow, and thrive. We are seeking a compassionate and relationship focused Foster Care Licensing Specialist who is passionate about supporting children and families through trauma informed, strengths based, and family centered practices. This role is ideal for a professional who enjoys community engagement, foster parent recruitment, licensing coordination, and building meaningful partnerships while helping expand the network of qualified foster families. The Foster Care Licensing Specialist is responsible for recruiting prospective foster parents, guiding families through the licensing and certification process, completing home studies, maintaining licensing compliance, and providing ongoing support to foster families. This position works closely with foster parents, treatment teams, referral sources, leadership staff, and community partners to promote placement stability and positive outcomes for youth and families. The ideal candidate is organized, energetic, solutions focused, and committed to helping foster families feel informed, supported, and prepared throughout the licensing process while promoting safe, stable, and healing environments for every child placed in care. Responsibilities Coordinate and engage in recruitment and awareness activities to recruit prospective foster/adoptive parents and build community awareness relations Develop and implement proactive, strategic recruitment plans designed to attract and certify qualified candidates, while maintaining a pipeline of both active and passive candidates for future training and certification Respond to foster parent inquiries within 24 hours via phone Develop strategies to support efforts for general, targeted and child-specific recruitment and marketing Understand and follow all agency and state licensing requirements and always ensure foster parents' compliance with regulations Assist with and complete the certification process with foster parents, including the completion of required documentation Complete parent interviews, background clearances, and home inspections to evaluate suitability, safety, and well-being of youth placed in the homes. Maintain foster parent files in compliance with agency and state regulations Assist in the placement process and successful matching of youth and foster parents based on the needs of referred youth and the level of training, strengths, and expertise of the foster family Maintain professional boundaries, conduct, confidentiality and other governmental laws and regulations, agency policy and licensure ethics Attend all company required meetings, in addition to community meetings to provide on-going collaboration with referral sources and community providers Provide support to all members of the treatment team, including case manager, therapist, foster parents, and youth to ensure needs are met and ensure placement stability Ensure safety and well-being of all youth in care by observing for signs of abuse and/or neglect Travel to affiliate locations; frequent travel associated with recruitment events required Part