Supervising Supportive Visitation Specialist

Reports to: Associate Director

About the Role

The Supervising Supportive Visitation Specialist will oversee a team of Supportive Visitation Specialists and provide supportive visitation services.

• Demonstrates awareness of biases, internalized racial superiority, and oppression.
• Leads with a racial equity lens and actively uses the racial equity tool in meaningful ways.
• Contributes to valuable and positive cultural humility transformation in individuals, organizations, and social systems to actively progress across the antiracist multicultural institution continuum.
• Demonstrates cultural humility through an awareness of and sensitivity towards Agency’s clients’ and coworkers’ cultural and socioeconomic characteristics.
• Committed to the value of a nurturing family as the ideal environment for a child and believes in the capacity of people to grow and change.
• Works from a strength-based perspective.
• Recognizes that consumers come first and responds to consumers appropriately.
• Knows and adheres to all FC Policies and Procedures.
• Participates in a Quality Improvement subcommittee and keeps abreast of and adheres to QI policies and procedures.

Professionalism

• Values and participates in the Team as a proactive member.
• Respects others’ professional opinions and tolerates a range of feelings.
• Able to give and receive constructive criticism.
• Willing to take on extra work as needed (i.e., when there is a vacancy).

Supervision

• Attends supervision consistently and comes prepared.
• Able to receive feedback and learn from it.
• Has insight about self (i.e., strengths and weaknesses) and utilizes that knowledge towards growth and change.

Leadership

• Maintains and/or develops expertise in the SVS model.
• Oversees team of Supportive Visitation Specialists.
• Facilitates and co-facilitates on-boarding and staff training for supportive visitation team.
• Ensures all vehicle maintenance is completed for supportive visitation specialist’s team fleet in collaboration with Coordinator in accordance with vehicle policies and procedures.
• Acts as an active, positive stakeholder in the communication feedback loop among administration, supervising visitation specialists, and all direct service staff.
• Supports a positive relationship between service and administration that is balanced with accountability, positive morale, and support.
• Supports staff’s facilitation and/or documentation of Visit Planning Meetings when assistance is required.
• Assists staff with scheduling and completion of caregiver surveys as needed.
• Ensures team’s documentation is complete in accordance with the SVS model.
• Shares on-call responsibilities with leadership.
• Regularly attends chosen sub-committee.

Direct Service

• Attends all necessary trainings in compliance with the SVS model.
• Schedules and conducts visits in the least-restrictive, most home-like location (the first preference being within the family's home) while ensuring the safety of the children.
• Initiates and maintains ongoing communication with families that is culturally sensitive, utilizing family’s preferred language considering a family’s faith and culture.
• Ensures the environment for parent-child contact is safe, non-traumatizing, and promotes healthy attachment.
• Uses strengths-based, solutions-focused, family-centered, trauma-informed strategies to elicit family input.
• Advocates for parents/families as necessary and supports them in advocating for themselves.
• Uses a process to gather information which includes reviewing collateral information and inquiring about family's natural supports.
• Completes required assessment tools including but not limited to: Rose Wentz Matrix and SVS Caregiver Surveys.
• Documents contacts with families in agency's progress notes and DCP&P contact sheets.
• Creates a visitation plan with active familial involvement and updates the plan at regular intervals.
• Facilitates visit planning meetings and participates in other relevant meetings.
• Initiates and maintains ongoing communication with DCP&P, other providers, and supports.
• Links the family to community resources, formal and informal supports, and coordinates with DCP&P.
• Collaborates with and shares relevant information with DCP&P staff, other providers, and supports.
• Provides support and modeling around appropriate and nurturing parenting.
• Enhances parental skills by goal setting, modeling, mentoring, reinforcement, and feedback and reflection through a trauma-informed perspective.
• Prepares for each visit with caregivers reviewing goals and expectations and encouraging them to be the lead in visit planning.
• Debriefs with caregivers after each visit to allow for processing and self-reflection and discussion of strengths and challenges.
• Creates an environment that empowers family members, including parents, children, and caregivers to communicate their goals and needs.
• Utilizes various interviewing and/or communication techniques in a culturally competent manner.
• Recognizes non-verbal communication and maintains good eye contact and posture.
• Provides in-home aftercare services in the event of reunification of families.
• Provides transportation for parents and/or children to and from visitation locations.
• Engages in case presentations and completes timely documentation.
• Prepares case presentations and engages in case discussions/consultations.
• Maintains electronic health record and completes all internal and external documentation needs in accordance with program guidelines.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in social work or related field (e.g., counseling or psychology).
• At least 2 years in the mental health field, including at least 1 year experience working with children and families.
• Preferred: Experience working with families involved in the child welfare system and/or affected by trauma.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• Valid New Jersey driver’s license, safe driving record, and vehicle availability are required.

Knowledge

• Child welfare system, community resources, social services, and mental health systems.
• Trauma and its effect on children and families.
• HIPAA compliance.
• General understanding of mental health diagnoses and substance use disorders.
• Resources and/or services in the community for the target population.
• Infant, child, and adolescent stages of growth and development.
• County’s local and highway roads.

Skills and Abilities

• Excellent time management skills.
• Organizational skills with the ability to manage numerous visiting families and systems of care simultaneously to promote best practices.
• Outstanding human relations skills and the ability to function autonomously and in a team environment.
• Effective oral and written communication skills.
• Effectively solve problems and communicate information, including the identification and communication of problems and/or issues with appropriate team and management staff.
• Model, coach, support, and mentor parents on the use of nurturing and safe parenting.
• Excellent computer skills with proficiency and working knowledge of database and reporting tools such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and/or electronic health record systems.
• Safely operate a motor vehicle abiding by all applicable traffic laws.
• Ensure the safety of all passengers through appropriate safety measures including use of seat belts, car and booster seats, and/or child safety locks.
• Comfortability working with families from diverse backgrounds.
• De-escalation strategies and ability to reach out when support is needed.

Professional Characteristics

• Open, warm, empathic, attentive listener.
• Self-aware, ethical, creative, organized, flexible.
• Open to constructive feedback, patient, responsible.
• Able to work independently, mature, self-motivated, dedicated, enthusiastic.
• Willing to take on additional tasks and responsibilities.
• Interested in seeking additional training and skills.
• Experience/willingness to work with culturally diverse populations.

Pay

$58,000 - $60,000

Benefits

• Medical, dental, life insurance, long-term disability, retirement plans, and additional supplementary benefits.
• Vacation, personal, and sick days in addition to 12 paid holidays and summer wellness Fridays.
• Professional development assistance, referral program, internal/external trainings, Capella University partnership.
• 403b retirement plan with employer matching (3% max) (enrollment without a waiting period).
• Employer-paid life insurance, employer-paid Long-term Disability (LTD) insurance, employer-paid Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance.

Schedule

• Flexible working schedule with 5 days per week evening availability.
• Some working time is spent out of the office transporting children and/or parents to and from visits and observing visits in families’ homes or in the community (parks, libraries, restaurants, jails, etc.).

Work Environment/Physical Demands

• Frequent standing, bending, reaching, squatting, kneeling, moving, and lifting of up to or in excess of 50 pounds.