Family Support Specialist I

Family Support Specialist I - Healthy Families SALARY Pay Grade 7, $16.70 Hourly, Non-Exempt WORK LOCATION AND SCHEDULE 2135 Marshall Edwards Dr. Bartow, FL 33830 Monday - Friday, 8:00AM - 4:30PM EMPLOYEE BENEFITS Direct Deposit, Bi-Weekly Pay Checks Medical, Dental, Vision Life Insurance FRS Retirement 10 Paid Holidays Paid Time Off Tuition Reimbursement Education Incentives Deferred Compensation Plan Wellness Incentives Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Free Employee Gym Free Employee Health Clinic Polk County BoCC is a Certified Age-Friendly and Drug-Free Workplace Must have the physical, developmental, and mental ability to perform job tasks, work efforts, responsibilities and duties of the job illustrated below: SPECIAL REQUIREMENT The Healthy Families Section is responsible for assisting in the Emergency Management Operations for Polk County in the event of an emergency such as a hurricane. The Healthy Families Section staff may be called upon to staff special needs shelters or assist with arranging transportation for participants. MAJOR FUNCTION Under the direct supervision of the Family Support Supervisor, the Family Support Specialist is responsible for optimizing the home environment for the physical and mental well-being of children who are at risk of being abused/neglected, and their families. ILLUSTRATIVE DUTIES - Assists in strengthening the parent-child relationship through improving parenting skills and meeting dependency needs of parents. - Works with individual participants and groups. - Establishes a trusting relationship with at risk families by initiating and maintaining appropriate participant contact. - Establishes a family support plan with goals, objectives, and activities with the supervisor, and follows through with implementation. - Assists parents in making and attending appointments for doctors, social service agencies, etc. - Acts as a liaison between families and other community agencies. - Familiarizes self with community resources appropriate to needs of the families. - Meets with Supervisor on a weekly basis to evaluate participant status. - Attends regular staff meetings, case conferences, in-service training, and other meetings as required. - Documents home visit observations and activities in a consistent and timely manner. - Demonstrates ability to work as part of a team as well as independently. - Consistently follows County, Healthy Families Polk, and Healthy Families Florida policies and procedures. - Performs related duties as required. KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES AND SKILLS Knowledge of: - Proper channels of communications. - Operational techniques on all pieces of equipment utilized by this position. Ability to: Accept individual differences. Demonstrates motivation Learn and apply basic counseling skills. Familiarize self with parent-child interaction and child development materials, and the dynamics of child abuse and neglect. Use good judgment and make independent decisions with clear and professional boundaries. Learn and follow departmen