Clinical manager

The Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) is an independent executive branch agency with oversight and ombudsperson responsibilities, established by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2008. The OCA's mission is to ensure that children receive appropriate, timely, and quality state services, with a particular focus on ensuring that the Commonwealth's most vulnerable and at-risk children can thrive. Through collaboration with public and private stakeholders, the OCA identifies gaps in state services and recommends improvements in policy, practice, regulation and/or law. The OCA also serves as a resource for families who are receiving, or are eligible to receive, services from the Commonwealth. Office of the Child Advocate | Mass.gov

The Quality Assurance (QA) Team at the OCA focuses on improving the quality of state service delivery by responding to individual concerns about children received via our Complaint Line and evaluating statutorily required critical incident reports and Department of Children and Families (DCF) supported reports of abuse and/or neglect of children in out-of-home settings. In addition to responding to individual cases as necessary, the information gathered and analyzed by the Quality Assurance Team informs the OCA’s policy initiatives and recommendations related to state service quality and delivery, child maltreatment, preventable childhood injuries, and other issues or associated risk factors.

Under the supervision of the Senior Quality Assurance Manager, the Clinical Manager manages intake, screening, triaging, and assignment of Complaint Line inquiries, critical incident reports, DCF supported allegations of abuse and/or neglect, and/or Foster Care Review safety alerts. The Clinical Manager provides case consultation and supervision for a team of Clinical Specialists. The Clinical Manager also identifies systemic gaps and trends in service delivery and opportunities to improve state agency policy and practice. OCA is hiring two Clinical managers.

The right candidate for this position has extensive clinical experience working with and interviewing youth, particularly those receiving state services and who are members of marginalized groups. You have a deep knowledge of Massachusetts child-serving agencies and excellent clinical analysis and evaluation skills. You operate independently at a high level and can triage and manage multiple time-sensitive priorities at once, exercising sound judgement and discretion regarding confidential matters. Most of all, you care deeply about supporting children and families in the Commonwealth and want to join a team of public servants who share that commitment.

This position may require frequent travel across Massachusetts and an ability to work flexible hours Monday - Friday, including evenings. Please note that this job also requires an individual to work in-person at the OCA’s Boston office 1-2 days per week.

Application Instructions

Applications are to be submitted on the Mass Careers website\: MassCareers Create a Profile guide | Mass.gov. A cover letter and resume are required parts of the application. Please do not contact the OCA via phone to inquire about the status of your application. If you need any support with submitting your application, please refer to MassCareers Resources | Mass.gov. Review of applicants will start immediately and continue while the position is posted, with first consideration given to those received on or before November 2, 2026.

The OCA is committed to creating and supporting an inclusive work community that is free of all forms of discrimination. The OCA does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other basis under Massachusetts law.

The OCA encourages applicants from a broad spectrum of backgrounds to apply for positions, including candidates who have personal and/or professional history with the child protective and/or juvenile justice systems. Bilingual applicants are encouraged to apply.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Quality Assurance Operations Support\: Manage the intake, screening, triaging, and assignment of Complaint Line inquiries and/or critical incident reports, Department of Children and Families (DCF) supported allegations of abuse and/or neglect in out-of-home settings (institutionals) and/or Foster Care Review safety alerts.
• Clinical Case Consultation\: Provide case consultation to all Quality Assurance Clinical Specialists and escalate cases for senior Quality Assurance management consultation. Supervises, and when necessary, conducts case reviews of inquiries received via the OCA Complaint Line, critical incident reports, institutional reports, and/or Foster Care Review safety alerts from Massachusetts child-serving state agencies concerning the fatality, near fatality, serious bodily injury, or emotional injury of a child and/or young adult receiving services. Oversees clinical analysis and written reports concerning all case reviews and findings, including feedback to state agencies with identified policy and practice concerns. In collaboration with the Senior Quality Assurance Manager, identifies next steps for resolution and/or OCA intervention, if required.
• OCA Complaint Line Ombudsperson\: Perform Ombudsperson functions on the OCA Complaint Line, which includes responding directly to complaints and/or requests for information and resources from members of the public.
• Youth Engagement Program\: Serve as the clinical counterpart to the Youth Engagement Manager, attend site visits as requested, and ensure that all complaints received by youth, either through the OCA Complaint Line and/or site visits are followed up in a timely and quality manner.
• Quality Assurance Salesforce Database\: Supports the Senior Quality Assurance Policy Manager and/or Quality Assurance Data Specialist with data entry and/or data cleaning, including ensuring the Quality Assurance Clinical Specialists are completing data entry/cleaning as required.
• Individual Case Investigations\: Collaborates with the Senior Quality Assurance Managers and/or Senior Director of Quality Assurance to perform investigations, as assigned, including, but not limited to, extensive review of relevant electronic and paper records, data analysis, state agency or stakeholder interviews, and drafting written reports.
• Trend Analysis\: Identifies case practice concerns, trends, gaps and areas for system-wide practice or policy improvements based on a multifaceted clinical analysis of information gathered during complaint, critical incident institutional and/or Foster Care Review safety alert reviews.
• Project Support\: Participates in and/or support on special projects related to the OCA’s Quality Assurance Division work. May represent the OCA at work group meetings, as requested.
• Relationship Building\: Builds effective working relationships with colleagues in other state agencies and relevant non-governmental organizations. Represents the OCA at external meetings as assigned.