Family Support Specialists

Children's Hope Alliance•Statesville, NC

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Catawba Valley Healthy Families (CVHF) uses the evidence-based Healthy Families America model to provide in-home visitation services to pregnant or parenting families with children from birth through age five in Burke, Caldwell, McDowell, Catawba, and Iredell counties. The program provides regular supportive home visits over three to five years to help reduce family stress factors, increase protective factors, and mitigate risks of child maltreatment. CVHF is one of the programs offered by Children’s Hope Alliance to strengthen families. The Family Support Specialist initiates and maintains intensive, long-term home-visitation services, beginning during pregnancy or within three months of birth. Visits are family-centered and strength-based, with an emphasis on building trusting relationships and honoring diverse family structures and parenting practices. The specialist develops individualized plans to address concerns and identify family strengths, supports families in setting and achieving goals, and provides activities, information, and connections to resources to strengthen parent-child relationships, promote healthy childhood growth and development, and enhance family well-being. The role serves families across the CVHF service area, with a primary focus on Iredell and Catawba counties. Travel elsewhere in the service area may be required to support program operations and family needs. The specialist conducts home visits, provides ongoing family support, completes assessments and screenings, makes referrals, coordinates with community agencies, and maintains required documentation. The position also includes being on call 24/7 to families; support is mostly provided by responding to calls and texts, though occasional in-person support between scheduled visits may be required. No supervisory responsibilities are assigned.

Requirements

Minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent.
At least one year of experience related to the program, or an equivalent combination of training and experience.
Knowledge of infant and child development.
Experience working with or providing services to children and families.
Ability to diffuse difficult situations or confrontations and establish trusting relationships.
Knowledge of the dynamics of child abuse and neglect.
Ability to work with individuals and professionals across disciplines and embrace family-centered, strength-based services.
Acceptance of individual differences and the experience and humility to work with culturally diverse families.
Willingness to build reflective capacity, including introspection, awareness of oneself in relation to others, and recognition of the value of supervision.
Proficient computer skills for communication, participant record documentation, and accessing and interpreting information.
Valid North Carolina driver’s license and ability to maintain insurance coverage.
Must submit to and pass pre-employment drug screening, criminal, HCPR, and driving checks.
Ability to travel frequently to home visits, including sometimes to outlying areas.
Ability to lift and/or move up to 30 pounds.
Ability to kneel, bend, reach, and sit on the floor regularly to engage in developmental play with children and families.
Ability to perform duties in active home environments with changes in climate and noise level, and to read, type, write, speak, use a telephone, sit for prolonged periods, and work on a computer.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Child Development, Early Childhood, B-K, Human Services, Social Work, or a related child and family field.
Bilingual abilities in Spanish and English.
Infant Mental Health Endorsement.

Responsibilities

Engage referred families as part of a team by scheduling, administering, documenting, and scoring the Family Resilience and Opportunities for Growth (FROG) initial assessment.
Initiate and maintain regular, long-term contact and support for assigned families through home visits lasting at least one hour.
Be on call 24/7 to families, primarily responding to calls and texts and occasionally providing in-person support between scheduled visits.
Build trusting relationships while honoring diverse family structures and parenting practices.
Develop and regularly update individualized Family Service Plans addressing needs identified through the FROG scale and during services.
Assist families in setting and achieving meaningful goals, including helping parents create a goal plan within 45 days of enrollment and updating it every six months.
Support parents in developing problem-solving and coping skills and in advocating effectively for their families.
Provide parent education using Partners for a Healthy Baby, Nurturing Program, Growing Great Kids, and supplemental curricula.
Use targeted activities, observation, and the parallel process to strengthen parent-child interactions and promote healthy childhood growth and development.
Administer family screenings, including intimate partner violence, depression, and child development screenings (ASQ-3 / ASQ-SE), and make appropriate referrals.
Serve as a liaison between families and community agencies and stay informed about local resources that may support family well-being.
Help families schedule and attend appointments for prenatal and postnatal care, well-child checkups, immunizations, and other appropriate needs.
Attend CVHF staff meetings, weekly individual supervision meetings, group parent trainings, occasional community outreach events, and other required meetings and trainings.
Attend training upon hire and throughout employment; some training may involve travel and overnight stays.
Document all family contacts and maintain required paperwork, screens, family data, referrals, and other information in the Family Wise Database and/or family file.
Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.
Contribute to the organization’s mission; plan and prioritize work; complete required professional development; deliver timely and accurate work; follow policies and report unsafe or noncompliant activities; communicate effectively and work as a team; coordinate work independently as appropriate; and demonstrate cultural competence.