CVHF Family Support Worker

Summary

The Family Support Worker (FSW) will provide intensive home visitation services to families with intensive needs in an effort to help them reduce stress factors (e.g., late or no prenatal care or poor compliance; abortion/adoption unsuccessfully sought or attempted during current pregnancy; single; inadequate income; unemployment problems; inadequate support system; unstable housing; no phone; education under 12 years; history of sexual abuse, substance abuse, psychiatric care, and/or abortions; marital or family problems; history of or current depression; Child Protective Services history/ever had child formally or informally removed from home) that could potentially lead to child abuse and neglect and to increase protective factors within the family in order to promote healthy childhood outcomes.

The Family Support Specialist will provide services to families throughout the CVHF service area, which includes McDowell, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, and Iredell counties, with a primary focus on supporting families in Burke and McDowell counties. Travel within the service area may be required based on program and family needs.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Specific duties and responsibilities:

Service Delivery

• On a daily basis, the FSW will serve families struggling with issues such as the stress factors listed above including ongoing issues with depression, domestic violence, and mental health. The FSW will be responsible for learning and implementing program protocols and assessments such as the Parent Survey, Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Wellbeing Screener, Edinburgh Maternal Depression Scale, Domestic Violence Risk Assessment and Protocol, Suicide Protocol, Motivational Interviewing, Substance Abuse Protocol, and other informal assessments to determine family stability and to adjust the frequency of family visits accordingly. 
• The FSW will be on call to families they serve 24 hours a day/seven days a week. The average caseload will be 10 to 15 families depending on the severity of needs and length of time enrolled in services of the families the FSW serves.
• The FSW will be responsible for initiating and maintaining regular and long-term contact/support with targeted families. Families will enroll sometime before the child turns 3 months old (preferably during pregnancy), continuing until the child is three to five years of age. This activity will occur primarily within the family’s home with the FSW visiting at least once weekly for at least one and a half hours on the most intensive service level for a minimum of 6 months and working through a gradually leaner schedule in subsequent years as families demonstrate readiness to advance through the program (i.e., elimination of presenting issues/stress factors, progress toward goal attainment, demonstration of effective problem solving and parenting skills, etc.). The intervention will be family-centered and strength-based and directed at establishing a trusting relationship; assisting in strengthening the parent-child relationship; assisting parents in improving their skills to optimize the home environment; improving the family support system; and increasing the family’s ability to problem solve and assume the role of advocate for themselves and their children.  
• The FSW will assist in the development and be responsible for implementation of the “HFA Service Plan” developed at the time of enrollment and for routine review of progress at a minimum of every 6 months on eliminating presenting issues.  
• The FSW will be responsible for educating parents about their child’s development, teaching them activities to facilitate their child’s development, engaging parents and their children in those activities in each visit, and for routinely assessing the normal growth and development of the identified child using a formal developmental screening tool.
• On an on-going basis, the FSW will monitor to ensure that mothers receive regular prenatal care, that they attend their postpartum check-up in a timely manner, that they are consistently using an effective contraceptive, and to ensure that infants/children regularly attend well-checks and remain up-to-date on immunizations. When needed and as a last resort for meeting transportation needs, the FSW will provide transportation to ensure these needs are met. The FSW will provide information to parents on the benefits of delaying subsequent births to reduce stress potential in families.
• The FSW with guidance from the Supervisor and/or Program Manager will serve as an informal, supportive “counselor” to the families served offering informal counseling on a variety of issues that arise in the families served. The FSW will back this up with referrals for formal counseling by trained professionals as needed.   

Documentation

• Assist parents in developing an Individual Family Support Plan within the first 45 days of service. The FSW will assist parents in updating the plan a minimum of every 6 months. On an on-going basis, the FSW will assist families in attaining their goals. Goals are individualized and based on families’ needs, desires, and dreams. Examples of family goals include meeting the family’s basic needs, keeping the baby healthy and on track developmentally, obtaining/maintaining stable employment and housing, continuing education, obtaining reliable transportation, etc. This plan will serve to inform the FSW of individual family’s specific needs for referrals to community supports as well (e.g., counseling, housing programs, educational program, medical providers, etc.).
• Document all services, determine and document families’ compliance with service plans, and track outcome measures used to measure the program's effectiveness

Other

• The FSW will attend training upon being hired and throughout employment, some of which will require travel and overnight stays, to develop professional skills. Additionally, the FSW will meet with the Supervisor minimally once weekly for case management and participate in bimonthly staff meetings.
• Other items as requested by Supervisor

Supervision responsibilities:

• None.

Cultural Awareness

Staff understands the impact of his/her personal belief system on delivery of services and appropriately adjusts personal performance to ensure cultural sensitivity in interactions with others.

• How will competency be evaluated? Completion of agency Cultural Competency training with an evaluation score of 80% or better at end of pre-service and annually

All employees have the following expectations:

• Mission: Contribute to and enhance company mission
• Organization: Prioritize and plan work responsibilities appropriately
• Professional Development: Attend and/or successfully complete all required trainings and meetings
• Timeliness and Accuracy: Perform quality work within given deadlines and expectations with or without direct supervision
• Professionalism: Comply with all applicable policies, practices, and procedures; report all out-of-compliance and unsafe activities to supervisor; interact professionally with other employees, volunteers, families, children, and the community
• Teamwork: Serve effectively as a team contributor on all assignments
• Communication: Utilize effective communication skills both verbally and in writing; provide effective feedback and is receptive to feedback
• Leadership: Work independently while understanding the necessity for communicating and coordinating work efforts with other appropriate individuals
• Cultural Competence: Is sensitive to the cultural, ethnic and religious views of the children and families served, and in community and public contact.

Children’s Hope Alliance is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Education and Experience Requirements

• Minimum of a High School Diploma or Equivelent. Preferred Bachelors degree in Child Development, Early Childhood, B-K, Human Services, Social Work or related child and family field and at least 1 year of experience related to the program or an equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Preference given to individuals with Infant and bilingual abilities.
• Must have experience and/or knowledge of parenting and child development.
• Must have the ability to convey information to families, professional clinicians, and community agencies.
• Must be able to work with a variety of individuals and professionals representing various disciplines related to the clients’ specific needs and embrace the concepts of family-centered and strength-based services.
• Must have basic computer and math skills and preferably MS Office Access skills.
• Must be culturally sensitive to children and families and support cultural diversity throughout the program.
• Requires effective communication, decision making, interpersonal, leadership and professionalism skills and abilities.
• Must have a valid North Carolina’s Driver’s license. 
• Must submit to and pass pre-employment drug screening, criminal, HCPR and driving checks.

Physical Requirements

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands and fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls, talk, and hear. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands or arms, stand, walk, climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. 
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds.  
• Specifics vision abilities required by this position include close, distance, color, and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Physical functions which are considered essential to the satisfactory performance of the job include the following: reading, typing, writing, speaking, and using the telephone and prolonged sitting at a desk and working on a computer.  
• Employee must be able to operate a vehicle for job duties, and keep a valid NC drivers license with insurance.
• The work environment will contain slight to moderate office-related noises. The employee is not exposed to extreme weather conditions, toxic fumes, or airborne particles. 
• The employee must occasionally travel to different locations in the course of work.