Family Engagement Specialist I

Iris Family Support Center, Inc.•South Bend, IN

14h

About The Position

The Family Engagement Specialist will report to the Family Engagement Supervisor To provide structured, goal-oriented and time-limited services in the natural environment identified for families (in home, community or in office). This position will provide the following service lines: Supervised Visitation, Father Engagement, and Home-Based Casework,. The Family Engagement Specialist will complete intakes, assessments and ongoing case management services to families referred to Iris Family Support Center by the Department of Child Services and Juvenile Probation. The Family Engagement Specialist will work alongside the family to provide services that support family stabilization and child safety. Evidence-based practices will be utilized to provide trauma-informed office-based, community-based, and home-based services. Family Engagement Specialists maintain an ongoing caseload of active families. The Family Engagement Specialist may be required to testify in court regarding services provided. The Family Engagement Specialist will need to work individually and within a team to assist families in completing goals and always maintain child safety.

Requirements

Communication (Verbal/Written)
Relationship/ Rapport Building
Ethical Practice
Trauma Informed Approach
Critical Thinking Skills
Resiliency
Continuous Learning
Personal Accountability
Problem-solving
Demonstrates maturity
Must have reliable daily dependable transportation to use on the job and transport others. Operators of vehicles must have valid driver’s license and proof of insurance.
Ability to maintain strict confidentiality, per agency requirements.
Climb and maneuver steps in narrow hallways and in small rooms
Tolerate strong odors
Lift and physically manipulate up to 60 pounds
Read printed material in poorly lit areas
Operate video machine, telephone, and other common standard office equipment
Discern and evaluate sounds, interactions, and movements in multiple situations in order to determine the potential for child abuse and neglect
Use senses of sight, hearing, and smell to evaluate the safety of the environment for children
Operate and transport others in a motor vehicle
Ability to respond rapidly to rescue a child
Communicate and teach parents and children of varying intellectual capabilities
May be subjected to infectious diseases, substances, and contaminated articles physically out of the control of the children supervised
Environment may require safety precautions
Bachelor’s degree in human services, Social Work, Education or directly related field.
One year of full-time experience in home management, home maintenance, and/or child-care.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with families/parents/children in a human service organization is a preference.
Life or job experience caring for children.

Responsibilities

Maintain a caseload to meet productivity requirements.
Provide a variety of services to children/families, including but not limited to, the following: crisis intervention, intake/family assessment, safety planning, treatment planning, providing activities/interventions to assist children/families in goal completion and aftercare planning to support children/families with reaching self-sufficiency.
Complete certification of Motivational Interviewing within the first 90 days of employment at Iris.
Complete training expectations for the implementation of Nurturing Parenting, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and 24/7 Dads within 12 months of employment.
Provide multiple service hours in the home per week to ensure fidelity to the comprehensive models, a minimum of 50% of the work week will be dedicated to serving families with face-to-face service provision.
Ability to partner and collaborate with referrals sources (courts, DCS, Probation), foster parents, guardian ad litem, and/or CASA Volunteers and colleagues to support the goals of the family.
Provide documentation, including but not limited to the following: assessments, clinical recommendations, progress notes, treatment planning, monthly reports to showcase the work of the family through our services.
Effective implementation of all evidence-based models utilized with children/families by ensuring all fidelity measures are met within the required timeframes.
Utilize customer service strategies to enhance client engagement and satisfaction.
Conduct creative and persistent outreach to enroll clients into services (including, but not limited to, face-to-face visits, drop-by, phone calls/texts, social media).
Complete scheduled appointments within the parameters of the specific program involved.
Establish an emotionally supportive, non-judgmental, trusting relationship with parent(s), using independent judgment and adjusting as needed.
Utilize communication models to describe and address common breakdowns in customer/client interactions.
Independently establish a case plan with goals, objectives and activities with each client, reviewing and rewriting, as well as setting new goals as circumstances change. This case plan will incorporate the needs identified by the referral source as well as the needs identified by the staff and the client. This case plan will guide services.
Assist clients with achieving goals and objectives set forth in case plan within time frame established, incorporate customer/client feedback.
Exercise discretion and judgment in identifying plans of action to achieve goals and objectives, including day-to-day direct contact with clients, government entities, other agencies, and courts.
Advocate on behalf of the client and link the family to additional community resources and services.
Learning and executing the following Evidence Based Practices- Motivational Interviewing, 24/7 Dads, Trust Based Relational Intervention, and Nurturing Parenting.
Complete all required paperwork in various databases within established format and deadlines.
Work within an environment of frequently changing priorities, deadlines, and duties.
Provide client transportation as necessary to complete goals of the program and client case plan.
Assist with crisis assistance as needed, such as hands-on lice treatments.
Teach and role model parenting techniques to the family using approved methods and materials.
Teach home management, financial management, childcare, discipline, nutrition and personal skills as appropriate.
Report any case that may involve “imminent harm” or “threatened harm” to a supervisor immediately.
Attend 8 to 12 in-service training sessions per year and continuously develop skills in customer service and case management.
Meet with supervisor for supervision as required by service standards, department requirements and “best practices” of supervision.
Collaborate with supervisor and team members to implement customer service best practices.
Attend court hearings, case conferences, team meetings, department meetings, and other meetings as required.