Family Visitation Specialist

Family Visitation Specialist

The Family Visitation Specialist coordinates and delivers a coached family visitation program for parents working toward reunification with their children who are currently placed with relatives or other caregivers. Through structured visits, the Family Visitation Specialist helps parents build effective parenting skills and strengthen healthy, positive relationships with their children with the goal of supporting family progress toward less restrictive levels of supervision and increased independence.

Full and part-time candidates are encouraged to apply. This role requires consistent afternoon and evening availability, as most family visitation services occur after school and work hours. Full-time staff should generally expect a 37.5-hour schedule that includes late morning and evening hours (ex: 11:00 am – 7:30 pm), although schedules may vary based on family needs and may be adjusted when appropriate. Occasional Saturday visits may also be required. Most part-time staff work approximately 10–15 hours per week, primarily during afternoon and evening visitation hours and/or Saturdays, with additional hours available based on program needs and staff availability.

No two days look exactly the same for a Family Visitation Specialist! A typical day may include transporting children from school, daycare, foster homes, or kinship caregivers to visitation settings, facilitating and coaching supervised visits, documenting family progress and collaborating with caregivers, service providers, and referral sources. Visits may occur in agency visitation rooms, in the community, or in family homes as families progress toward less restrictive levels of supervision.

Throughout each visit, the Family Visitation Specialist actively coaches parents on parenting skills, child engagement, communication, supervision, and relationship-building strategies while ensuring child safety and well-being remain the primary focus. Specialists help create welcoming and developmentally appropriate visitation environments by preparing visitation rooms, monitoring needed supplies and toys, encouraging families to participate in clean-up routines, and communicating any needs to program leadership.

Major responsibilities/activities include:

• Facilitate initial meetings with parents to explain visit coaching, establish visit schedule, identify child[ren]'s needs and develop a preliminary visit plan
• Supervise visits to ensure safety and well-being of children and to ensure that children's needs are the primary focus of each visit
• Meet with parents before each visit to review visit plan and rehearse as needed; meet with parents after each visit to review and develop plans for the next visit
• Use coaching, modeling, praising/cheering, rehearsal, and focusing on strengths to assist the parent in recognizing and meeting the needs of their children
• Provide coaching and support to improve relationships between parents and kinship caregivers
• Frequently provide transportation of children to visits
• Ensure the timely completion of progress notes in the electronic case record following each visit
• Oversee scheduling of visitation rooms and ensure that rooms are maintained in a clean and tidy manner
• Maintain positive working relationships with parents, family resources, children, program staff and others within the agency. Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills during interactions with internal and external customers.
• Maintain and submit all required documents and comply with all aspects of the Vehicle Safety and Usage Policy
• Responsible for maintaining a dynamic caseload and meeting established monthly billable service targets. Caseload composition may vary based on family needs, visit frequency, level of supervision, transportation requirements, and service progression.
• Prepare, complete and submit required reports and statistical data on client population in a timely manner.

Minimum requirements include:

• Minimum of bachelor's degree in social work or related field required
• One (1) year of experience in child welfare or related field is preferred
• Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to accept feedback and directives from program management and agency leadership
• Be a highly organized, motivated, self-starter
• Strong organization and time management skills, including timely completion of progress notes, billing documentation, transportation documentation, and other required records to support program compliance and service reimbursement.
• Proficient in verbal and written communication and has a calm, compassionate demeanor in person and on virtual platforms and telephone
• Demonstrated commitment to a team atmosphere and willingness to roll up their sleeves to assist others
• Available to regularly work evening and weekend hours to meet the scheduling needs of families referred to the program
• Must possess a valid New York State driver's license and have access to a reliable personal vehicle for work-related transportation needs. While agency vehicles are typically provided for the transportation of children, staff may occasionally be required to use their personal vehicle when an agency vehicle is unavailable.

Competitive pay range of $48,000- $50,500 per year based on education and qualifications

C+FS offers full-time employees the below benefits to support our employees and their families and help to create a healthy work environment:

• Paid Time Off (PTO), paid holidays and bereavement time
• Employer Paid Life Insurance
• Medical insurance options
• Dental insurance options
• Vision insurance options
• Wellness Program and Incentives
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Dependent Care FSA
• Employee Referral Bonus
• Qualifying Employer for Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)
• 403(b) Right Away and Employer-Contributions (1000 hours each year)

Child and Family Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer:

Child and Family Services provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran or familial status, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Child and Family Services complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Equal Opportunity Employer This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.