Family Support Specialists

Children's Hope Alliance•Morganton, NC

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Catawba Valley Healthy Families (CVHF) utilizes the evidence-based Healthy Families America (HFA) model to deliver in-home visitation services to overburdened families who are pregnant or parenting a child aged birth to 5 years, residing in Burke, Caldwell, McDowell, Catawba, and Iredell Counties. This service aims to mitigate child maltreatment risks by assisting families in reducing stress factors and increasing protective factors through supportive, regular home visits over a 3-5 year period. CVHF is a program under Children’s Hope Alliance, dedicated to strengthening families. The Family Support Specialist (FSS) will initiate and maintain intensive, long-term home visitation services, starting during pregnancy or within 3 months of birth. Visits are family-centered, strength-based, and focused on building trusting relationships while respecting diverse family structures and parenting practices. The FSS will develop individualized plans to address concerns and identify existing strengths. By encouraging families to set and achieve goals, the FSS will provide various activities, information, and resource linkages to enhance the parent-child relationship, promote healthy child development, and improve overall family well-being. Services will be provided across the CVHF service area, with a primary focus on Iredell and Catawba counties, though travel to other counties may be necessary.

Requirements

Minimum of a High School Diploma or Equivalent.
At least 1 year of experience related to the program or an equivalent combination of training and experience.
Knowledge of infant and child development.
Experience in working with or providing services to children and families.
Ability to diffuse difficult situations/confrontations and establish trusting relationships.
Knowledge of the dynamics of child abuse and neglect.
Ability to work with a variety of individuals and professionals representing various disciplines and embrace family-centered and strength-based service concepts.
Accepting of individual differences and possess the experience and humility to work with culturally diverse families.
Willingness to engage in building reflective capacity (e.g., capacity for introspection, communicating awareness of self in relation to others, recognizing the value of supervision, etc.).
Proficient computer skills for communication, participant record documentation, and information access/interpretation.
Valid North Carolina Driver’s License and maintain insurance coverage.
Must submit to and pass pre-employment drug screening, criminal, HCPR, and driving checks.

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 (Spanish/English).
Infant Mental Health Endorsement.

Responsibilities

Work as part of a team to engage referred families by scheduling, administering, documenting, and scoring the Family Resilience and Opportunities for Growth (FROG) initial assessment.
Initiate and maintain regular and long-term contact and support to assigned families through home visits lasting at least an hour.
Be available on-call 24/7 to families, primarily responding to calls and texts, with occasional in-person support between scheduled visits.
Build trusting relationships by honoring diverse family structures and parenting practices.
Develop and regularly update an individualized Family Service Plan to guide interventions addressing needs identified on the FROG scale and during service.
Assist each family in setting and achieving meaningful goals.
Support parents in learning problem-solving and coping skills and how to effectively advocate for their family.
Provide parent education using Partners for a Healthy Baby, Nurturing Program, Growing Great Kids, and other supplemental curricula.
Employ strategies to strengthen parent-child interactions and promote healthy childhood growth and development through targeted activities, observation, and parallel process.
Administer family screens, including intimate partner violence, depression, and child development (ASQ-3 / ASQ-SE), and make appropriate referrals.
Act as a liaison between families and community agencies, staying informed of local resources.
Assist families in scheduling and attending medical appointments for pre/postnatal care, well-child checkups, immunizations, and other relevant appointments.
Participate in CVHF team activities, including staff meetings, weekly individual supervision, group parent trainings, community outreach events, and other required meetings and trainings.
Attend required training upon hiring and throughout employment, which may involve travel and overnight stays.
Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.
Document all family contact in the Family Wise Database.
Maintain all paperwork, including required screens, family data, referrals, and other information in the Family Wise Database and/or family file.
Collaborate with supervisor to create and update a Family Service Plan for each family.
Assist parents in creating a goal plan within 45 days of enrollment, with updates every 6 months.