Family Support Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

Job Summary: 

This position is responsible for enhancing child and family relationships by providing parent education, parent skill development and parent coaching as well as supervised visitation and visit coaching. Services are provided in the office, in the client’s home, and in the community. Service delivery focuses on trauma informed parenting, supporting healthy attachment, child growth and development, childcare, safety, health and nutrition, resource development, appropriate discipline, and developing natural supports.

Key Competencies: 

• Knowledge of family systems, community resources, child development, adolescent behaviors, and mental health issues. 
• Must possess necessary skills and abilities to make appropriate independent decisions but also be able to function as a member of a team.
• Able to work closely with supervisor and to take direction as needed.  
• Ability to make vital crisis decisions on the job to effect change. 
• Must possess the skills to form relationships with families.
• Must be able to provide strengths based culturally competent services.
• Must possess ability to exercise initiative to solve problems, make decisions, establish priorities, and coordinate work activities.
• Must possess ability to interpret and implement department policies, procedures, and systems.
• Must understand the varying socioeconomic statuses and lifestyles with respect for individual differences.
• Provide service in a non-judgmental manner. 
• Ability to be empathic. 
• Exhibit emotional maturity and patience. 
• Exercise sound judgement. 
• Able to follow Department of Child Services mandates for delivery of services. 
• Belief in the family preservation philosophy. 
• Understanding of and ability to maintain confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA & HopeTree policy.
• Must demonstrates organizational and time management skills.
• Punctuality to meetings, client sessions, and other work related commitments.
• Effective leadership and interpersonal skills.  
• Demonstrate excellent written, oral, and electronic communication skills.
• Demonstrate strong planning and execution skills.

Duties & Responsibilities: 

• Receive and staff parent support referrals in a timely manner; 
• Initiate services in a timely manner after obtaining purchase order from referral source.
• Assess parents' needs and strengths, as well as their ability to apply the knowledge and techniques learned, to their parent-child relationships through ongoing assessments, observation, and interviews. Staff cases with Supervisor for guidance. 
• Develop short and long-term parentings goals with measurable outcomes. 
• Plan and prepare appropriate interventions for clients using identified parenting curriculum and in alignment with recommendations for court service plans and parental capacity and parental attachment assessments.
• Coordinate and facilitate supervised visitation and/or visitation coaching for assigned cases. 
• Coordinate and facilitate parent coaching and parent support services for assigned cases. 
• Establish and maintain positive rapport and professional relationship with clients to facilitate positive change and achieve the client's service plan goals.
• Establish and maintain positive, collaborative, professional relationships with the custodial agency, CASA, GAL, and other team members. 
• Provide service coordination with referral source and other involved professionals to ensure service continuity.
• Utilize data to track effectiveness of services; maintain and provide documentation of service outcomes for annual outcome measures report. 
• Maintain client record for each assigned case.
• Provide thorough documentation including treatment plans, progress notes, monthly reports and assessments and submit documentation within required deadlines.
• Submit billable hours to immediate supervisor weekly.
• Prepare for and engage in supervision, staff meetings and file reviews.
• Demonstrate cultural competency by respecting the cultural and socioeconomic diversity of the children and families served by the agency. 
• Establish and demonstrates appropriate time management in carrying out his/her job.
• Exercise appropriate professional boundaries in relationships with co-workers, clients, provider families, and community providers. 
• Show a commitment to professional development by participating in educational opportunities, reading professional publications, maintaining professional networks, participating in professional organizations, and completing training in the LMS on time.
• Manage PTO appropriately and ensure coverage of tasks. 
• Submit expense reports and employee reimbursement requests in a timely manner. 
• Attend and participate in Child & Family Team Meetings as requested by referent. 
• Respond effectively and proactively to problems and areas of concern. 
• Attend weekly individual or group supervision. 
• Testify in court as subpoenaed or requested by Department of Child Services or Probation.
• Work a schedule that is flexible and able to meet the needs of each family served.
• Work evenings and weekends as needed. 
• Participate in all mandatory team meetings. 
• All services (even individual services) are provided through the lens of child safety. As part of service provision, staff shall be proficient and assess the child safety concerns and protective factors that exist within the family.
• Must adhere to State and Federal laws requiring the reporting of suspected abuse and neglect 
• Perform other agency duties as assigned. 

Trauma Informed Practice 

Employee will deliver services in such a way that the clients and families feel respected, informed, connected, and hopeful regarding their own future. The staff must demonstrate an understanding, through the services provided, of the interrelation between trauma and symptoms of trauma (e.g., substance abuse, eating disorders, depression, and anxiety). The provider will work in a collaborative way with child/family and human services agencies in a manner that will empower the child and family. Employee shall possess the ability to utilize a trauma informed practice model and guide services reflective of such a lens.

Culturally Competent Practice 

Employee must respect the culture of the children and families who receive services. All staff persons providing services with the family must be aware of and sensitive to the client’s cultural, ethnic, and linguistic preferences as well as the sexual orientation and gender identity of the client. Employee shall possess the ability to utilize a culturally competent model and guide services reflective of such a lens.

Core Values

Commitment to living HopeTree Family Services core values and supporting the team to do the same. 

• Ministry - We are servant leaders. We strive to be the hands and feet of Jesus and demonstrate Christ’s love to everyone we come in contact with. We believe we are here for the purpose of going the extra mile while serving those in our care and one another.
• People- We love and care about people. All people have dignity and deserve our respect. Each HopeTree employee is important. We will be intentional in earning the respect of our team members, colleagues, partners, and those we serve. We will assume positive intent of everyone we engage, as we accept that everyone is doing his or her best. We value healthy relationships, teamwork, collaboration, support, and creating a healthy work environment.
• Stewardship- We recognize that HopeTree and the resources we are blessed with are not our own. We commit to apply our time, money, talents, and other gifts wisely. We will work collectively to grow the resources entrusted to us so we can continue this good work.
• Excellence- We pursue excellence. We commit ourselves to personal, professional, and organizational growth, in order to be the best provider of human services in Virginia. We will constantly measure, evaluate, and refine our approach and focus on solutions.
• Accountability- We are accountable to God, our funders, our clients, our board, and one another. We will do the right things at the right time for the right reason. And when we fall short, we will be honest and make it right.

Specific Requirements: 

• At least 21 years of age.
• Have a valid driver’s license, proof of insurance and continuous use of a reliable car.
• Ability to work in stressful situations. 
• Self-motivated, but demonstrating a willingness to accept directions. 
• Ability to manage several cases at one time. 
• Knowledge and insight into human behavior. 
• Belief in helping clients change circumstances, not just adapt to them. 
• Must be able to operate computer and work within multiple databases.
• Must be flexible to meet the needs of crisis situations, including staffing problems. 
• Ability to sort out and allocate needs based on the most immediate needs.
• May be required to provide service in contiguous counties surrounding home office (Salem or Richmond) 

This job description should not be construed to imply that these requirements are the exclusive standards of the position. Incumbents may be required to follow any other instructions and to perform any other related duties as may be required. 

Typical Physical and Safety Demands: 

1. Climb and maneuver steps in narrow hallways and in small rooms. 

2. Tolerate strong odors. 

3. Lift and physically manipulate up to 60 pounds. 

4. Read printed material in poorly lit areas. 

5. Operate video machine, telephone and other common standard office equipment.

6. Operate and transport others in a motor vehicle. 

7. Ability to respond rapidly to provide safety intervention for a child. 

8. Communicate and teach parents and children of varying intellectual capabilities. 

9. Environment may require safety precautions. 

Educational Requirements:

This position requires a baccalaureate degree in social work or a field related to social work including, but not limited to, sociology, psychology, special education, or counseling. 

OR a baccalaureate degree in any field plus one year of experience working with children and families. 

OR a Master's Degree in social work from a college or university accredited by the Council on Social Work Education or a field related to social work such as sociology, psychology, special education, or counseling.