Family Specialist I

Initial compensation for this position ranges from $23.00 - $27.39 per hour, dependent on experience above the minimum qualifications, internal equity, and location. Additional compensation includes a 7.5% bilingual differential for qualified positions and a $2,000 hiring incentive payout after 30 days and 6 months (eligibility requirements apply).

Benefits

• Benefits eligibility starts on day one
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Voluntary life insurance
• Flexible spending account and health savings account
• Employer-paid long-term disability and basic life insurance
• 401K employer match up to 4%
• Competitive time off plans (varies by employment status)
• Employee engagement and advocacy opportunities to advance justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives

About the Role

Within a team process, develops a strength-based relationship with youth and caregivers. Intervenes with maladaptive behaviors while developing the youth's strengths and interests. Responsible for linking to community resources and transferring skill sets to the caregiver. Helps create permanent connections for youth and families. May search, locate, and engage family members for youth. Assists with transitioning kids to the lowest level of care. Works independently in the family's home and in a variety of community and/or treatment settings.

Responsibilities

• Provides direct services to youth and families
• Provides direct billable mental health services, documents in alignment with MediCal regulations, and achieves set productivity expectations
• Manages and builds alignment and relationships with parents, youth, and others in the normal course of working with families
• Utilizes strengths of youth, families, and others to assist in the implementation and achievement of goals and outcomes
• Works with youth and family teams to support family-driven, strength-based planning and interventions
• Understands and takes advantage of therapeutic opportunities in crisis situations
• Conducts observations regarding specific target behavior, tracks progress, and modifies plans with the family to support their intended identified outcome
• Assists teams in developing a hypothesis of function and underlying unmet need to create individualized, strength-based strategies and interventions that result in positive behavior change
• Engages caregivers, family members, and other natural supports in building youth-specific parenting responses that support positive behavior change and overall family relationships
• Works in the community directly with youth and families to develop and implement safety and skill refinement plans
• Supports families in bridging to or building on natural resources and accessing community-based program supports for continued assistance
• Develops resources within the community to serve children and families
• Assists youth and family teams to meet specific service needs (e.g., help develop strategies or resources for identified needs) and monitors outcomes
• Participates in family-finding team activities by identifying needs, obtaining authorizations, creating teams, conducting searches, and setting deadlines
• Completes Connectedness Maps as needed
• Documents interactions and practices and maintains administrative expectations in a timely manner
• Meets or exceeds all direct service expectations and documentation requirements
• Assists in developing program responses to needs identified across multiple youth and families where natural community resources are unavailable or inappropriate
• Builds on individual strengths, concerns, and needs with a balanced focus on the family as a unit
• Facilitates, co-facilitates, supports, and models participation in healthy group dynamics within various settings, including family homes, schools, parks, recreation centers, and treatment facilities
• Provides an open forum for expression of feelings and ideas when appropriate
• Builds solid, cooperative, culturally responsive relationships with youth, families, and community resources to assist with planning, organizing, implementation, and evaluation of activities to achieve family-identified goals
• Performs other responsibilities, as assigned, to support department/business needs

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED and one or more years of relevant experience required, or equivalent combination of education and experience (two years of relevant experience equals one year of education)
• Experience providing direct behavioral support to individuals with mental health, developmental, or behavioral challenges
• Demonstrated experience implementing behavior intervention plans and supporting clients with complex behavioral needs
• Familiarity with trauma-informed care, positive behavioral support, and data collection for behavioral outcomes
• Ability to work independently while collaborating with multidisciplinary teams
• Experience in school-based, residential, or community mental health settings
• Certification in CPI, PCM, or other crisis intervention models, or willingness to obtain

Skills

• Conflict resolution
• Clear and accurate documentation
• Encouraging customer focus
• Learning on the fly
• Time management

Physical Requirements

• Must remain physically fit enough to keep children and self-safe
• Occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to handle objects/tools/controls, reach with hands and arms, climb stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl
• Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus

Driving may be required. Position may have unsupervised contact with children and requires a full background check and TB exam.