Bilingual Family Support Specialist

Shelter Youth & Family Services•Arlington Heights, IL

About The Position

The Bilingual Family Support Specialist initiates and maintains regular, long-term contact and support with participating families, potentially for up to five years. The specialist builds trusting relationships and provides strength-based support, education, and assistance with establishing and achieving family goals. The role includes screening first-time parents during the prenatal period or shortly after a child’s birth, assessing family strengths and needs, and referring families to community services as appropriate. Home visits taper as children approach five years of age. The specialist provides developmental and social-emotional screenings, supports parents in promoting their children’s development, and helps families access health care and community resources. The position also requires maintaining accurate program records and reports, meeting documentation deadlines, communicating schedule changes, following program policies, and participating in staff meetings and reflective supervision. The role is supervised by the Healthy Families Supervisor and is classified as exempt. The stated salary is $55,000.

Requirements

A bachelor’s or associate degree in early childhood education, social work, or a closely related field from an accredited school.
Experience working with or providing services to children and families.
Ability to establish trusting relationships and accept individual differences.
Experience and humility in working with culturally diverse families.
Knowledge of infant and child development.
Willingness to build reflective capacity, including introspection, awareness of oneself in relation to others, and recognition of the value of supervision.
Fluency in both English and Spanish.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Strong organizational and time-management skills.
Basic familiarity and experience with Microsoft Windows and Office software.
Ability to work flexible hours.
Demonstrated commitment to and understanding of Shelter’s mission, vision, and values.
Valid Illinois driver’s license, an automobile, and proof of Illinois auto insurance.
Must obtain CPR, Infant CPR, and First Aid certification within the first six months of employment.
Must complete a medical examination and TB test.
Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 according to the latest CDC guidelines.
Must be fingerprinted by the State of Illinois and undergo a full background check through the Department of Children and Family Services.
Must submit official transcripts from the last school at which a degree was awarded.
Ability to lift up to 40 pounds.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in social work or a similar field, with experience.
Infant mental health endorsement.

Responsibilities

Conduct home visits according to Level of Needs Standards, tapering visits as the child approaches five years of age.
Screen parents during pregnancy or shortly after a child’s birth to determine eligibility factors for program services.
Provide long-term supportive and educational services to enrolled parents.
Help parents improve skills and create a positive home environment.
Help families strengthen problem-solving and self-advocacy skills for themselves and their children.
Partner with families to establish and achieve personal goals.
Support parents in obtaining a medical home and keeping up with timely immunizations and well-child visits.
Conduct regular social-emotional and developmental screenings of participating children and refer to Early Intervention when needed.
Use parent-child activities to support children’s development and encourage age-appropriate stimulation.
Provide appropriate developmental activities to address developmental delays or deficits.
Maintain current knowledge of community resources to help families meet needs and achieve goals.
Maintain accurate family demographics, assessments, home-visit reports, and program outcome information in Visit Tracker.
Meet program timelines for documentation and reporting.
Maintain a monthly report of daily activities with families.
Report schedule changes to the supervisor.
Follow program policies and procedures for home visiting.
Participate in staff meetings and reflective supervision.
Complete time reports every two weeks in ADP.