Family Specialist

Crisis Nursery • Urbana, IL

7d • Onsite

About The Position

Family Specialists provide home visiting services to families focused on child development, increasing parent child interaction/bond, and strengthening the family unit. Family Specialists will serve a diverse population of individuals/families and are expected to build meaningful relationships and connections with all who come into contact with the program. Family Specialists are responsible for completing 60-90 minute home visits biweekly with families and completing documentation of all interactions. Family Specialists regularly participate in outreach events in the community with the goal of increasing program enrollment, expanding community knowledge of Crisis Nursery services, and establishing partnerships with community organizations. Family Specialists are also responsible for regularly facilitating Parent Child Interaction Groups (playgroup) and Birth to One Support Groups.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Human Services Field, Child Development, Early Childhood Education from an accredited school or equivalent required.
• Three to five years work experience with children, at least two of which are in institutional or other residential group care programs or equivalent
• Advanced level of knowledge of early childhood development principles and practices
• Advanced knowledge of database management
• Advanced level of knowledge of MS Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint
• Intermediate level of knowledge of early childhood laws, regulations, and licensing
• Basic knowledge of principles of continuous quality improvement
• Excellent leadership and interpersonal communication skills
• Excellent skills in identifying and managing measurable goals and objectives
• Excellent skills in verbal and written communication, problem solving, and multi-tasking
• Excellent skills in cultural and linguistic sensitivity
• Excellent skills in protecting extremely confidential information and quickly processing information
• Excellent time management and organizational skills and the ability to prioritize
• Excellent database knowledge and data entry skills
• Ability to manage changing and conflicting priorities
• Deductive and inductive reasoning

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in Social Work, Human Services Field, Child Development, Early Childhood Education from an accredited school or equivalent preferred.

Responsibilities

• Perform home visits and provide crisis counseling for families with the goal of supporting child development, parent child interaction, and family stability.
• Accurately and thoroughly complete all required paperwork and screenings to enroll families in program within three weeks of initial contact.
• Establish boundaries to build and maintain positive, cooperative and effective relationships with families and colleagues.
• Facilitate Parent-Child Interaction Groups, Parent Education classes, and Parent Support Groups.
• Make referrals and build relationships with community partners to obtain needed client supports outside of the scope of Home Visitor role. (ex. Case Management Services, Counseling Services, Housing Support, etc.)
• Utilize the Baby TALK model for service delivery
• Complete required documentation accurately and in accordance with program and funder timelines and expectations.
• Maintain accurate and detailed case notes and family files for a caseload of 10-16 children.
• Conduct surveys, developmental screenings, and health/vision screenings with program participants.
• Regularly participate in Reflective Supervision, Infant Mental Health Consultation, and Group Supervision.
• Participate in community wide training, councils, and professional development for home visitors
• Represent the organization at speaking engagements, meetings and outreach events
• Collaborate with other community agencies and organizations to increase program engagement and enrollment.
• Provide tours to the community and shares about Crisis Nursery services and programs.
• Attends staff and team meetings.
• Write monthly testimonials and social media posts about work with clients for use in publications and reports.
• Support in completion of monthly, quarterly, and annual reports.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level