FTH Visitation Coach - Contractor

Job Description

Job Description

Progressive Life Center, Inc. (PLC) is a Black-led organization, providing culturally-sensitivity human services to children, youth and families in the District of Columbia and surrounding Maryland, throughout Greater Philadelphia, and in most of Delaware. PLC’s array of community-based services includes foster care and adoption, independent living for youth aging out of foster care, family preservation, juvenile diversion, and parenting skills training. For more than two decades, PLC has earned accreditation from the prestigious Council on Accreditation (COA) for its demonstration of excellence in the delivery of services and achievement of outcomes. Learn more at plcCommunity.org .

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

PLC’s Family Time Homes (FTH) program, aims to create a nurturing and supportive environment for parents to reconnect with their children under supervised visitation. Through evidence-based practices and personalized support, we seek to promote positive parenting behaviors, and strengthen family bonds. 

At the heart of our approach lies the Nurturing Parenting Program®, a proven model recognized for its effectiveness in preventing child abuse and neglect. Leveraging this program along with our proprietary NTU™ Service Delivery Model, we will equip parents with the skills and resources needed to create safe and loving environments for their children.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

• Facilitates parent orientation.
• Supervises parent-child visitation and coaches parents until reunification or services end.
• Identify and complete goals established for family.
• Conduct intakes and assessments.
• Support parents in establishing positive relationships and a safe home environment.
• Support overall well-being of children.
• Ensures accommodation of scheduling outside of regular business hours. 
• Attend and participate in weekly supervision.
• Attend and participate in trainings.
• Enter and maintain accurate data into PLC database or any other contractual database.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Additional Selection Criteria: 
• Sensitivity to and competence in the cultural differences that are present among service population.
• Ability to forge a mutually respectful partnership with persons served and their families in which they are helped to gain the skills and confidence to address any issues and problems they face.
• Conviction about the capacity of people to grow and change.
• Ability to work in partnership with other team members.
• Ability to set limits and maintain the helping role of the practitioner and to intervene appropriately to meet the needs of the persons served or other family members.
• Ability to drive a vehicle to perform several of the essential functions of this position.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Associates or bachelor’s in psychology, social work, counseling, education or other human service field from accredited college or university required. Master’s degree preferred.
• Ability to work flexible hours weekdays, weekends, and/or evenings for approximately 10 to 20 hours per week.

• Minimum one (1) year of progressive experience working with children, youth and families in human service setting.
• Bilingual in English and Spanish preferred.

• Experience in human services best practices & training.
• Experience utilizing MS Office Suite and databases.
• Effective oral and writing skills.
• Certified in CPR/First Aid.
• Ability to work an on-site work schedule.
• Ability to work a flex schedule to accommodate the family visitation needs of parents/youth.
• Valid driver’s license, access to a vehicle, and ability to travel within the City of Philadelphia and surrounding regions.
• Complete Nurturing Families Program® certification within 30 days of hire.
• Certification in NTU™ Service Delivery Model within one (1) year of hire.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Ability to remain in a stationary position 30% of the time.
• Ability to move, walk upstairs and transport families inside and outside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc.
• Ability to operate a computer and other office productivity machinery.
• Ability to position self to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• Ability to frequently communicate with employees/customers/clients ; and must be able to exchange accurate information by perceiving the nature of sound, near and far vision, depth perception, providing oral and written information.
• Ability to frequently move files weighing up to 20 pounds throughout the office space.
• Ability to be received business calls and respond to situations during office hours rapidly
• Ability to support children when required and protect a person in physically confrontational situations.
• Ability to respond to families/youth in crisis that can cause significant amount of emotional stress which can cause related physical stress.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Normal office environment or residential facility, but also may travel locally to visit clients within their homes, meet with service providers, and/or attend meetings:  schools, hospitals, mental health clinics, private practices, prisons, corporations, and numerous public and private agencies.

Equal Opportunity Employer

PLC is an equal opportunity employer.  PLC does not discriminate in employment on account of race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, political affiliation, military status, or other non-merit-based factors.