HUMAN SERVICES COUNSELOR I - 64004480

State of Florida • Largo, FL

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

This position is responsible for establishing a trusting relationship with families by initiating and maintaining regular client contact as prescribed by Healthy Families America accreditation standards. The Human Services Counselor I provides case management/care coordination for pregnant women and families of infants by visiting families in their homes for a period of up to 5 years. This role serves as a primary coordinator on a multi-disciplinary team including therapists, nurses, and father support specialists. The position maintains a case weight according to program requirements and meets Healthy Families Pinellas guidelines for home visiting and risk-appropriate care. The counselor links pregnant women, families, and infants to supports and services available in the community, assures continued participation in prenatal and infant healthcare, and communicates and coordinates with other providers, especially healthcare providers. The role tracks prenatal care, immunizations, and well-baby care, and closes cases in a timely manner when no further services are needed or the client is ineligible. The counselor ensures services provided satisfy the needs of the participant and is a mandated reporter. While in the home, the counselor determines participant needs through screenings and assessments, assists families in developing Family Goals, strategically implements curriculum and referrals to address risk factors, and capitalizes on identified protective factors. The counselor also implements reflective strategies to promote attunement within the parent-child relationship, provides in-home parent education, and offers family planning options and education on planning future healthy deliveries with an emphasis on women’s health, as well as tobacco risks and smoking cessation education/counseling and referrals. The position requires utilizing Healthy Families Pinellas forms to document case management, client progress, and home visiting activities, maintaining an electronic health record for each client, and ensuring the integrity of the EHR in HMS and completing service ledgers. The counselor is responsible for completing Encounters and EARS in HMS to document direct services, risk factors, service checks, and other work activities, and completing all HVRs within program standards. The role also involves meeting grant goals, performance measures, and objectives, and maintaining standards/applicable regulations for personnel, medical records management, and programmatic/funder requirements. Weekly meetings with a supervisor for reflective supervision are required to discuss case findings and corresponding case management activities. The counselor will level cases according to need and participate in regular staff meetings and support groups, as well as attend training to promote professional and personal growth and complete all mandatory trainings. Performs all other duties and completes reports as assigned.

Requirements

• Demonstrates motivation to learn & apply knowledge of child development, family development and family planning.
• Effectively applies basic counseling skills with families such as developing rapport, establishing & maintaining effective supportive professional boundaries, using active listening & reflection & empowerment to support families in reaching their goals.
• Maintains case work standards as developed by program.
• Documentation will be completed electronically in HMS within 2-working days of date of service.
• Maintains dependable, punctual work schedule appropriate to the needs of the program.
• Willing to work a flexible schedule to meet the needs of families, which can include evenings and weekends.
• Ability to plan, organize and coordinate work assignments.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
• Knowledge of basic computer software and ability to enter data in computer.
• At least one year of experience working with at risk children and/or families.
• Valid driver's license with daily access to a reliable personal vehicle.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule to include evenings and weekends, as needed.
• Must have minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent, this is per Healthy Families requirement
• All Florida Department of Health positions require the incumbent to be able to learn and communicate effectively, orally and in writing, in English.

Nice To Haves

• Bilingual with written and spoken fluency in English and Spanish

Responsibilities

• Establishes a trusting relationship with families by initiating and maintaining regular client contact as prescribed by Healthy Families America accreditation standards.
• Provides case management/care coordination for pregnant women and families of infants by visiting families in their homes for a period of up to 5 years.
• Serves as primary coordinator on multi-disciplinary team including therapist, nurses and father support specialists.
• Maintains a case weight according to program requirements.
• Meets Healthy Families Pinellas guidelines for home visiting and risk appropriate care.
• Links pregnant women, families and infants to supports and services available in the community.
• Assures continued participation in prenatal and infant health care.
• Communicates and coordinates with other providers, especially the health care provider.
• Tracks prenatal care, immunizations, and well-baby care.
• Closes cases in a timely manner when no further services are needed or the client is ineligible for services.
• Ensures services are provided that satisfy the needs of the participant.
• Is a mandated reporter.
• Determines the participant's needs through screenings and assessments including the initial home assessment, home safety questionnaires, HFPIs, CCIs, Edinburgh Depression Screens, and developmental screening tools.
• Assists the family in developing Family Goals.
• Strategically implements curriculum and referrals on the HVSP to address risk factors.
• Capitalizes on identified protective factors to address risk factors as well as facilitates the development of additional protective factors within the family.
• Implement reflective strategies to promote attunement within the parent-child relationship.
• Provides in-home parent education utilizing recommended curriculums, including GGK, the Gold Within, and the FSU curriculums.
• Provides women/parents with family planning options and education on planning future healthy deliveries with an emphasis on women’s health.
• Provides tobacco risks and smoking cessation education/counseling and referrals.
• Utilizes Healthy Families Pinellas forms to document case management, client progress and home visiting activities.
• Maintains an electronic health record for each client served.
• Responsible for maintaining the integrity of the EHR in HMS and completing service ledgers for services to be entered the HFF data tracking system.
• Utilizes HFF data reports to ensure timely administration of required tools/assessments as determined by HFF policies.
• Completes Encounters and EARS in HMS to document direct services, risk factors, service checks and other work activities.
• Completes all HVRs within program standards.
• Meets grant goals, performance measures and objectives, programmatic and funder requirements.
• Maintains standards/applicable regulations for personnel, medical records management, programmatic/funder requirements.
• Meets weekly with supervisor for a minimum of 1.5 hours for reflective supervision to discuss case findings and corresponding case management activities.
• Levels cases according to need.
• Participates in regular staff meetings.
• Participates in regular staff meetings and support groups.
• Attends training to promote professional and personal growth.
• Completes all mandatory trainings as required by the program, the funder, and the agency.
• Performs all other duties and completes reports as assigned.

Benefits

• Annual and Sick Leave benefits
• Nine paid holidays and one Personal Holiday each year
• State Group Insurance coverage options, including health, life, dental, vision, and other supplemental insurance options
• Retirement plan options, including employer contributions
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Tuition waivers

What This Job Offers

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