Family engagement Specialist

Family Engagement Specialist

Title: Family Engagement Specialist

Location: Washington, DC

Program: Child Development Center

Organizational Overview: For nearly 50 years, House of Ruth has empowered women, children, and families to rebuild their lives and heal from trauma, abuse, and houselessness. We offer comprehensive services for survivors, including service-enriched housing, nationally accredited child and family development programming, and free counseling to anyone who has experienced domestic violence.

Position Summary: Develop positive, therapeutic relationships with families and encourage and facilitate their engagement with Kidspace. Provide necessary support and resources to families. Provide assistance with parenting and other life skills.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Recruits and orients new participants. Completes the intake process with new participants. Greets parents. Meets regularly with parents. Conducts home visits when indicated. Develops a positive therapeutic relationship, assesses the family's strengths and needs, and formulates goals in conjunction with the family. Monitors and assists with goal completion.
• Keeps track of enrollment and prioritizes filling empty slots. Maintains a waitlist. Networks with other agencies to fill empty slots.
• Completes all appropriate forms. Maintains timely documentation of interactions with families and progress on goals. Communicates all essential issues to all relevant contacts. Gathers and incorporates information from other programs regarding the family.
• Identifies and links the families to any necessary services/resources. Advocates for services to assist the parent including services for children with special needs. Establishes and maintains consistent professional contacts with House of Ruth staff and staff from other organizations to ensure coordinated services. Accompanies individuals to appointments as needed.
• Develops and conducts a variety of workshops and/or support groups and activities. Teaches a range of life, social, and parenting skills. Plans parent events. Provides positive role modeling to families and to other staff.
• Develops and facilitates a Parent Board in conjunction with the Director that meets monthly and gives a voice to parent concerns, feedback and participation in decision-making.
• Provides support, problem resolution and crisis intervention when needed. Intervenes during and after an incident. Ensures that parents adhere to the agreed upon program expectations. Addresses instances of non-adherence to program policies and expectations.
• Observes children in the classroom and compiles information from the teachers. Assists teaching staff and consultant therapists with relaying information and concerns about the children to the parent. Assists parent with addressing concerns to teaching staff.
• Maintains a safe, secure and non-violent environment for all participants. Effectively manages all emergencies by following standard procedures. Reports maintenance issues as observed.
• Screens telephone calls and walk-ins for potential clients.
• Completes all assigned reports.
• Attends and participates in all training sessions and meetings.
• Assists with classroom coverage on an as-needed basis.
• Other duties may be assigned. All duties and responsibilities are completed according to House of Ruth's policies and procedures.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's Degree in Social Work, or a related field.
• Experience working with and supporting families.

Pre-Employment Requirements: Successfully passing the following pre-employment process is required:

• FBI Fingerprint
• Criminal and sexual abuse background check
• Alcohol and drug Test
• Urine Screening
• TB Test
• Police Clearance
• Must be fully vaccinated
• Must have a valid driver's license.

Skills:

• Demonstrate strong interpersonal and customer service skills with the ability to engage a diverse group of people.
• Strong analytical, planning, and organizing skills.
• Self-starter with good time management skills
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Products
• High level of interpersonal skills to handle sensitive and confidential situations
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Good problem-solving skills
• Demonstrate the ability to effectively manage multiple tasks concurrently.
• Ability to exercise and model good judgment, teamwork and professionalism, especially in crisis situations and creative about finding solutions for them.
• Team player with demonstrated ability to work with cross functional teams

Employee Benefits: The benefits package for full-time employees includes:

• Medical and Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Life/AD&D
• Retirement Plan
• Tuition Assistance Program
• Paid Time Off and Holidays
• Employee Referral Program

Physical Requirements: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position: Frequently Required

• Walking, Bending, Squatting, Climbing stairs
• Getting up and down from the floor
• Ability to lift up to 20 pounds
• Operating a motor vehicle
• Fine Hand Manipulation

Occasionally Required

• Prolonged standing
• Reaching above the shoulder

Additional Information: The House of Ruth is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status. All duties and responsibilities are completed according to the House of Ruth's policies and procedures. House of Ruth offers an attractive benefits package for all full-time employees.