Family Support Worker

Full time – 40 Hours per week 

The Family Support Worker (FSW) is responsible for initiating and maintaining regular and long-term support with women who are pregnant and/or families who have children age 5 and under. This support is aimed at improving parent-child relationships, educating families on child development, and supporting family functioning.  The FSW will conduct regular developmental screenings, parent-child interaction assessments, and monitor the health needs of the family including, but not limited to, connection to a primary care provider, well child visits, immunizations, and mental health screenings.

 

COMPENSATION/BENEFITS

  • Salary: starting at $36,000
  • ReadyKids pays 100% health, dental, and life insurance premiums for employee only plans
  • Voluntary vision and supplemental insurance
  • Generous paid vacation and sick leave; paid holidays
  • Employer-matched retirement plan

 

Open until filled. ReadyKids is seeking a diverse pool of applicants; all are encouraged to apply. Email CV/resume to Sarah Carter at scarter@readykidscville.org.  ReadyKids is a drug-free workplace. EOE/ADA/AA.

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

  • Bachelor’s degree in human services field or equivalent experience(minimum of high school diploma)
  • Experience in working with or providing services to children and families
  • Experience and humility to work with the culturally diverse populations present among the local community
  • Knowledge of theory and practice in the area of infant and child development and age-appropriate intervention strategies
  • Knowledge of risk factors for child abuse and neglect
  • Ability to organize time effectively to meet assigned work demands
  • Ability to express and transmit ideas and knowledge clearly
  • Ability to evaluate own performance, capabilities, limitations and biases with reasonable self-reflection
  • Willingness to engage in building reflective practice (e.g., capacity for introspection, communicating awareness of self in relation to others, recognizing value of supervision, etc.)
  • Acceptance of individual differences
  • Infant mental health endorsement preferred

 

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

Human Service Knowledge and Abilities

  • Keep informed of developments in the direct service field, early childhood developments and in related professional disciplines.
  • Maintain current CPR and First Aid certification.

Assessment/Case Planning/Service Provision

  • Provide regular home visits to families on caseload to support parents, help parents develop age-appropriate parenting skills, and engage families in positive interactions that enhance bonding and facilitate children’s learning.
  • Establish a trusting relationship with families by initiating and maintaining regular client contact and providing emotional support.
  • Apply knowledge of child development, parent-child interaction, family systems, preventive health, and the dynamics of child abuse and neglect in working with families.
  • Assist families to make effective use of community resources.
  • Collaborate with families to develop individualized service plans to meet family needs and reviews the plans at least quarterly.
  • Collaborate with community agencies to plan and implement comprehensive service plans for enrolled families.

Reporting/Documentation/Evaluation

  • Participate in agency data collection and analysis, specifically Performance Measurement System.
  • Participate in statewide data collection and analysis, specifically Healthy Families Virginia Casie database.
  • Enter all data as outlined in the program’s policies and procedures.
  • Respond to emails and phone calls within 48 hours.

Supervision

  • Meet with supervisor as required on a weekly basis and come prepared by bringing information for review and discussion
  • Consult with supervisor as necessary when crises or situations out of the norm arise with assigned families.
  • Be prepared for and provide input at team and other agency meetings.

Community Collaboration and Training

  • Complete all required Healthy Families training.
  • Participate in ongoing training and professional development as needed.
  • Participate in community activities related to the program as assigned.
  • Collaborate and work cooperatively with community partners and referral sources.

 

CORE COMPETENCIES

All ReadyKids Employees will…

Relational:

  • Actively promote vital connections between children, caregivers, staff, and our community partners.
  • Resolve issues with the person(s) most directly involved by sharing your thoughts and feelings directly and respectfully, remembering that others have thoughts and feelings, too.
  • Recognize each person’s uniqueness and strengths. Treat people in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual, cultural and ethnic differences.
  • Be respectful in verbal and written communication to and about participants and colleagues.
  • Maintain appropriate professional boundaries with participants, colleagues and donors.
  • Protect privacy and confidentiality of participants, colleagues and donors.

Engaged:

  • Fully embrace our mission and vision, actively contribute to meeting them, and serve as an ambassador to engage the community in our efforts by providing clear and accurate information regarding the agency’s function and current programs.
  • Participate in the decision-making process as opportunities are available to inform agency and program decisions.
  • Participate in scheduled agency and other team meetings.

Adaptable:

  • Recognize that one way does not work for everyone and stay flexible in our approach and thinking. Maintain flexibility in order to change when things change.
  • Present solutions along with problems with the goal of getting to yes. Stay open to new ideas and offer suggestions for new ways of doing things.
  • Be proactive; give and receive input and seek solutions that balance the needs of the individual, program, agency, and community.

Driven:

  • Maintain the highest integrity in all aspects of agency and program operations and duties.
  • Utilize evidence-based and best practice models and strategies to provide the best opportunity for success.
  • Set appropriate priorities and make progress toward performance-based goals established for self, program, and agency.
  • Be accountable for individual and program results and give and receive feedback to improve individual, program, and agency performance.
  • Seek and utilize all available sources of data on an ongoing basis to inform decision-making in completion of all job duties.
  • Reflect on individual, program and agency results for continuous learning and quality improvement.

You:

  • Participate in professional development and supervision to seek guidance, expand knowledge, and develop use of best practices.
  • Maintain passion and commitment to the agency’s work and participants.
  • Do your part to ensure the health and well-being of the entire organization.
  • Respect and protect agency-owned property and assets and use agency resources for business-appropriate purposes.

 

 

Translate »