Healthy Families America Family Support Worker

Mary's Center • Silver Spring, MD

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Healthy Families America Family Support Worker ensures that each child is safe, healthy, and ready for school by age five by providing intensive home visiting services to overburdened parents. This position will report directly to the Healthy Families America (HFA) Supervisor or Program Manager. The role involves reaching out to assigned families, providing regular home visits, performing developmental screenings, tracking well-baby visits and immunizations, strengthening parent-child interaction, and facilitating access to community resources. The Family Support Worker will also complete assessments, identify critical issues, build on family strengths, collaborate on service plans, and build trusting relationships with families using reflective practice techniques. Additionally, the role requires participation in team meetings and trainings, case management to promote participant independence, and reporting incidents of child abuse and neglect. The Family Support Worker will implement child development curricula, model behaviors, and ensure parents understand provided information. Documentation of all participant encounters, tracking of various visits and screenings, and timely submission of reports are crucial aspects of the role. The position also involves participating in agency meetings and events, assisting in agency growth, and following personnel practices.

Requirements

• An associate degree (A.A.) in psychology, counseling, social service, or related behavioral health field with coursework in the areas of child development, family relations, and interpersonal skills.
• At least two years of paid or volunteer experience under supervision working with families or children and their parents (if A.A. degree).
• Knowledge of community resources.
• Experience with computers, entering information, and Microsoft programs.
• Experience and willingness to provide services to various communities and families.
• A working knowledge and understanding of patient/participant confidentiality issues and HIPAA compliance/regulations are essential.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English is required.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Knowledge of infant and child development preferred.
• Willingness to engage in reflective practice a plus.
• Additional language proficiency or fluency preferred.

Responsibilities

• Reach out to all families assigned by the program supervisor that reside in Prince George’s County and keep track of the progress and outcomes of those families.
• Provide weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly home visits.
• Perform developmental screenings on infants up to age five.
• Track well-baby visits and immunizations.
• Strengthen parent-child interaction.
• Facilitate access to community resources such as: education, housing, and childcare resources.
• Complete the Family Resource and Opportunities for Growth (FROG) Scale assessment of families assigned by the Program Supervisor.
• Identify and articulate critical issues confronting the family and use them as a basis in creating the Family Goal Plan (FGP).
• Build on family strengths to meet participant needs and/or respond to crisis and stress.
• Collaborate with HFA Program Supervisor to determine the level of family functioning and growth as it relates to the HFA Service Levels.
• Develop a Service Plan in collaboration with the Program Supervisor of new enrolled families.
• Contact family within two business days after receipt of the referral and consistently visit family as identified based on model criteria.
• Use strategies, including reflective practice techniques, to build trust and rapport with families.
• Achieve 85% of the identified number of visits in the home each month.
• Summarize visits, elicit confirmation, and plan for future contact with family.
• Accept and integrate the family’s values and culture into a support plan that reflects the family’s agenda and background.
• Respect differences and offer information about alternatives if certain cultural practices are harmful to any member of the family.
• Facilitate solutions that recognize that opinions/beliefs of family may differ from Family Support Worker.
• Participate in team meetings and trainings, share experience and insight at said events, seek input from others, and utilize any information learned in daily work practices.
• Raise concerns and questions in a manner that promotes discussion for solutions.
• Collaborate with HFA Program Supervisor/Program Manager to identify and participate in other trainings or committees which can further professional growth.
• Identify community needs and address those needs through team meetings and events.
• Identify strengths in performance as well as areas needing development; work together to plan and achieve desired performance goals with the assistance of the HFA Program Supervisor/Program Manager.
• Incorporate families’ strengths in the development of the participant’s independence to advocate for themselves and identify their own solutions.
• Build a support network with the family by developing a resource list of family members, friends, and community agencies.
• Develop the FGP with the family, monitoring progress, and barriers to success.
• Plan visits ahead of time using family-centered, strengths-based interventions, case review, FGP, child development curriculum, and age-appropriate toys with the assistance of the HFA Program Supervisor.
• Report incidents of child abuse and neglect and become an active member of the intervention team to assist families in modifying behaviors or conditions that promoted the abuse and neglect.
• Perform the Developmental Screen with the parents and communicate the growth and development as well as any delays the child may have.
• Implement the child development curriculum based upon the parents’ relationship with the child to build a trusting relationship, strengthen the parent-child relationship, and assist parents in improving their skills to optimize the home environment.
• Ensure that parents understand information provided and activities demonstrated.
• Model behavior where appropriate and monitor progress.
• Ensure a medical home by communicating the importance of well-baby care and immunizations.
• Document all participant encounters in appropriate database system, including agency’s database and grantor’s database if applicable, within the required timeframe(s).
• Track all home visits, outreach efforts, immunizations, prenatal visits, well-baby care visits, developmental screens, and any relevant medical care needed by the family.
• Administer and score developmental screens within a two-week period of the due date.
• Complete FGPs with the family at designated intervals or sooner if necessary.
• Complete all measurement tools on time based upon their timeline for completion.
• Meet deadlines by completing and submitting monthly reports to the HFA Program Supervisor and/or Program Manager.
• Ensure that all forms are complete, proofread for accuracy, and ready for discussion during weekly supervision.
• Participate in meetings and required events.
• Assist in the growth of the agency through problem-solving and support.
• Follow personnel practices.
• Seek answers to questions surrounding personnel or agency issues.

Benefits

• Health Insurance: medical, dental & vision
• Retirement options through 403(b) contribution and investment opportunities
• 25 days of paid leave annually (in addition to paid holidays)
• 5 educational days
• Tuition reimbursement of $2750/year towards education assistance and professional development
• Transportation subsidy via metro & bus
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree