HUMAN SERVICES COUNSELOR I - 64029131

State of Florida • Largo, FL

4d • Onsite

About The Position

The Human Services Counselor I works with pregnant women and families with infants through Healthy Families Pinellas. The counselor establishes and maintains regular contact with families, provides case management, care coordination, parent education, and parenting support, and conducts home visits for up to five years. The role coordinates care with a multidisciplinary team and community providers, connects participants with services, supports continued prenatal and infant health care, tracks prenatal care, immunizations, and well-baby care, and closes cases when services are no longer needed or a participant is ineligible. The counselor is a mandated reporter.

During home visits, the counselor assesses participants’ needs using program screenings and assessment tools, helps families develop goals, implements curricula and referrals addressing risk factors, and builds on protective factors. The role provides reflective support for parent-child relationships; parent education; family-planning and women’s health education; and tobacco-risk and smoking-cessation education, counseling, and referrals.

The counselor documents services and client progress in program forms and electronic health records, maintains records in HMS, completes service ledgers and required encounter and activity reports, and uses program data reports to ensure timely completion of required assessments. The position is accountable for grant goals, performance measures, program and funder requirements, and recordkeeping standards. It includes weekly reflective, clinical, and administrative supervision; case-leveling; staff meetings and parent support groups; training; and other duties and reports as assigned.

The position is based at the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County’s Mid-County Center in Largo. Travel throughout Pinellas County is required for home visits. A flexible schedule, including evenings and weekends as needed, is required; incumbents may also be called for emergency duty outside normal work hours or days.

Requirements

• At least one year of experience working with at-risk children and/or families.
• High school diploma or equivalent, as mandated by Healthy Families Florida policies.
• Valid driver’s license and daily access to a reliable personal vehicle.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule that includes evenings and weekends as needed.
• Ability to plan, organize, and coordinate work assignments.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing; all Florida Department of Health positions require effective oral and written communication in English.
• Knowledge of basic computer software and ability to enter data in a computer.
• Ability to complete electronic documentation in HMS within two working days of the date of service.
• Demonstrated motivation to learn and apply knowledge of child development, family development, and family planning.
• Ability to apply basic counseling skills, including rapport-building, maintaining supportive professional boundaries, active listening, reflection, and empowerment.

Nice To Haves

• Written and spoken fluency in English and Spanish.
• Infant Mental Health Endorsement.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain regular contact with families in accordance with Healthy Families America accreditation standards.
• Provide case management, care coordination, parent education, and parenting support through home visits to pregnant women and families with infants for up to five years.
• Serve as the primary coordinator on a multidisciplinary team that includes therapists, nurses, and father support specialists; maintain a case weight according to program requirements.
• Follow Healthy Families Pinellas home-visiting and risk-appropriate care guidelines.
• Connect participants with community supports and services, coordinate with other providers—especially health care providers—and support continued prenatal and infant health care.
• Track prenatal care, immunizations, and well-baby care; close cases promptly when services are no longer needed or a participant is ineligible.
• Assess participant needs using the initial home assessment, home-safety questionnaires, HFPIs, CCIs, Edinburgh Depression Screens, and developmental screening tools.
• Help families develop goals; implement curricula and referrals through the HVSP to address risk factors; and build on and develop protective factors.
• Use reflective strategies to promote attunement in parent-child relationships and provide in-home parent education using recommended curricula, including GGK, the Gold Within, and FSU curricula.
• Provide family-planning options and education on planning future healthy deliveries, with an emphasis on women’s health; provide tobacco-risk and smoking-cessation education, counseling, and referrals.
• Document case management, client progress, and home-visiting activities in program forms and electronic records; maintain client records in HMS, complete service ledgers for the HFF data tracking system, use HFF data reports, and complete Encounters, EARS, and HVRs within program standards.
• Meet grant goals, performance measures, objectives, and programmatic and funder requirements; maintain applicable personnel, medical-records-management, and program standards.
• Meet weekly with a supervisor for at least 1.5 hours of reflective, clinical, and administrative supervision; level cases according to need; participate in staff meetings and parent support groups.
• Attend training, complete mandatory training, and perform other assigned duties and reports.
• Maintain a dependable, punctual work schedule and work flexibly, including evenings and weekends as needed to meet family needs.

Benefits

• Annual and sick leave benefits.
• Nine paid holidays and one Personal Holiday each year.
• State Group Insurance options, including health, life, dental, vision, and supplemental insurance.
• 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