Family Resource and Support Specialist (FRSS)

Family Resource & Support Specialist positions provide home-based, culturally responsive services to expecting families and parents of newborns who are at risk for poor health, child and family development challenges, financial insecurity, and child abuse.

About the role

The goal is to support positive parent-child relationships, enhance child and family health and development, enhance family functioning, and prevent child abuse and neglect. The Specialist supports families by providing intensive home visiting services, conducting assessments, collaboratively developing service plans, performing perinatal depression and child development screenings, and connecting families to health and community resources.

Responsibilities

• Initiate and maintain regular contact with families, primarily in their homes (some evenings and weekends as necessary).
• Establish trusting relationships with families.
• Conduct the HFNY standardized assessment and service planning.
• Support an average caseload of 20 families.
• Provide prenatal, parenting, and other health education.
• Assist families to strengthen parent-child relationships using approved parent-child interaction tools and evidence-based curricula.
• Assist parents to improve their skills to optimize the home environment for the child’s well-being and safety.
• Conduct developmental screenings and provide activities in the home to promote healthy child development, including referrals for Early Intervention Program (EIP) as needed.
• Assist families in making and attending health and human service appointments, including activities related to employment and educational goals.
• Participate in the coordination and facilitation of special events and group activities for parents and children.
• Engage in weekly reflective supervision and team meetings.
• Participate in outreach and other efforts to educate the community about the program.
• Attend all Hospital and HFNY trainings within the required timelines.
• Provide documentation of all activities in accordance with Hospital and HFNY requirements and timelines.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent; college coursework preferred.
• Experience working with high-risk families in a community setting and some child-care or parenting experience.
• Knowledge of infants and child development.
• Ability to be non-judgmental and establish trusting relationships.
• Acceptance of individual differences; experience and humility to work with culturally diverse families.
• Willingness to engage in building reflective capacity.
• Knowledge of community resources.
• Good problem-solving and practical skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word.
• Good writing, data entry, and time management skills.
• Infant mental health endorsement is preferred.
• Bilingual (Haitian Creole/French/Spanish) required for some positions.
• Must be available for some evenings, weekends, and occasional overnight travel.

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods of standing, reaching, walking throughout the working day.
• Stooping, bending, lifting, and carrying items weighing up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to work in the field at least 3-4 days per week, conducting in-home assessments and attending community initiatives.

Pay

The salary range and/or hourly rate listed is a good faith determination of potential base compensation that may be offered to a successful applicant for this position at the time of this job advertisement and may be modified in the future. When determining base salary and/or rate, several factors may be considered (e.g., site, specialty, service line, years of relevant experience, education, credentials, negotiated contracts, budget, and internal equity).