Investigative Monitoring Specialist - Social Services Specialist IV

State of Colorado

$156K *
Education, Government & Non-Profit
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-7 years experience in child welfare or related field
  • Expertise in ABA regulations and compliance
  • Knowledge of trauma-informed care principles
  • Strong investigative and report-writing skills
  • Ability to collaborate with multi-agency stakeholders
  • Master's degree in Social Work or related field recommended
  • Familiarity with Colorado state laws regarding child welfare.

Responsibilities

  • Investigate compliance of licensed ABA clinics and provide technical assistance
  • Conduct critical incident report reviews and Stage II investigations
  • Evaluate policies and practices related to restraint and seclusion
  • Collaborate with Behavioral Health Administration and other entities
  • Provide training and support to facilities to improve compliance
  • Compile and complete Reports of Inspection following investigations
  • Monitor care quality and ensure child safety in facilities.

Benefits

  • 100% remote work opportunity
  • Collaborative work environment
  • Impactful role in child welfare reform
  • Continuous professional development and training
  • Access to state resources and expertise
Full Job Description
Salary : $156,572.00 Annually
Location : Denver, CO
Job Type: Full Time
Job Number: IHA 07462 9/16/2026
Department: Colorado Department of Human Services
Division: OCYF - Child Welfare
Opening Date: 09/16/2026
Closing Date: 9/30/2026 11:59 PM Mountain
FLSA: Determined by Position
Type of Announcement: This position is open only to Colorado state residents.
Primary Physical Work Address: Remote Position/Home-Based Work Address
FLSA Status: Exempt; position is not eligible for overtime compensation.
Department Contact Information:
How To Apply: Please submit an online application for this position at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/colorado. Reach out to the Department Contact to apply using a paper application, including any supplemental questions. Failure to submit a complete and timely application may result in the rejection of your application. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that application materials are received by the appropriate Human Resources office before the closing date and time listed.

Division of Child Welfare: Provider Services Unit
The position is located in the Office of Children, Aging and Community Services(OCACS), Division of Child Welfare (DCW), Provider Services Unit (PSU), and Provider Performance Unit. The Division of Child Welfare Services provides a range of leadership, management, and supervisory functions related to the delivery of public child welfare services to children, youth, and families. The Division is responsible for the ongoing implementation of child welfare services in Colorado and supervises county departments of human/social services in the administration of Child Welfare programs, and privately operated agencies and facilities licensed and monitored by the Division of Child Welfare.

The Provider Services Unit (PSU) exists to license, monitor, supervise, train, and provide statewide oversight for privately operated childcare facilities and agencies, including residential child care facilities (RCCF), qualified residential treatment programs (QRTP), secure residential treatment centers (SRTC), psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTF), homeless youth shelters (HYS), shelter care, specialized group facilities (group homes and group centers) (SGF), child placement agencies (CPA), foster homes (FH), therapeutic foster care (CPA-THRFC), treatment foster care (TX-FH), adoption agencies (CPAAD), respite child care centers (RCCC), day treatment facilities (DT), and Applied Behavior Analysis Clinics (ABA) across the State of Colorado. The goals of the unit are to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of the children and youth served in those facilities. The work unit is responsible for comprehensive integrated (interagency) licensing and monitoring of the 24-hour childcare facilities, auditing and investigating reports/allegations involving licensing violations, determining facility or agency culpability, evaluating the integration of trauma-informed principles and practices, monitoring the quality of care, providing support and education, and ensuring the safety of children placed or receiving services with providers.
Description of Job
This position is deemed 100% Remote Work.

Please note: These working arrangements are subject to change.
About this position:
This position is recognized as a staff authority specific to the ABA Investigative Monitoring Team and will be responsible for subject matter expertise regarding physical management, restraint, and seclusion performed in the ABA facilities. This position is a pacesetter in the field who has a unique level of technical expertise in creating the landscape for the creation of interagency collaboration with the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) and related physical restraint and seclusion experts and the design of related policies, procedures, and regulations impacting requirements in ABA Clinic settings. Agency management routinely relies on the expertise of this position and the essential consultation of this position to remain informed about the latest research and data, ensuring the best strategies are implemented with ABA licensed as it relates specifically to physical management, restraint, and seclusion through policy and programming. This role also plays a critical part in guiding conversations, policies, procedures, and statutory recommendations with stakeholders, legislators, and those involved in the Child Welfare system related to physical restraints, seclusion, de-escalation, reduction, and support. This includes researching and staying up- to date with the various types of de-escalation and physical restraint models being utilized by the ABA facilities. This position will be the point of contact to consult with the national models to ensure that the ABA Investigative Monitoring team is holding ABA facilities accountable to the integrity of the model, while acknowledging that CDHS' regulations and related standards supersede any recommendations provided by the national entities. This includes researching and staying up-to-date on policies, procedures, statutes, and requirements related to restraints and seclusion, including collaborating with the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), OCACS Medical Team, the Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) CHRP team, Division of Youth Services (DYS), and other restraint and seclusion experts to best align requirements with regulation and practices when possible. This position also implements the Division's monitoring process to include critical incident report reviews, Stage II investigations, Complaint Investigations, technical assistance and training, issuing reports of inspection, issuing fines, and recommending adverse action against a facility, agency, or clinic. This position determines whether the agencies are operating in compliance with applicable internal guidelines, rules, policies, regulations, and standards. This position identifies and recommends opportunities for improving standards of practice for programs to meet minimum operational expectations. This position is responsible for gathering information across entities and subject matter experts related to restraint and seclusion and providing support to other Monitoring Specialists and other staff within the Division of Child Welfare when it comes to restraints and seclusion as it relates to licensed ABA clinics. This position also ensures that youth are receiving safe and adequate care and treatment by evaluating the safety, care, and well-being of the youth in care, to include treatment planning, staff and care provider qualifications, training received, supervision being provided, as well as financial stability. This is completed through file reviews, interviews with youth in care, interviews with staff, and ensuring required compliance with the minimum standards and related statutes. This position also is responsible to handle and safeguarding confidential information regarding youth in care.
Summary of Job Duties:
Investigates Compliance of ABA Clinics/Facilities and Provides Technical AssistanceThis position is assigned a caseload of licensed ABA providers for which they are responsible for monitoring and overseeing their compliance. Equipped with extensive expertise in Volume 7 regulations (12 CCR 2509-8) and Titles 24 and 26 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, this position is responsible for assessing compliance, providing interpretations, and ensuring regulatory enforcement. This position investigates and ensures ongoing compliance with regulations and statutes related to licensed ABA clinics/ facilities that provide ABA Services; however, this position is cross-trained to monitor all licensed agencies and facilities that provide out-of-home care, day treatment, and/ or educational services through Stage II investigations, Complaints Investigations, and the ongoing review of critical incident reports submitted by providers in accordance with Volume 7 regulations. This position has a primary caseload of ABA facilities/ clinics. This position is ultimately tasked with determining agency/facility culpability as it relates to incidents that have occurred within the agency, facility, or foster home. Using their knowledge base, this position will specifically assess content received through various means, such as critical incident reporting, policies and procedures created by the provider, staff files, children/youth files, foster parent files, hotline referrals, referral assessments, and all other related documentation that is accessible to the Department, to determine if there are compliance issues related to the information being reported and observed. Other means used during investigations include, but are not limited to, interviewing foster parents, agency/facility staff, placing authorities, county personnel, guardians ad litem, legal guardians, parents, youth, children, and others that may be related to the case and/or incident. This position is responsible for investigating, interviewing, and evaluating programs on topics such as (but not limited to): policies and procedures, board notes, restraints/seclusions, behavior management and discipline, client rights, medication administration, educational activities, community activities, recreational activities, treatment, and services to be or are being provided to youth and their families, as well as site compliance. Additionally, this position is responsible for ensuring compliance by determining if care providers are supervised and trained according to the needs of the youth and their individual learning needs, assessing treatment planning, observing the milieu, assessing the quality of home study evaluations, assessing behavioral interventions utilized by facilities, and examining financial documentation to ensure the stability of agencies and facilities and that the basic needs of the youth are being met. This position is relied upon to be the regulatory authority for interpreting Volume 7 regulations while monitoring and investigating their assigned providers. This position may be asked to assist other Licensing and/or Investigative Monitoring Specialists on scheduled licensing or monitoring visits. This position is responsible for collaborating with and partnering with the assigned Licensing Specialist when there is an opportunity to work together with the agency/facility. Provides or researches options for and coordinates delivery of technical assistance to licensed facilities and agencies in order to support quality care of youth and to increase their compliance with State and Federal rules, with particular focus on child protection, safety, and children's rights. Oversees and directs providers to improve programming to ensure the safety, care, and well-being of children and youth in placement. This position provides technical assistance to assist providers with coming into compliance with the minimum standards and related statutes.

This position is recognized as a staff authority specific to the ABA Investigative Monitoring Team and will be responsible for subject matter expertise regarding physical management, restraint and seclusion performed in the ABA facilities. This position is responsible for remaining informed about the latest research and data, ensuring the best strategies are implemented with ABA licensed as it relates specifically to physical management, restraint, and seclusion through policy and programming. This includes researching and staying up-to-date on policies, procedures, statutes, and requirements related to restraints and seclusion, including collaborating with the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), OCACS Medical Team, the Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) CHRP team, Division of Youth Services (DYS), and other restraint and seclusion experts to best align requirements with regulation and practices when possible. This position is responsible for gathering information across entities and subject matter experts related to restraint and seclusion and providing support to other Monitoring Specialists and other staff within the Division of Child Welfare when it comes to restraints and seclusion as it relates to licensed ABA clinics.

Completes Reports of Inspection for Investigations
This position is responsible for regularly conducting Stage II Investigations, Complaint Investigations, Critical Incident Report Investigations, and other relevant investigations to determine agency/facility culpability and compliance with Volume 7 regulations and related statutes for providers assigned to their caseload. Once the investigation is complete, this position is responsible for completing a timely Report of Inspection (ROI). The ROI contains information related to the allegations, a narrative of the visit, the technical assistance that was provided to ensure compliance, and whether the allegations were confirmed/unconfirmed (for Complaints) or founded/unfounded (for Stage II's). This position is responsible for ensuring that the ROI addresses whether there is identified agency/facility culpability (violations), and if not, the Specialist is responsible for explaining how they came to their conclusion that there were no identified violations. This position must provide information about the specific technical assistance that was provided throughout the visit and afterward if follow-up is required. This position is also responsible for documenting that the violations were communicated and reviewed with the agency/facility staff, so they have an understanding of how they need to come into compliance with the related regulations and/or statute violations. This position is responsible for completing ROI's for all visits, in person, while out at the facility, to include the technical assistance being provided. This position is responsible for reviewing responses to ensure the agency/facility has come into compliance with the violations identified. If this position determines the response is unacceptable to the Department's standards, this position is responsible for rei

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