Healthy Families Home Visitor

Job Description

Job Description

The Home Visitor provides outreach to young first-time parents to provide individual home-based support, parent education, advocacy, screening and referral to appropriate community services to promote optimal maternal/child health and development, positive parenting, self-sufficiency and educational attainment. The Home Visitor promotes positive parent child interaction, advocates for families, and educates first time parents to promote safety and optimal growth and child development. The Home Visitor performs the duties of the position in client homes, at office and other locations.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Maintain professional boundaries and confidentiality at all times.
• Local travel to provide home visit service to eligible families through creative outreach.
• Offer group-based services including parenting skills education, social activities and support.
• Provide initial and ongoing assessment of family strengths and needs including screening for substance abuse, maternal depression, domestic violence, and social connectedness.
• Develop bi-annual individual family service plans that are based on individual/family strengths and need.
• Educate parents and family members on the importance of early and continuous prenatal care.
• Educate parents and family members on newborn, infant and toddler development and promote activities related to early literacy.
• Help prevent child abuse and neglect by providing safety curriculum, encourage healthy homes, and the safety and well-being of children in the home.
• Increase knowledge, skills, resiliency, and support system by utilizing evidence-based curriculum in the areas of child development, parent and child interaction, healthy relationships, healthy co-parenting, and positive discipline.
• Observe and document child growth and development using the ASQ-ASQSE at prescribed intervals.

• Assist parents in securing a medical home and completing required immunizations for the child.

• Educate parents and family members on maternal/child health, nutrition, mental health and safety. This may include demonstrating, proper child lifting and holding techniques.
• Assist families in developing and maintaining formal and informal support networks through identification and utilization of community resources and services.
• Maintain ongoing communication and collaboration with intra-agency and community partners to meet the complex needs of the family and to assist participant families in meeting their goals.
• Complete all necessary documentation as specified by the program and its funders.
• Meet with the program supervisor and other team members on a regularly scheduled basis.
• Attend all internal and external meetings and training courses as required.
• Local travel for 75 percent of the work with own reliable vehicle. Physical presence in the office is required for the remaining time for the purpose of documenting client case notes and attending supervision unless otherwise approved by the Program Coordinator.
• Other related responsibilities as required.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A minimum of a high school/HiSet equivalent.
• Minimum 1 year experience working with families from various socio-economic backgrounds and/or infants/young children.
• Have the ability to establish trusting relationships.
• Have acceptance of individual differences.
• Experience and humility to work with culturally diverse families, children, and communities, with a strength-based and family centered lens.
• Willing to engage in building reflective capacity (e.g., capacity for introspection, communicating awareness of self in relation to others, recognizing value of supervision, desire to learn, etc.)
• Knowledge about infant, toddler and adolescent development.
• Good listening and assessment skills; ability to identify family strengths/needs.
• Demonstrated sensitivity to the needs of families from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
• Ability to work using a team centered approach to meet the needs of the program and its participants.
• Good oral and written communication skills.
• Experience in reflective supervision preferred
• Experience in home visiting preferred
• Infant Mental Health endorsement preferred
• Ability to lift, push and pull up to 30 lbs.
• Understanding of outcome-oriented prevention model.
• Good oral and written communication skills.
• Good time management and organizational skills.
• Flexible schedule may be required to accommodate the program and family’s needs.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and competent typing and computer skills.
• Valid Massachusetts' driver's license and reliable vehicle for local travel with a safe driving record.
• Bilingual preferred. Fluency in English or Spanish, Haitian Creole, Cape Verde Creole, Portuguese, and Vietnamese welcomed.

Our benefits are competitive and include a 403(b) savings plan and generous time off (benefits may vary based on position and scheduled hours ).  

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The base pay range reflects what Catholic Charities reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for this role at the time of posting and may be modified from time to time. Actual compensation in this range may be determined based on other factors, including but not limited to work experience, education and specialty training.

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