What are the responsibilities and job description for the Healthy Families Support Specialist position at United Community Action Network?
The Family Support Specialist initiates and maintains long-term and comprehensive home visits and support services to high-risk parents with children 0-3 years old. Home visits are family-centered, strength-based and will focus on building trusting relationships, strengthening parent-child attachment, improving the family’s support systems and protective factors, in addition to partnering with parents to assess and promote healthy growth and development.
Family Support Specialist:
- Applies working knowledge of parent-child interactions, child development and the dynamics of child abuse and neglect to teach nurturing parenting skills and positive discipline techniques, reduce family stress, and help parents learn problem-solving and coping skills by practicing active listening.
- Refers families to appropriate community agencies and maintains knowledge of community resources. Acts as an advocate for families by collaborating with social service agencies and promotes interagency coordination to and from partner agencies.
- Establishes individualized family goal plans, objectives and activities to meet client needs. Administers developmental assessment tools to monitor progress of child development and parent-child interaction skills.
- Maintains accurate, complete and confidential records, and records client observations and activities in a timely manner.
- Participates in regular staff meetings, case conferences with Supervisor, in-service trainings and community meetings.
- Reports and document incidents of suspected child abuse and neglect to DHS and Supervisor within 24 hours of incident.
- Respects the confidentiality of information about Healthy Families children and families, staff and personnel issues and agency operations.
- Regular and consistent attendance as required. Flexible work hours could be required with some evening meetings.
