Family Services Specialist

A positive future for every child

Southwest Human Development is Arizona’s largest nonprofit dedicated to early childhood development. The first five years of life are the most critical in a child’s development. At Southwest Human Development, our services improve lives and help families by supporting young children and their caregivers during this important time.

Your skills, experience, and passion are needed at one of the nation’s largest nonprofits dedicated to early childhood development. Join our team and experience a long-term career which brings joy and satisfaction in knowing you make a difference. We offer over 40 programs and services to more than 140,000 children.

Why choose us?

1. Make an impact in a child’s life by promoting child health and development.
2. 401(k) matching every paycheck, and generous paid time off.
3. Opportunities for continued professional growth and development.
4. Supportive and collaborative work environment.

Job title: Family Support Specialist

The Family Support Specialist provides family development/social services to enrolled children ages birth to five and their families participating in the Early Head and Head Start. This role partners with parents to enhance the parents’ ability to fill the role of primary nurturer of their child. Maintain on-going contact with families and work with all other components (health, nutrition, family services, mental health, special services, parent education and resource/referral) to integrate services into the family setting.

In this role you will:

1. Create and maintain respectful partnerships with families. Deliver health, educational, nutritional and child growth and development information to parents.
2. Coordinate with parents to ensure that prenatal, well-child exams, immunizations, health screenings, and nutrition assessments are complete and necessarily follow up occurs.
3. Complete family partnership agreements, developmental screenings, and all other required assessments with families in a timely manner.
4. Assist and support families in locating resources and scheduling appointments with community resources that best meets their needs.
5. Provide support in parent and child activities that encourage developmentally appropriate activities for the changing needs of infants and toddlers.

What it takes:

1. AA / bachelor’s degree - Family Development, Social Services, Human Services, Early Childhood Education or related field
2. Minimum one (1) year direct experience working with infants and toddlers and their families.
3. Bilingual English/Spanish is preferred
4. Possess an insured & reliable vehicle and a valid AZ driver’s license.
5. Valid Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card - OR - must qualify for a valid Arizona Level One Fingerprint Clearance Card
6. DES Criminal Affidavit Required
7. AZ DHS Criminal History Affidavit Required
8. FPC DPS Verification Required

SWHD takes the health and safety of our employees and the communities we serve very seriously. We strongly believe vaccination is a critical safety measure to protect each of us and the communities we serve. COVID vaccinations have proven to be highly effective at protecting people from getting COVID-19 or from getting severely ill from it.

Learn more!

Our core values embody Southwest Human Development’s commitment to services that uplift the lives of children, families and other care providers, and the communities in which they live. These values are intended to guide the professional development, ethical conduct, and skilled practice of all our staff, whatever their specific role within the agency. All staff are valued as making essential contributions to strengthening the foundation that Arizona’s children need for a great start in life. Learn more about our values and benefits here .