SUMMARY

Family Support Specialists (FSS) in the Healthy Families TN program are responsible for building trusting relationships with families and utilizing this connection to support families in identifying strengths and barriers, accessing resources, and obtaining the knowledge and skills to achieve their goals. FSSs are focused on the health and well-being of parents and their children, and they serve families individually in their homes and in group settings.

 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provides intensive, long-term home visiting services to parents according to Healthy Families of America (HFA) and Healthy Families Tennessee (HFT) guidelines
• Conduct family assessments and screenings, develop individual family service plans and provide brief interventions, solicit community referrals, advocate on behalf of families and follow-up as needed
• Prepares and implements individualized curriculum from available materials focusing on parent health and wellness, child health and development, positive parenting skills, educational and vocational achievement, and life skills
• Provides supportive services to participants, while also increasingly encouraging families to utilize more informal and community resources
• Maintains flexibility in order to schedule home visits at times that are convenient for the family
• Conducts outreach and regularly participate in engagement activities
• Maintains regular and reliable attendance while accurately recording and managing time keeping records to ensure seamless operations and contributions to team productivity
• Upholds and promotes the organization’s values, mission and ethical standards in all interactions and decision-making processes to foster and a positive and principled workplace culture
• Maintains an overall home visiting caseload as determined by HFT and contract guidelines
• Acquires and maintains Infant Mental Health Endorsement
• Keeps all documentation up-to-date and accurate, including electronic web-based records and paper records
• As a member of the team, plans, develops, and implements groups/activities/events at times that work best for program participants
• Participate in weekly reflective supervision, staff meetings, trainings, program evaluation activities, and workshops
• Assists with child abuse prevention month activities
• Participate in major fundraising events benefiting TN Voices, community awareness events that promote the agency and programs, and program activities of the organization no matter the individual role
• Represents the agency at community, civic or other public functions and attend quarterly site visits
• Participates in agency ad-hoc committees as appropriate and needed
• Other duties as assigned

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

Graduation from an accredited high school or equivalent program with experience working with children and families. College education in social work, early childhood education, or similar social services field preferred. Infant mental health endorsement is preferred.  

QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience working with or providing supportive services to young children and families
• Experience and humility to work with a culturally diverse population; Demonstrated acceptance of individual differences and practice of inclusion
• Ability to establish trusting relationships and utilize basic supportive skills
• Ability to approach families from a strengths-based and family-centered service model
• Knowledge of infant and child development and parent-child attachment principles
• Awareness of the needs of low-income and multi-stressed families
• Ability to learn and integrate into teaching/coaching, material related to service delivery
• Willingness to engage in building reflective capacity (e.g., capacity for introspection, communicating awareness of self in relation to others, recognizing value of supervision, etc.)
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries while providing supportive services
• Willingness to work non-standard business hours as needed and scheduled
• Ability to self-direct daily work tasks and practice effective time management
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to collaborate as part of a team
• Microsoft Office, email, internet; Must be able to meet documentation requirements
• Reliable transportation and valid driver’s license
• Ability to be a self-starter and work without close supervision

DEMANDS & WORK ENVIRONMENT

The physical demands and work environment described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Accommodation requests can be made with the VP of Human Resources.

 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to position themselves in a sitting position, talk, and/or hear (with or without aide). The employee is regularly required to remain stationary, use hands to finger, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms. The employee is frequently required to use the keyboard and enter data at a computer. The employee is frequently required to operate a motor vehicle, move throughout homes or buildings and may be required to climb stairs in family homes and in a variety of community-based and home settings. The employee must learn new tasks, remember processes, maintain focus, complete tasks independently, make timely decisions in the context of a workflow, communicate with team members, program participants or community partners. FSS must have the ability to complete tasks with speed in situations that ensures the safety of others. Employees must move supplies and equipment up to 40 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include vision, ability to adjust focus and operate a vehicle safely. The employee must have access to reliable transportation. Employees are required daily to remain alert and engaged to safely operate vehicles. The employee is required to ensure the safety of small children and is a mandated reporter. The work environment includes indoor office environments or comparable spaces, families’ homes and community spaces, with frequent exposure to outdoor weather when traveling to home visits and meetings. The noise level varies by sites, home visits, and meetings.

 

TRAVEL

Occasional out-of-area and overnight travel may be expected.