Job Title: Bilingual Family Support Specialist

Reports To: Program Manager

Department: Programs

Location: Gainesville, GA (Office)

FLSA: Exempt

Job Summary

The Family Support Specialist (FSS) is responsible for implementing the Healthy Families America home visiting model, a home-based intervention program with families, infants and children. One of the primary roles of the FSS is to develop strong relationships with families in order to provide service coordination, support, and training to assist families in meeting the needs of their children and enhancing parents’ role as the primary influence on their child’s development. needs of their children and enhancing parents’ role as the primary influence on their child’s development. Duties include working with families to: promoting positive parent-child relationships and interactions, provide child development education and enhance family functioning.

Responsibilities

• Initiates and maintains regular and long-term (up to three years) support and interventions with families which will occur primarily within the family’s home and should last at least an hour.
• The interventions should be family-centered, strength-based, and directed at:
• Establishing a trusting rela­tionship
• Assists in strengthening the parent-child relationship
• Assists parents in improving their skills to optimize the home environment
• Improves the family support system; and increases the family’s ability to problem solve and assume the role of advocate for themselves and their children
• Administering the First Steps Georgia Screening tool, Family Resilience and Opportunities for Growth Scale (FROG), administering additional screening tools such as the ASQ, ASQ-SE, Depression Screens etc.,
• Establish Family Service Plan and implement activities outlined on the Family Service Plan to address areas of concern that were identified on the FROG scale.
• Identifies and refers families to other community-based agencies/ supportive services, including health care services, depending on the family’s needs for further assistance to clients
• Responsible for assisting the family in establishing goals, a plan for accomplishment of goals and supporting them throughout this process
• Maintains documentation in compliance with guidelines
• Responsible for completing Plans of Safe Care with families of infants who meets criteria as “affected” as determined by Georgia policy and law.
• Attends and participates in meetings, events, weekly supervision, and quality improvement activities as required
• Participate in training opportunities to maintain individual and organizational competency in assigned areas of responsibility. This includes:
• Demonstrating competencies identified for certification as Family Support Specialist and required Policies and Procedures
• Consistently updating knowledge and skills relevant to position responsibilities
• Attending in-services, conferences, workshops, and required agency meetings as appropriate
• Furthers the mission of the organization through active support of the strategic goals
• Bilingual FSS may be responsible for translation
• Preforms other job-related duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Bilingual and able to read, write, and speak Spanish proficiently
• minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent, college coursework preferred
• experience in working with or providing services to children and their families
• an ability to establish trusting relationships
• acceptance of individual differences
• experience and humility to work with the culturally diverse families
• knowledge of infant and child development
• willing to engage in building reflective capacity (e.g., capacity for introspection, communicating awareness of self in relation to others, recognizing value of supervision, etc.)

Work Environment

This position is located out of our Wellroot office in Gainesville, Georgia, and the work is conducted in an office setting and across the campus. FSS could carry caseload in the following counties Hall, Gwinnett, Dawson, Forsyth, Lumpkin

• Fast-paced, working with vulnerable clients.
• The ability to maintain a flexible work schedule which will include evenings and weekends is required
• Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds
• Computer Work
• May be subject to imposed deadlines
• May be subject to hostile and emotionally upset clients, staff, family members, or the general public at times
• Possible telehealth and remote work
• Work travel reimbursement for home visitations, work events, job related duties
• Has regular contact with clients and their staff, family members, and the general public
• Work in a variety of settings. Sit, stand, walk, bend, lift, move, squat, climb stairs, reach above shoulder level, kneels, pus, or pull intermittently during working hours.