Family Support & Engagement Specialist

Family Support & Engagement Specialist – Highlands County BCC

Reports to:

Family Support & Assessment Worker Supervisor (Job Code 1035)

Department:
Community Programs/Healthy Families

Pay Grade/Salary Range: 105 – $38,303.03 – $61,284.85 ($18.41 – $29.46 hourly)

Posting Expires:
Until Filled

A paraprofessional or professional responsible for initiating and maintaining an ongoing supportive relationship with families through the provision of regular, long-term home visiting services. This position requires managing referrals, determining eligibility for services, offering program services, enrolling new program participants and conducting an initial assessment of needs using the Healthy Families Florida Assessment Tool (HFFAT).

• Making weekly (or less frequent) home visits for a caseload of up to twenty-five families
• Assists in strengthening the parent-child relationship through improving parenting skills and modeling appropriate activities during home visits
• Provides education on parenting, child development, child and health safety using evidence-based curriculum
• Works with individual participants and groups
• Establishes a trusting relationship with at-risk families by initiating and maintaining appropriate participant contact
• Establishes a family goal plan with objectives and activities with the supervisor and follows through with implementation
• Initiates and maintains home visitation schedule with families according to level status
• Timely completes required parent or child screenings including development screenings, Home Safety Checklist, maternal depression screenings, initial risk and protective factor assessments, parenting inventory, etc
• Ensures that family is linked to a medical provider; provides information on the importance of timely immunization and well child checks and documents dates of immunizations and well-child check‑ups
• Acts as a liaison between families and other community agencies
• Documents services provided, interactions observed and participant responses clearly, accurately, and timely (within 2 working days) in participant file
• Familiarizes self with community resources appropriate to needs of the families
• Attends regular staff meetings, multi-disciplinary staffing, in‑service training, and other meetings as required
• Maintains confidentiality of participant information and respects diverse cultural differences of families within communities
• Meets with Supervisor on a weekly basis for case management and review of all families on caseload
• Participates in reflective practice/supervision while maintaining an openness for introspection. Communicates self‑awareness in relation to others and recognizes the value of supervision
• Completes initial training required by Healthy Families Florida and a minimum of 20 hours per year of training thereafter
• Maintains a professional and safe unit and work area adhering to established safety policies and the image desired for the organization
• Consistently follows Highlands County Board of County Commissioners, Healthy Families Highlands and Healthy Families Florida policies and procedures
• Responds productively to change

Any Healthy Families staff personally involved in a Department of Children and Families investigation is required to notify their direct supervisor. Due to the nature of the work done by Healthy Families, this type of incident and/or failure to report such an incident may put the program in a position of public disrepute and therefore result in disciplinary action for the employee.

• Knowledge of infant and child development
• Experience in successfully working with children (0 to 5 years of age) and their families
• Experience and humility to work with culturally diverse populations
• Ability to use good judgment and make independent decisions with clear and professional boundaries
• Ability to work independently, meet deadlines, possess good time management skills and utilize initiative
• Ability to establish trusting relationships and accept individual differences
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships with co‑workers, managers, supervisors, directors, elected officials, vendors, and the…