In PersonFrequent travel to family homes throughout the service area is required; travel for some training may include overnight stays.
Social & Community ServicesCase Management & Advocacy
About the job
Requirements
A high school diploma or equivalent is required.
Knowledge of infant and child development is required.
Experience working with or providing services to children and families is required.
Ability to diffuse difficult situations or confrontations and establish trusting relationships is required.
Knowledge of the dynamics of child abuse and neglect is required.
Ability to work with professionals from varied disciplines and embrace family-centered, strength-based services is required.
Ability to work respectfully with culturally diverse families and accept individual differences is required.
Willingness to build reflective capacity, including introspection, awareness of oneself in relation to others, and recognition of the value of supervision, is required.
Proficient computer skills for communication, participant record documentation, accessing information, and interpreting information are required.
A valid North Carolina driver's license and maintained insurance coverage are required.
Passing pre-employment drug screening, criminal, HCPR, and driving checks is required.
Ability to travel frequently to home visits, sometimes in outlying areas, is required.
Ability to lift or move up to 30 pounds is required.
Ability to kneel, bend, reach, and sit on the floor regularly to engage in developmental play with children and families is required.
Ability to work in an active home-based environment with changes in climate and noise level is required.
Ability to read, type, write, speak, use the telephone, and sit at a desk and work on a computer for prolonged periods is required.
Responsibilities
Engage referred families by scheduling, administering, documenting, and scoring the Family Resilience and Opportunities for Growth initial assessment.
Initiate and maintain regular, long-term contact and support for assigned families through home visits lasting at least an hour and 24/7 on-call availability; respond to calls and texts and provide occasional in-person support between scheduled visits when needed.
Build trusting relationships with families while honoring diverse family structures and parenting practices.
Develop and regularly update an individualized Family Service Plan to guide interventions addressing needs identified on the assessment and during service.
Assist each family in setting and achieving meaningful goals.
Support parents in learning problem-solving and coping skills and how to advocate effectively for their family.
Provide parent education using Partners for a Healthy Baby, Nurturing Program, Growing Great Kids, and supplemental curricula.
Use targeted activities, observation, and the parallel process to strengthen parent-child interactions and promote healthy childhood growth and development.
Administer family screens, including intimate partner violence, depression, and child development screens (ASQ-3 and ASQ-SE), and make appropriate referrals when needed.
Liaise between families and community agencies and stay informed about local resources that may enhance family well-being.
Assist families with scheduling and attending appointments for prenatal and postnatal care, well-child checkups, immunizations, and other appropriate needs.
Attend staff meetings, weekly individual supervision meetings, group parent trainings, occasional community outreach events, and other required meetings and trainings.
Attend training upon hire and throughout employment, including training that may require travel and overnight stays.
Document all family contact in the Family Wise Database.
Maintain paperwork and document required screens, family data, referrals, and other information in the Family Wise Database and/or family file.
Work with the supervisor to create and regularly update a Family Service Plan for each family.
Assist parents in creating a goal plan within 45 days of enrollment and update it every six months.
Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.
Desired Qualifications
A bachelor's degree in Child Development, Early Childhood, B-K, Human Services, Social Work, or a related child and family field, and at least one year of program-related experience or an equivalent combination of training and experience, are preferred.
Bilingual Spanish/English abilities are preferred.
An Infant Mental Health Endorsement is preferred.
Description
Catawba Valley Healthy Families uses the evidence-based Healthy Families America (HFA) model to provide in-home visitation services to overburdened families who are pregnant or parenting a child, ages birth – 5 years and living in Burke, Caldwell, McDowell, Catawba, and Iredell Counties. This service mitigates child maltreatment risks by helping families reduce stress factors and increase protective factors through supportive, regular, home visits over a span of 3-5 years. CVHF is one of many programs offered by Children’s Hope Alliance to strengthen families.
Job Summary
The Family Support Specialist (FSS) will initiate and maintain intensive, long-term home visitation services to families, beginning during pregnancy or within 3 months of birth. The visits are family-centered, strength-based, and directed at establishing a trusting relationship while honoring diverse family structures and parenting practices. The FSS will develop an individualized plan to ensure all areas of concern are addressed and existing strengths are identified. As the FSS encourages a family to set and achieve their goals, a variety of activities, information, and linkage to resources will be provided to participating families to strengthen the parent-child relationship; promote healthy childhood growth and development; and enhance family well-being.
The Family Support Specialist will provide services to families throughout the CVHF service area, which includes McDowell, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, and Iredell counties. While the primary focus of this position will be serving families in Iredell and Catawba counties, travel within the broader service area may be required to support program operations and family needs.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
Service Delivery
Work as part of a team to engage referred families by scheduling the Family Resilience and Opportunities for Growth (FROG) initial assessment, administer, document, and score the assessment.
Initiate and maintain regular and long-term contact / support to assigned families through:
Home visits lasting at least an hour
Being on call 24/7 to families (mostly entails responding to calls and texts, occasional in-person support may be required between scheduled visits)
Build trusting relationships by honoring diverse family structures and parenting practices.
Develop and regularly update an individualized Family Service Plan to guide interventions that address needs identified on the FROG scale and during the course of service.
Assist each family in setting and achieving meaningful goals.
Support parents in learning problem-solving and coping skills and how to effectively advocate for their family.
Provide parent education through use of Partners for a Healthy Baby, Nurturing Program, Growing Great Kids, and other supplemental curricula.
Employ strategies to strengthen parent-child interactions and promote healthy childhood growth and development through targeted activities, observation, and the parallel process.
Administer family screens, including intimate partner violence, depression, and child development (ASQ-3 / ASQ-SE); make appropriate referrals if needed.
Act as a liaison between families and community agencies as needed, stay informed of available local resources that could enhance a family’s well-being.
Assist families in scheduling and attending doctors’ appointments for pre and postnatal care, well-child checkups, immunizations, and other appointments as appropriate.
Work as a member of the CVHF team by regularly attending CVHF staff meetings, weekly individual supervision meetings, group parent trainings, occasional community outreach events, other meetings and trainings as required.
Attend training upon being hired and throughout employment, some of which may require travel and overnight stays, to develop professional skills.
Perform other duties as required when assigned by supervisor.
Documentation
Document all contact with families in the Family Wise Database.
Maintain all paperwork; document required screens, family data, referrals, and other required information in the Family Wise Database and/or the family file.
Work with supervisor to create and regularly update a Family Service Plan for each family.
Assist parents in creating a goal plan within 45 days of enrollment, update every 6 months.
Supervision Responsibilities
None
All employees have the following expectations
Mission: Contribute to and enhance company mission
Organization: Prioritize and plan work responsibilities appropriately
Professional Development: Attend and/or successfully complete all required trainings and meetings
Timeliness and Accuracy: Perform quality work within given deadlines and expectations with or without direct supervision
Professionalism: Comply with all applicable policies, practices, and procedures; report all out-of-compliance and unsafe activities to supervisor; interact professionally with other employees, volunteers, families, children, and the community
Teamwork: Serve effectively as a team contributor on all assignments
Communication: Utilize effective communication skills both verbally and in writing; provide effective feedback and is receptive to feedback
Leadership: Work independently while understanding the necessity for communicating and coordinating work efforts with other appropriate individuals
Cultural Competence: Is sensitive to the cultural, ethnic and religious views of the children and families served, and in community and public contact.
Children’s Hope Alliance is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
Requirements
Education and Experience Requirements
Minimum of a High School Diploma or Equivalent, Preferred Bachelor’s degree in Child Development, Early Childhood, B-K, Human Services, Social Work, or a related child and family field and at least 1 year of experience related to the program or an equivalent combination of training and experience.
Preference given to individuals with bilingual abilities (Spanish/English).
Knowledge of infant and child development.
Experience in working with or providing services to children and families.
Ability to diffuse difficult situations / confrontations and establish trusting relationships.
Knowledge of dynamics of child abuse and neglect.
Infant Mental Health Endorsement preferred.
Ability to work with a variety of individuals and professionals representing various disciplines related to the clients’ specific needs and embrace the concepts of family-centered and strength-based services.
Accepting of individual differences and possess the experience and humility to work with culturally diverse families.
Willingness to engage in building reflective capacity (e.g. Capacity for introspection, communicating awareness of self in relation to others, recognizing value of supervision, etc.)
Proficient computer skills to allow communication, participant record documentation, accessing of and ability to interpret information.
Must have a valid North Carolina Driver’s License and maintain insurance coverage.
Must submit to and pass pre-employment drug screening, criminal, HCPR and driving checks.
Physical Requirements
Frequent driving to home visits, sometimes in outlying areas.
Lift and/or move up to 30 pounds (carrying books, toys, and other supplies to and from home visits).
Regular kneeling, bending, reaching, and sitting on floor to engage in developmental play with children and families.
The home-based work environment will require ability to perform duties in an active environment with changes in climate and noise level.
Reading, typing, writing, speaking, and using the telephone and prolonged sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
The office work environment will contain slight to moderate office-related noises. The employee is not exposed to extreme weather conditions, toxic fumes, or airborne particles.
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.