Bilingual Family Support Specialist CVHF

Children's Hope Alliance•Morganton, NC

10h

About The Position

The Bilingual Family Support Specialist (BFSS) provides intensive, long-term home-visitation services to families who are pregnant or parenting children from birth to age 5 in the Catawba Valley Healthy Families (CVHF) service area of McDowell, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, and Iredell counties. The position’s primary geographic focus is Burke and McDowell counties, with work elsewhere in the service area as needed. CVHF uses the evidence-based Healthy Families America model to help families reduce stress factors, strengthen protective factors, and support child and family well-being through regular home visits over a period of 3–5 years. Beginning during pregnancy or within three months of birth, the specialist builds trusting, family-centered relationships that honor diverse family structures and parenting practices. The specialist assesses family needs and strengths, develops and updates individualized plans, supports families in setting and achieving goals, provides parent education, promotes healthy child development and parent-child relationships, and connects families with community resources and services. The role includes regular home visits of at least one hour, 24/7 on-call availability to families, screening and referral activities, and accurate documentation in the Family Wise Database. The specialist works as part of the CVHF team, attends supervision, meetings, and training, and may travel overnight for training. The role requires frequent driving to home visits, including outlying areas, and physical activities such as carrying supplies, kneeling, bending, reaching, and sitting on the floor to engage in developmental play. Work takes place in homes and an office environment and involves communication, reading, writing, telephone use, and computer work.

Requirements

Minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent.
At least one year of experience related to the program, or an equivalent combination of training and experience.
Knowledge of infant and child development.
Experience working with or providing services to children and families.
Ability to diffuse difficult situations or confrontations and establish trusting relationships.
Knowledge of the dynamics of child abuse and neglect.
Ability to work with individuals and professionals from varied disciplines and embrace family-centered, strength-based services.
Acceptance of individual differences and experience and humility in working with culturally diverse families.
Willingness to build reflective capacity, including introspection, awareness of self in relation to others, and recognition of the value of supervision.
Proficient computer skills for communication, participant record documentation, and accessing and interpreting information.
Valid North Carolina driver’s license and ability to maintain insurance coverage.
Must submit to and pass pre-employment drug screening, criminal, HCPR, and driving checks.
Ability to drive frequently to home visits, sometimes in outlying areas.
Ability to lift and/or move up to 30 pounds.
Ability to kneel, bend, reach, and sit on the floor regularly to engage in developmental play with children and families.
Ability to work in active home environments with changing climate and noise levels, and to perform office tasks including prolonged sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Child Development, Early Childhood, B-K, Human Services, Social Work, or a related child and family field.
Bilingual Spanish/English abilities; preference is given to individuals with these abilities.
Infant Mental Health Endorsement.

Responsibilities

Engage referred families by scheduling, administering, documenting, and scoring the Family Resilience and Opportunities for Growth (FROG) initial assessment.
Initiate and maintain regular, long-term family contact and support through home visits lasting at least an hour and 24/7 on-call availability.
Build trusting relationships while honoring diverse family structures and parenting practices.
Develop and regularly update individualized Family Service Plans in collaboration with the supervisor.
Help families set and achieve meaningful goals, develop problem-solving and coping skills, and advocate effectively for their families.
Provide parent education using Partners for a Healthy Baby, Nurturing Program, Growing Great Kids, and supplemental curricula.
Strengthen parent-child interactions and promote healthy childhood growth and development through targeted activities, observation, and the parallel process.
Administer family screens, including intimate partner violence, depression, and child development screens (ASQ-3 / ASQ-SE), and make appropriate referrals.
Connect families with community agencies and stay informed about local resources that may support family well-being.
Help families schedule and attend prenatal and postnatal care, well-child checkups, immunizations, and other appointments as appropriate.
Attend CVHF staff meetings, weekly individual supervision, group parent trainings, community outreach events, and other required meetings and trainings.
Attend training during onboarding and throughout employment; some training may require travel and overnight stays.
Document all family contact and maintain required screens, family data, referrals, and other records in the Family Wise Database and/or family file.
Assist parents in creating a goal plan within 45 days of enrollment and update it every six months.
Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.
Contribute to the organization’s mission; plan and prioritize work; meet quality, deadline, and accuracy expectations; follow policies and report unsafe or noncompliant activities; communicate effectively; work as a team; coordinate work independently; and demonstrate cultural competence.