Lauri Esslinger

• Organized daily work schedule to ensure efficient use of time while adhering to company policies and procedures.
• De-escalated problematic customer concerns, maintaining calm, friendly demeanor.
• Independently provide guidance, advice, feedback, motivation, emotional support, and role modeling to the mentee.
• Responsible for holding mentees accountable to stay on track to achieving their goals by encouraging them to meet deadlines and boost confidence to succeed.
• Attend regular staff unit and individual meetings. Facilitate, lead, and participate in unit meetings, case staffing's, and in multi-disciplinary teams. Assigns work and monitors for equitable work distribution within the unit.
• Evaluate training needs of staff, provide training and interpretation, and guidance on agency program requirements and policy.
• Provide direction in the areas of time management, organization, and case planning.
• Train and provide clarification and interpretation to staff in current policy and procedures, long-term care manual, WAC, and Management Bulletins.
• Review and resolve problems.
• Review and monitor decisions related to findings and protective services. Read records to evaluate for complete and accurate comprehensive investigations as well as effective documentation of case activity.
• Prepares and analyzes reports, using them as tools to equitably distribute workload, correct errors, and identify trends to ensure accurate and timely work.
• Read and respond to management bulletins regarding policy and procedure.
• Disseminate information to staff and inform them of current policy and procedures, management bulletins, WAC changes, and other changes that affect the program.
• Seeks resolution of problems and conflicts both internal and external at the lowest possible level; receive and respond to issues regarding clients in vulnerable situations and respond to constituent inquiries, drafting responses when necessary or upon request.
• Coordinate with various partners including HCS, RCS, AAA, law enforcement, Tribal Governments and other state and local agencies. Develop effective working relationships with key community organizations; provide information, technical assistance and consultation to agencies and organizations on APS programs through public presentations and participation in agency coordination meetings. Instruct other professional and the public about what services can be provided, included program service limitations.
• Coordinate and facilitate assigned meetings that include other community service providers.
• As a mandatory reporter, appropriately identify situations presenting risk to vulnerable adults/children and promptly refer to CPS, APS or CRU.
• Prepare, appear and testify in judicial and administrative hearing proceedings as required or upon request.
• Participate in and facilitate case staffing meetings: including regional and local A-Team and case coordination meetings which may include internal and external stakeholders (i.e. Residential Care Services, Area Agency on Aging, Law Enforcement, sharing information in accordance with confidentiality guidelines.
• Staff difficult cases in accordance with the ALTSA case staffing protocol for shared decision making. Develop effective working relationships with key community organizations.

• Adult Protective Services (APS) investigators support the agency mission of transforming lives by providing protective services to vulnerable adults and conducting investigations of abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, self-neglect, and exploitation.
• Their work includes conducting interviews with Alleged Victims (AV), Alleged Perpetrators(AP), person reporting incident to APS and collateral persons in each investigation.
• They gather pertinent information regarding allegations of mistreatment and determine an outcome of the investigation based on pertinent information collected.
• They will write up a new intake if they become aware of the existence of additional allegations not currently being investigated. They offer a variety of protective services including but not limited to referrals to services and other agencies; legal services including protective orders and guardianships; offering intervention services.
• Investigators also participate in Fair Hearings in substantiated cases that go to hearing.

· Conducts initial visits to clients within the designated timeframe of the referral 99% of the time for highs, 98.5% for mediums and 98% for lows.

· Maintain 95%, or better, of cases open past 90 days that have good cause reasons.

· Enter case notes within 10 days of the activity date.

· Make referrals to required entities (CRU, CA, DOH, Medicaid Fraud, Law Enforcement)

· Completes investigations in a timely manner.

· Follows the guidelines of RCW 74.34 and Chapter 6 of the Long Term Care manual.

· Provide ‘Your Rights’ statement to AV in every investigation, unless otherwise specified in policy.

· Establish that the AV meets, or does not meet, VA status in every investigation, unless otherwise specified in policy.

· Gather pertinent evidence regarding EACH allegation of mistreatment.

· Determine an outcome of the investigation based on the pertinent evidence gathered.

· Offer and provide protective services in every investigation, unless otherwise specified in policy.

· Enter intake information as needed.

• Facilitated group discussions and activities to ensure successful outcomes.
• Assess family strengths and needs.
• connect families to services and supports.
• Facilitate group discussions surround safety and placement of children.
• Determine best safety plan for families.
• Follow policies and procedures for Arizona Department of Child Safety.
• Write up report/plan for families and agency for safety and permanency.

• Assesses, responds to and conducts investigations in conjunction with internal/external stakeholders involving allegations of criminal conduct child abuse or criminal neglect of Arizona's children which have resulted in serious injury or death of a child. Conducts and documents interviews, prepares reports for management, makes entries into the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, and testifies in court as needed.
• Provides on-the-job and in the field coaching, mentoring and support to newly hired . Maintains sufficient/updated knowledge of related material/software in a rapidly-changing environment, e.g., new and existing legislation, policies, procedures and technological changes I such that the expertise acquired enables accurate response to trainee inquiries and the unique situations presented. Conducts training for newly hired related to the techniques/strategies necessary for performance of sensitive investigations into allegations of child abuse/neglect, including observation, conducting interviews, detecting signs of child abuse/neglect, interrogations, forensics, and collecting evidence and other documents.
• May act as manager in the absence of Manager.
• Attends unit meetings, high profile staffing, multidisciplinary meetings, Team Decision Meetings and fatality review meetings as determined by case and business needs.

• Directs, supervises and instructs direct reports according to department and regional policies pertaining to child protective services.
  
  Reviews work products and analyzes facts obtained by DCS specialists. Provides input on cases. Evaluates appropriateness of assessments and decisions made as well as intervention plans, case plans, progress, barriers, placement, services, visitation, etc. to ensure child safety and compliance
  
  Interviews and trains staff within the unit. Develops work schedules.
  
  Meets monthly with employees to discuss performance. Completes employee evaluations. Initiates disciplinary actions, if necessary.
  
  Responds/resolves problems and questions presented by customers, case participants, internal DCS staff, and other stakeholders to address concerns involving policy, procedures and issues related to specific cases.
  
  Attends management staff meetings, training, professional seminars, conferences and participates in problem-solving/decision-making.
  
  Produces, utilizes and sends reports.

• Assesses, responds to and conducts investigations in conjunction with internal and external stakeholders involving allegations of criminal conduct child abuse or criminal neglect of Arizona's children which have resulted in serious injury or death of a child.
• Conducts and documents interviews, prepares reports for management, makes entries into the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System.
• Write court reports
• Place children
• Testifies in court regarding investigations
• Attends unit meetings, high profile staffing, multidisciplinary meetings, Team Decision Meetings and fatality review meetings as determined by case and business needs.