Healthy Families Indiana Family Support Speci

Cornerstone Support Services LLC•Indianapolis, IN

7d•$0 - $45,760•Hybrid

About The Position

The Family Support Specialist (FSS) provides voluntary, relationship-based home visiting services to families enrolled in Healthy Families Indiana. The FSS develops long-term, trusting relationships with parents and caregivers and partners with families to strengthen parent-child relationships, promote healthy child development, increase protective factors, support family goals, and connect families with community resources. Services are provided primarily in family homes and community settings and are individualized according to each family's strengths, needs, goals, circumstances, and required level of service. The FSS utilizes family-centered, strength-based, trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and reflective practices while supporting parents and caregivers in creating safe, stable, and nurturing environments for their children. The FSS is responsible for maintaining consistent family engagement, completing required home visits and screenings, partnering with families in goal development and service planning, providing education and support related to parenting and child development, coordinating referrals, maintaining timely and accurate documentation, and participating in regular reflective supervision.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent
Experience working with or providing services to children and families.
Ability to establish trusting relationships with families.
Acceptance of individual differences.
Experience and humility necessary to work effectively with culturally diverse families.
Knowledge of infant and child development.
Proven willingness to engage in and develop reflective capacity.
Strong interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills.
Ability to work independently in family homes and community settings.
Ability to organize and manage a caseload and meet multiple deadlines.
Ability to complete professional documentation accurately and within established timeframes.
Must meet all Cornerstone Community Services employment and background-screening requirements applicable to the position.
Must maintain a valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and automobile insurance when driving is required for job duties.
Must maintain confidentiality in accordance with applicable federal and state laws, contractual requirements, and Cornerstone policies.
Must comply with mandatory reporting requirements and applicable health, safety, ethical, and professional standards.
Develop trusting, sustained relationships with families.
Engage families voluntarily and respectfully.
Understand infant and child development and parent-child relationships.
Apply family-centered, strength-based, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive practices.
Recognize and build upon family strengths and protective factors.
Conduct sensitive conversations in a respectful and nonjudgmental manner.
Teach, model, and reinforce parenting and child-development concepts.
Administer required screening tools after appropriate training.
Assist families with identifying and working toward meaningful goals.
Identify appropriate community resources and facilitate successful connections.
Maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
Organize and manage an assigned caseload.
Produce clear, accurate, and professional documentation.
Utilize electronic documentation and data-management systems.
Maintain confidentiality.
Work independently while appropriately seeking supervision and consultation.
Respond calmly and appropriately to challenging situations.

Nice To Haves

Degree in social work, psychology, early childhood education, child development, family studies, human services, or a related field.
Previous Healthy Families America or Healthy Families Indiana experience.
Previous home-visiting experience.
Experience in early childhood prevention, maternal/child health, child welfare prevention, family support, or other community-based services.
Knowledge of parent-child attachment and infant mental health.
Experience working with families experiencing multiple stressors.
Knowledge of community resources and referral systems.
Bilingual skills based upon the needs of the population served.
Infant Mental Health Endorsement®, when available and applicable.

Responsibilities

Establish and maintain trusting, respectful, professional relationships with enrolled families.
Provide regularly scheduled home visits in accordance with the family's assigned level of service and HFA/HFI requirements.
Maintain consistent contact with families and use persistent, respectful engagement strategies when families are difficult to reach or experience barriers to participation.
Individualize services based upon each family's strengths, needs, culture, circumstances, goals, and preferences.
Meet with families in their homes and other appropriate community locations and utilize virtual service delivery when permitted and appropriate.
Prepare for home visits and utilize approved curricula, educational materials, activities, and interventions appropriate to family needs.
Engage parents and caregivers as active partners in determining the focus of services.
Support families through transitions, changes in circumstances, and challenges that may affect participation.
Maintain appropriate professional boundaries while developing meaningful and supportive relationships with families.
Support parents and caregivers in developing nurturing, responsive, and developmentally appropriate relationships with their children.
Promote positive parent-child interaction, attachment, bonding, and responsive caregiving.
Increase parent and caregiver knowledge of infant and child development, developmental milestones, and age-appropriate expectations.
Help parents recognize and respond to their child's cues, temperament, developmental needs, and strengths.
Model and reinforce positive parenting strategies and developmentally appropriate interactions.
Support parents in creating safe, stable, and nurturing home environments.
Provide education and support related to child health, safety, development, and well-being within the scope of the Healthy Families Indiana program.
Utilize observation and approved activities to support positive parent-child interaction.
Recognize potential developmental concerns and assist families in accessing appropriate evaluation, early intervention, healthcare, or other resources.
Partner with families to identify strengths, priorities, needs, and goals.
Develop and maintain required Family Service Plans or other required family goal plans in partnership with participating families.
Assist families in identifying realistic, meaningful, and achievable goals.
Support families in identifying steps and resources necessary to achieve their goals.
Regularly review progress with families and modify goals and strategies as circumstances change.
Recognize and reinforce family accomplishments, strengths, resilience, and protective factors.
Help families strengthen problem-solving, self-advocacy, and decision-making skills.
Support families in building natural supports and sustainable connections within their communities.
Promote family self-determination and avoid creating unnecessary dependence on the program or worker.
Complete required developmental, social-emotional, maternal, caregiver, and other screenings in accordance with HFA/HFI requirements and established program procedures.
Administer required screening tools only after completing required training and demonstrating competency.
Explain screening processes and results to families in understandable, respectful, and nonjudgmental language.
Identify concerns requiring additional assessment, referral, consultation, or follow-up.
Consult with the Healthy Families Supervisor regarding significant concerns or complex family circumstances.
Track required follow-up and assist families in accessing recommended services.
Maintain working knowledge of community resources available to children and families.
Identify resources and services responsive to each family's individual needs and goals.
Connect families with healthcare, behavioral health, developmental, educational, housing, food, transportation, employment, childcare, financial, domestic violence, substance-use, and other resources as appropriate.
Assist families in navigating barriers to obtaining needed services.
Follow up on referrals to determine whether families successfully accessed services and provide additional assistance when barriers remain.
Coordinate with other providers when appropriate and authorized by the family.
Advocate with and alongside families when needed to facilitate access to services.
Encourage families to develop their own ability to identify, access, and utilize community resources.
Remain attentive to circumstances that may affect the health, safety, and well-being of children and caregivers.
Follow established procedures when safety concerns are identified.
Consult promptly with the Healthy Families Supervisor regarding significant safety concerns, crises, or circumstances requiring additional guidance.
Comply with Indiana mandatory reporting requirements.
Support families in accessing appropriate crisis, behavioral health, domestic violence, substance-use, medical, or other specialized services when needs are identified.
Maintain professional role boundaries and avoid providing services outside the scope of the FSS position.
Follow Cornerstone procedures related to employee safety when providing services in homes and community environments.
Complete all required service documentation accurately and within established timeframes.
Document home visits, family contacts, screenings, assessments, family goals, referrals, follow-up activities, and other required services.
Enter required information into designated program data systems.
Maintain documentation that is objective, professional, family-centered, and sufficient to demonstrate services provided and progress toward family goals.
Maintain accurate information regarding family participation, service level, visit completion, and case status.
Monitor upcoming requirements and ensure screenings, service plans, referrals, and other activities are completed within required timeframes.
Respond promptly to documentation corrections or additional information identified through supervisory or quality review.
Maintain confidentiality of family information in accordance with applicable laws, contractual requirements, and Cornerstone policies.
Deliver services consistent with Healthy Families America Best Practice Standards, Healthy Families Indiana requirements, Cornerstone policies and procedures, and applicable contractual requirements.
Utilize approved program curricula, tools, assessments, screenings, and service approaches as required.
Maintain assigned caseload within established HFA case-weight and program expectations.
Maintain required frequency and intensity of family contact.
Participate in record reviews, quality assurance, continuous quality improvement, and program evaluation activities.
Participate in HFA accreditation, DCS monitoring, and other program-review activities as required.
Identify barriers affecting family engagement or service delivery and work with the Healthy Families Supervisor to develop appropriate strategies.
Maintain required productivity while ensuring service quality and program fidelity.
Participate actively in regularly scheduled individual supervision in accordance with HFA standards and Cornerstone requirements.
Utilize supervision to reflect upon family relationships, personal responses, professional boundaries, challenging circumstances, successes, and opportunities for professional development.
Demonstrate openness to coaching, feedback, professional development, and ongoing learning.
Recognize how personal experiences, values, assumptions, and responses may influence interactions with families.
Seek consultation when encountering complex family circumstances, safety concerns, ethical questions, or situations outside the employee's knowledge or scope.
Develop and demonstrate reflective capacity as an essential component of effective relationship-based family support.
Recognize the potential impact of secondary traumatic stress and utilize supervision and appropriate supports to maintain effective professional practice.
Provide services from a family-centered, strength-based, trauma-informed perspective.
Demonstrate respect for families regardless of culture, race, ethnicity, language, family structure, socioeconomic circumstances, abilities, values, parenting practices, or life experiences.
Demonstrate humility and curiosity when working with families whose experiences or perspectives differ from the employee's own.
Recognize parents and caregivers as experts regarding their families and children.
Honor diverse family structures and parenting practices while promoting child safety and healthy development.
Support family choice and self-determination within program requirements.
Recognize and build upon existing family strengths rather than focusing exclusively on deficits or problems.
Consistent engagement and retention of assigned families.
Completion of required home visits and family contacts.
Maintenance of caseload and case weight consistent with program expectations.
Required frequency and intensity of services based upon family level.
Timely completion of required screenings and follow-up.
Development and ongoing review of meaningful family goals and service plans.
Effective support of parent-child relationships and healthy child development.
Appropriate identification of family strengths, needs, and protective factors.
Appropriate referrals and successful connections to community resources.
Accurate, complete, and timely documentation and data entry.
Compliance with HFA, HFI, DCS, and Cornerstone requirements.
Participation in required supervision and training.
Achievement of established productivity, quality, and program performance expectations.
Professional and respectful relationships with families, coworkers, community partners, and other service providers.
Successfully complete all training required by Healthy Families America, Healthy Families Indiana, Indiana DCS, Cornerstone Community Services, and applicable contractual requirements within established timeframes.
Complete required training and demonstrate competency before independently administering screening tools, curricula, assessments, or other activities requiring specific training.
Participate in ongoing professional development and maintain competency in family engagement, home visiting, infant and child development, parent-child relationships, family-centered practice, trauma-informed care, cultural humility, reflective practice, community resources, and other areas required by HFA/HFI.