Director, Placement Capacity

Position : Director, Placement Capacity
Classification : Full-time, Exempt
Reports to : Vice President, Community Based Care
Company : Texans Together
Location : Houston, TX

Position Description :
The Director, Placement Capacity leads efforts to expand and manage a robust, high quality provider network that ensures safe and timely placements for children and youth in Harris and surrounding counties’ child welfare system. This role oversees provider engagement and system wide collaboration to meet increasing foster care placement demands.
This position calls for a strategic leader who understands trauma informed care and can drive innovative solutions to expand capacity while maintaining the highest standards of child safety and wellbeing.

Primary Responsibilities :
Leadership and Management

• Provide daily oversight and strategic direction for the Placement Capacity and Growth Department.
• Establish annual priorities and performance measures to track progress against strategic goals.

Provider Network Management, Expansion & Sustainability

• Strategically grow regional placement options including foster homes, kinship families, extended foster care and independent living, therapeutic foster homes and residential facilities.
• Establish strong relationships with residential providers to sustain, grow and improve placement options for youth of all needs.
• Provide support for trauma informed practices and Texas Child Centered Care (T3C) credentialing to improve capacity for crisis placements and youth with high acuity needs.
• Partner with Child Placing Agencies (CPAs) to overcome challenges for entering the residential foster care space and/or expand existing capacity and maintain CPA sustainability.
• Monitor placement trends and forecasts to anticipate needs in the service array and placement availability.
• Provide actionable strategies to reduce placement bottlenecks and emergency placements.
• Collaborate with providers and relevant stakeholders to support placement stability.
• Ensure diversity, cultural responsiveness, and meeting the needs of populations with disabilities in the provider landscape.

Placement Safety & Quality Assurance

• Partner with Health and Human Services Residential Child Care Licensing (HHSC RCCL), the Department of Texas Family Protective Services Heightened Monitoring (DFPS HM), and CPAs to support placement safety.
• Collaborate with DePelchin Contract Oversight to support providers through capacity and performance assessment.

Cross System Collaboration

• Coordinate with Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) teams, Single Source Continuum Contractors (SSCCs), health care providers, and educators, to support wraparound care and sustainability of placements.
• Represent Harris and surrounding county area capacity needs in statewide and local workgroups.

Workflow Optimization

• Collaborate with Texans Together Intake and Placement team to improve referral matching, triage processes, and provider communications for timely placements.
• Develop innovative processes to improve timely placement, placement stability, and safety.

Required Qualifications :

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, public administration, or related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum three (3) years in Texas child welfare, ideally with provider management or placement strategy experience.
• Proven leadership in expanding placement networks while preserving child safety standards.
• Familiarity with DFPS systems (IMPACT) and regional trends for Houston area placements as they relate to capacity and requirements to place youth in the least restrictive settings.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities :

• Deep understanding of Texas child welfare systems, including DFPS operations and Community Based Care.
• Knowledge of the regional childcare provider landscapes in Harris and surrounding counties.
• Expertise in trauma informed care principles, kinship placement needs, and therapeutic service models.
• Familiarity with state and federal child welfare regulations (HHSC Minimum Standards, Texas Family Code, Title IV-E).
• Experience with safety monitoring and risk mitigation practices.
• Knowledge of service delivery needs for populations with disabilities.
• Data literacy and skill to use results to inform decision making.
• Strategic planning and forecasting using quantitative and qualitative data.
• Relationship building and provider engagement across diverse communities.
• Crisis management and rapid decision making in high pressure placement scenarios.
• Process optimization for referral matching and safety support.
• Effective communication with internal teams, providers, courts, and external stakeholders.
• Data literacy and skill to use results to inform decision making.
• Strategic planning and forecasting using quantitative and qualitative data.
• Relationship building and provider engagement across diverse communities.
• Crisis management and rapid decision making in high pressure placement scenarios.
• Process optimization for referral matching and safety support.
• Effective communication with internal teams, providers, courts, and external stakeholders.

Work Conditions :

• Environment: Hybrid- Office, Remote
• Range of Schedule: Mon – Fri, 7:00 am to 8:00 pm
• Travel: Occasional, Local and Statewide (Uses own vehicle on agency business but does not transport clients. (Must have a valid Texas Driver License and current Auto Insurance)

DePelchin is Proud to be an Equal Opportunity Workplace.

DePelchin is committed to selecting and employing the best and most qualified person available for each job opening without unlawful discrimination of any kind. Additionally, DePelchin is committed to providing a work environment free of discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, color, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity), marital or parental status, veteran status, religion, national origin, age, disability, family medical history, genetic information, or political affiliation.