Healthy Families America Family Support Worker

Mary's Center is committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within our organization and the communities we serve. We embrace diversity of experiences, ideas, and individuals, and seek to bring a diverse group of candidates to the table.

Important Note: Mary's Center is mandating the COVID-19 vaccine + booster for all staff.

Position Summary

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.

Reportability

This position will report directly to the Healthy Families America (HFA) Supervisor or Program Manager.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

Assessment:

• Provide weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly home visits.
• Perform developmental screens 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.
• Collaborate with the Parent Resource Worker or other referring providers to review questions concerning the FROG Scale assessment.
• Identify and articulate critical issues confronting the family and use 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/Program Manager to determine level of family functioning and growth as it relates to the service levels.

Build Relationship with Family:

• 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 cultural diversity and integrate the family's values and culture into 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.

Program and Professional Growth:

• 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.

Case Management:

• Incorporate families' strengths in the development of the participant's independence to advocate for themselves and identify their own solutions.
• Build 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/Program Manager.
• 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.

Promotes Parent Child Interaction:

• 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.

Documentation:

• 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, 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.

Agency:

• 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.

Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities -

• An associate degree (A.A.) in psychology, counseling, social service, or related behavioral health field with course work in the areas of child development, family relations, and interpersonal skills.
• Bachelor's degree preferred.
• If A.A. degree: at least two years of paid or volunteer experience under supervision working with families or children and their parents. Knowledge of community resources.
• Experience with computers, entering information, and Microsoft programs.
• Experience and willingness to provide services to culturally diverse communities and families.
• Knowledge of infant and child development preferred.
• Willingness to engage in reflective practice a plus.
• A working knowledge and understanding of patient/participant confidentiality issues and HIPAA compliance/regulations are essential.

Language Requirement - Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English and Spanish is required. Additional language proficiency or fluency preferred.

Physical Demands - Regularly required to sit; frequently required to reach with hands and arms, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, talk, or hear; must be able to lift objects up to twenty-five (25) pounds.

Work Environment - Mostly in a typical office and/or home setting with quiet to moderate noise level. May be exposed to extreme cold, heat, and humidity due to outside weather conditions. Opportunity to work a hybrid schedule - remotely and onsite, as needed. Potential return to a fully on-site schedule.

The Benefits:

• Health Insurance: medical, dental & vision - plus retirement options through 403(b) contribution and investment opportunities
• 25 days of paid leave annually (in addition to paid holidays), plus 5 educational days
• Tuition reimbursement of $2000/year towards education assistance and professional development
• Transportation subsidy via metro & bus
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)