Family Support Specialist

YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago • Chicago, IL

20d • Onsite

About The Position

The Family Support Specialist is on-site in the early learning setting and provides day-to-day client-facing supportive case management for family and child services. The primary responsibility includes the recruitment and enrollment of children in all program funding applicable for the site and providing comprehensive case management services to support the child and family needs in health, nutrition, dental, mental health, and disability services. This role also focuses on the full implementation of the Teacher curriculum to support and strengthen parent engagement. The Family Support Specialist is responsible for providing support to children and families to identify, develop, and maintain community partnerships and resources that address health, social service, mental health, and disability needs of families. This includes accountability to track, follow-up, and ensure that families are linked to required services such as referrals, screenings, assessments, and transitions to comply with service and contractual obligations. The role also involves documenting services provided, maintaining records, and completing reports in accordance with all applicable agency, licensing, and funding regulations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Social Work, Psychology, Sociology or Human Services, with a minimum of 12 college credit hours in Early Childhood Education and a Gateway Level 5 credential.
• Prior experience in casework, in community organizations, and working with families from diverse backgrounds.
• Prior experience working with children ages 0 – 5 with special needs/ disabilities preferred.
• Intermediate to advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel), email, database software; ability to learn and adapt to new technology.
• Ability to be flexible with time for evening home visits, meetings, and possible weekend parent activities.
• Must carry adequate automobile insurance and provide proof of insurance.
• Ability to relate to children with special needs/ disabilities in high-risk families and communities.
• Demonstrates evidence of YMCA Leader competencies in previous experience or practice.
• Meet physical qualifications required as outlined in job description. The YMCA will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities.
• Ability to obtain DCFS background check clearance and provide pre-employment medical screening documentation.

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience working with children ages 0 – 5 with special needs/ disabilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement recruitment plans to meet maximum enrollment, and maintain an up-to-date waiting list, in cooperation with the Site Director.
• Complete all related recruitment tracking instruments and reports, as required.
• Implement recruitment initiatives including door-to-door community canvasing and attendance at local community events, both internally within the YMCA Hubs and externally within the community and surrounding areas served. Attendance at events may be required after program hours and on weekends.
• Maintain a current and up-to-date waiting list of 25% of enrollment capacity of eligible families for each program model, and consistently update and maintain all required inquiry forms as required by the YMCA and funders.
• Determine children’s eligibility for all program models assigned at the site based on the most recent updated funding/grant guidance (EHS/HS/PI/PFA/CCAP).
• Complete and maintain all required documentation for enrollment eligibility, enrollment, health, nutrition, mental health, disability, and family services.
• Conduct initial and ongoing assessments of family needs; develop resources; provide referrals and supportive services to assist families in meeting identified needs; and document and report on all social service activities, as required.
• Encourage and support parent development through implementation of parent education curriculum, volunteer, and parent training opportunities. Develop and participate in parent development activities and meetings.
• Provide leadership to the child health, mental health, and disabilities functional areas and to the Family and Community Partnership Content Area, ensuring the provision of appropriate and required services including screening, assessment, testing, treatment, follow-up, and transition services to all identified children and/or parents.
• Identify and develop community partnerships to extend resources and support to children and families based on their expressed and identified health, social service, mental health, and disabilities service needs; develop effective working relationships with related and relevant resources.
• Maintain professionalism in attire and demeanor; observe and respect issues of confidentiality, ethics, and best practices of the Early Childhood and Social Work professions.
• Maintain required program records in accordance with YMCA procedures, funding source and program performance standards, and applicable licensing and accreditation standards.
• Maintain current and up-to-date family and child information in the identified data system per the YMCA and grant funding requirement.
• Participate in regularly scheduled team meetings, joint staffing both internally and externally to plan for and deliver collaborative services across all components.
• Meet regularly with parents and other staff regarding each child’s status and progress.
• Conduct home visits for purposes of assessment and support, and to share information on parenting, educational strategies, and classroom progress and transitional services.
• Collaborate with team members to plan and conduct regular parent meetings and parent engagement activities.
• Attend all required meetings by the agency and funders and build a positive collaborative relationship to support the mission of the agency and needs of the program.
• Responsible for canvasing local communities in person.
• Responsible for recruiting and enrollment of eligible students.
• Inquiry management and follow up.
• Supports the YMCA’s commitment to child abuse prevention by reporting any items that may provide a health or safety hazard to staff, members or guests to your supervisor, following all policies and procedures related to keeping children safe in our facilities and programs, reporting any suspicious behavior and violation of policy and procedures to your supervisor, and completing all child abuse prevention training as required.

Benefits

• Competitive salaries reflecting your skills and experience.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance for eligible employees.
• Wellness programs.
• Mental health resources.
• Family gym membership.
• Generous PTO and paid holidays.
• Flexible work hours for work-life balance.
• 403(b) plan with company contributions for eligible employees after 2 years of service.
• Continuous learning opportunities through workshops and training programs.
• Supportive work environment valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Discounts on programs, employee assistance programs, and company-sponsored events.

What This Job Offers

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