Family Support Specialist

Acenda Health • Glassboro, NJ

9d

About The Position

Family Support Specialists establish trusting relationships with families and provide supportive visitation, primarily in the home, for at least one hour per visit. They help strengthen parent-child relationships through family-centered, strength-based interventions and activities. Acenda values evidence-based practices. The position serves families referred through Connecting NJ or a service provider and supports families through home visitation services.

Requirements

• High school diploma or GED equivalent.
• Two years of experience working with children ages 0–3 and families.
• Knowledge of infant and child development.
• Knowledge of normal child growth and development and parent-child relationships.
• Experience working with community agencies, including implementing referral processes.
• Ability to relate to families using a strength-based model, including in apparently chaotic family environments, and to approach families using a family-centered service model.
• Valid driver's license with an acceptable driving record, which must be maintained.
• Ability to establish trusting relationships and work with culturally diverse families with experience and humility.
• Acceptance of individual differences.
• Willingness to build reflective capacity, including introspection, awareness of self in relation to others, and recognizing the value of supervision.
• Ability to exercise independent thinking and good judgment.
• Ability to analyze work, set goals, develop plans, and use time effectively and efficiently.
• Technological proficiency and skills in communication, collaboration, cultural competence, screening and assessment, care planning and coordination, systems-oriented practice, and practice-based learning and quality improvement.
• Flexible availability, including weeknight and weekend hours as needed by home-visiting families.
• Travel throughout New Jersey for required multi-day model and/or agency trainings.

Nice To Haves

• Infant Mental Health Endorsement.
• Spanish proficiency; an additional $1.50 per hour bilingual differential applies if proficient.

Responsibilities

• Conduct outreach to families referred through Connecting NJ or a service provider.
• Use a standardized screening tool to determine eligibility for home visitation services.
• Interview parents and conduct the Family Resilience and Opportunities for Growth (FROG) Scale to identify strengths and risk factors.
• Help strengthen parent-child relationships.
• Help parents improve their skills to optimize the home environment.
• Help increase the family support system and families’ ability to problem-solve and advocate for themselves and their children.
• Assist families in establishing goals and plans to accomplish them.
• Assess the normal growth and development of the target child.
• Identify and refer families to other supportive agencies, including for healthcare appointments.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Health, vision, and dental coverage for the employee and family.
• 401(k) with 100% employer match on the first 5% of compensation.
• Generous time off.
• Life insurance.
• Flexible spending accounts.
• Employee assistance program.
• Year-end bonuses.
• $1,000 sign-on bonus.
• Innovative culture that encourages growth and learning.
• Mission-driven core.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED