What are the responsibilities and job description for the Family Support Specialist position at Children's Friend?
Your Career Their Future!
Our employees are our biggest asset, and we intentionally shape their work experience to support growth opportunities that will impact our services. As we continue to evolve, we’re looking for skills, experience, energy, and creativity to support our initiatives. Put simply, this will be both fun and a meaningful journey!
Position Overview
Under the direction of the FHA Supervisor, the Family Support Specialist will provide a range of culturally competent home-based services on a weekly basis for all families participating in this Healthy Families America program including parenting education, developmental milestones, health and nutrition education, home management skills, crisis intervention, vocational development and social services linkage, all in one partnership with the client. Provide home based parent-child activities to promote positive, nurturing interaction between parents and their children.
Children’s Friend is the innovative leader in improving the well-being and healthy development of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable young children.
About Us
Established in 1834, Children’s friend is Rhode Island’s oldest child welfare organization. We are an innovative leader in improving the well-being and healthy development of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable children and families. Our services include Early Head Start, Head Start, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), adoption, foster care, support for families with substance abuse, counseling, assistance for children with developmental delays, and other child welfare and early childhood services.
All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of criminal background checks, educational verification, medical, and proof of immunizations.
Children’s Friend is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender, gender identity or expression; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or any other characteristic protected by law.
At Children’s Friend, diversity and inclusion are foundational to how we operate and are embedded in our Core Values. We recognize that to tap into the richness diversity truly brings, we must lead with inclusion and have a workplace where those differences can thrive and be leveraged to empower the lives of our employees and clients. Therefore, we respect and celebrate our employees’ diverse backgrounds and experiences and provide equal opportunity for all.
Our employees are our biggest asset, and we intentionally shape their work experience to support growth opportunities that will impact our services. As we continue to evolve, we’re looking for skills, experience, energy, and creativity to support our initiatives. Put simply, this will be both fun and a meaningful journey!
Position Overview
Under the direction of the FHA Supervisor, the Family Support Specialist will provide a range of culturally competent home-based services on a weekly basis for all families participating in this Healthy Families America program including parenting education, developmental milestones, health and nutrition education, home management skills, crisis intervention, vocational development and social services linkage, all in one partnership with the client. Provide home based parent-child activities to promote positive, nurturing interaction between parents and their children.
- Provides a range of culturally competent home-based services for all families participating in the program including: parenting education; developmental milestones; health and nutrition education; home management skills; crisis intervention; and, social services linkage, all in partnership with the client.
- Provides case management services.
- Assists in strengthening the parent child relationship.
- Assists parents in improving their skills in order to optimize the home environment.
- Assists families in establishing goals and plans for attaining these goals.
- Identifies and refers clients to other support services in the community; assists in making and attending health and human service appointments, including, but not limited to, appointments related to educational and employment goals.
- Contacts referrals in a timely manner and maintain weekly visits to all clients per the program requirements.
- Completes all assessments and evaluation paperwork within program guideline timelines. Maintains client records and completes all necessary documentation with program timelines.
- Completes Family Resilience and Opportunities for Growth scales within the Healthy Families America Best Practice Standards guidelines.
- Meets productivity requirements established by the Healthy Families America Program.
- Ensures program is in compliance with all regulations regarding Home Visits.
- Participates in case conferences and collaborates with other service providers working with families.
- Contributes to the overall success and quality of all programs and services within Children’s Friend by working constructively and collaboratively with other staff members to address programmatic or agency wide issues and needs. Participates in agency committees.
- Minimum of high school diploma or equivalent.
- Experience in working with or providing services to children and families.
- An ability to establish trusting relationships.
- Acceptance of individual differences.
- Experience and humility to work with culturally diverse families.
- Knowledge of infant and child development.
- Willing to engage in building reflective capacity (e.g., capacity for introspection, communicating awareness of self in relation to others, recognizing value of supervisors, etc.)
- Infant mental health endorsement preferred.
- Proven time management skills and relationship building skills.
- Experience with computer programs including databases preferred.
- Proven ability to interact with members of the community representing diverse backgrounds and interests is required.
- Must have a valid driver’s license; automobile liability insurance in an amount established by the agency; and, an automobile fit to be used for work related tasks.
- Both remote and onsite work required.
- Medical Dental and Vision coverage
- Employer contributions to the 403(b) plan
- Employer-paid Life and Disability insurance
- Flex Spending Accounts
- 12 Holidays
- Competitive Vacation Benefits
- Training and Professional Development
- Education Assistance
- Student Loan Repayment Assistance
Children’s Friend is the innovative leader in improving the well-being and healthy development of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable young children.
About Us
Established in 1834, Children’s friend is Rhode Island’s oldest child welfare organization. We are an innovative leader in improving the well-being and healthy development of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable children and families. Our services include Early Head Start, Head Start, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), adoption, foster care, support for families with substance abuse, counseling, assistance for children with developmental delays, and other child welfare and early childhood services.
All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of criminal background checks, educational verification, medical, and proof of immunizations.
Children’s Friend is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender, gender identity or expression; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or any other characteristic protected by law.
At Children’s Friend, diversity and inclusion are foundational to how we operate and are embedded in our Core Values. We recognize that to tap into the richness diversity truly brings, we must lead with inclusion and have a workplace where those differences can thrive and be leveraged to empower the lives of our employees and clients. Therefore, we respect and celebrate our employees’ diverse backgrounds and experiences and provide equal opportunity for all.