Family Resource Specialist (Social Services Specialist I)

Family Resource SpecialistThis position includes a signing bonus of $2,500 (full-time) for new county hires. Are you passionate about empowering families and helping children thrive? Do you enjoy connecting families with resources, building meaningful relationships, and celebrating their successes? The Division of Children, Youth and Families (CYF) is seeking a Family Resource Specialist to assist Health Families Fairfax with intake activities and outreach. DFS is committed to strengthening the well-being of its diverse community by protecting and improving the lives of all children, adults, and families through assistance, partnership, advocacy, outreach, and quality services. This position works as a member of the Healthy Families Fairfax (HFF) unit under the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Services Program. HFF is a prevention program that offers support and guidance to vulnerable, at-risk pregnant women or parent(s) of a newborn across all regions of Fairfax County. Work hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., however, evening and/or weekend work is required.Illustrative DutiesInterviews the client and family members to gather data on their social, health, emotional and economic problems;Works with clients to develop a plan of service to meet social, health, emotional and economic needs;With the clients, formulates objectives and identifies actions to resolve the clients' problems;Ensures delivery of the HFF program in accordance with Healthy Families America (HFA) Best Practice Standards and relevant Fairfax County policies and proceduresConducts assessments of families to determine strengths and needed referrals to community services, including ongoing home visiting services with Healthy Families or other programsUses the Family Resilience & Opportunity for Grow tool to gather comprehensive information from parents related to their strengths and needsProvides short-term support and ongoing case-management to families to connect them with resources within the communityRepresents and promotes the Healthy Families program in the community and provides administrative assistance to the program as neededCompletes required documentation and maintains client files in accordance with program requirements and HFF and HFA guidelinesParticipates on various outreach teams and leads outreach activities to increase public awareness of home visiting resources and servicesServes as a team lead for special community projectsParticipates on a multi-disciplinary team that includes public health nurses employed by the Health Department, and home visitors and supervisors employed by DFS and HFF partners from non-profit organizationsPerforms other duties as assigned to ensure child safety and improve outcomes for familiesParticipates in all Children, Youth, and Families (CYF) initiatives to support positive outcomes for children and familiesKnowledge Skill and AbilitiesKnowledge of the principles and practices of human services and early childhood home visiting;Knowledge of infant and child developmentKnowledge of current social service problems and methods/approaches and case management to address issues;Ability to analyze families' protective and risk factors and to make appropriate recommendations to meet the families' needs;Ability to establish trusting relationships and display acceptance of individual differencesAbility to show humility and to work with culturally diverse familiesKnowledge of and 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.) Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing;Ability to use automated technology to establish and maintain documentation;Ability to maintain professional ethics and confidentiality of client information;Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of individuals;Ability to schedule and manage workload sufficiently to meet deadlines;Employment Standards MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Minimum of a bachelor's degree in a human services field OR minimum of a bachelor's degree in any field with a minimum of two years of appropriate and related experience in a human services area (Section 22VAC40-670-20 of the Administrative Code of Virginia). In order to be evaluated for positions in the Family Services Occupational Group, individuals who do not meet the degree requirement at the time of application for employment must be in their last semester of a degree program that will meet the requirements listed above. Contingent upon the area of assignment, some positions within this class may require specific certification(s) or experience prior to employment and/or the ability to acquire necessary certification(s) within a specified time period following employment. The certifications and preferred qualifications are identified in the position description and employment advertisement . CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED: Valid driver's license. Positions within this class are required to complete the state mandated training in the functional area within a specified time period. NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: The appointee to the position must satisfactorily complete a criminal background check, driving record check, and a Child Protective Services check. This position is considered essential personnel and will be required to report to work during times designated countywide as approved for unscheduled leave regardless of the emergency situation (i.e., weather, transportation, other disaster). PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: Experience in child welfare and/ or case management.Experience with home visiting services.Excellent oral and written communication skills.Experience working collaboratively with school professionals, community stakeholders and other service providers.Infant Mental Health endorsement preferred.Experience working with a diverse multicultural population. PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing. Sufficiently mobile to conduct assessments, attend meetings and community outreach events outside of office, sufficiently mobile to drive to the regional offices and families' homes. Ability to input, access, and retrieve information from a computer. Ability to travel to various locations throughout Fairfax County to provide coverage, attend meetings and trainings All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodation. SELECTION PROCEDURE: Panel interview; may include practical exercise.Fairfax County is home to a highly diverse population, with a significant number of residents speaking languages other than English at home (including Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and many others .) We encourage candidates who are bilingual in English and another language to apply for this opportunity.Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce. Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. TTY View phone number on click.appcast.io. View email address on click.appcast.io EEO/AA/TTY.BenefitsMerit PositionsFairfax County is proud to offer employees an attractive and comprehensive benefits program, including the following:Medical/Vision/Dental Insurance CoverageGroup Term Life InsuranceLong Term DisabilityLiveWell ProgramFlexible Spending ProgramsPaid Leave (annual, sick, parental, volunteer activity, and more!)Paid HolidaysContributory Retirement PlanDeferred CompensationEmployee Assistance ProgramEmployees' Child Care CenterContinuous Learning OpportunitiesPlease click here (Download PDF reader) for a summary of our benefits.NOTE: Fairfax County Government is a qualifying employer under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. For more information about the PSLF program: Public Service Loan Forgiveness | Federal Student AidFor additional details please visit the County's benefits webpage .Non-Merit Positions Non-Merit Benefit Eligible: scheduled to work a minimum 1,040 hours and no more than a maximum of 1,560 hours in a calendar year. Medical/Vision/Dental Insurance CoverageFlexible Spending ProgramDeferred Compensation Temporary: scheduled to work a maximum of 900 hours in a calendar year.