Job description

Family Support Specialist

Bring your skills and professional experience and watch as you effect positive change for Oregon families. Family SkillBuilders has been serving parents and children for 22 years with proven educational programs. We are committed to building strong families through relationally based parenting training and strengthening community and natural supports. We believe using a hands-on, customized, home-based model empowers parents with the skills they need to keep themselves and their children safe.

Do you have a passion for helping families and children succeed? Do you have teaching, coaching, advocacy, or counseling experience? Are you looking for a place to propel your social services career and expand your skillset with opportunities to train and engage in a variety of settings? Do you enjoy working in a collaborative environment with shared goals?

We are currently hiring a Family Support Specialist to support families primarily in Multnomah and Washington counties, with some time in Clackamas county. The successful candidate will be fully trained to work across multiple programs including in-home/in-community services for individual families, preventative services to families, and supervised visits with families experiencing domestic violence. This is a unique opportunity to gain training and experience across disciplines.

Our clients come from diverse backgrounds. We value our staff who come to us with a variety of backgrounds and experiences, each adding to our ability to make a difference for the families we serve. Family SkillBuilders does not discriminate against any employee or applicant based on race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by law. We strongly encourage people of color, and Bilingual or ASL-fluent candidates to apply to this position.

Location: The candidate must be in the Portland Metro area. Preference will be given to candidates in eastern Washington County or western Multnomah County to serve areas of growing demand. While you will work from home some of the time, have a great deal of autonomy and a fairly flexible schedule, this is NOT a remote position. You will be meeting with clients in-person in their homes and various community locations. We also provide a fully resourced office in Milwaukie.

Job Description:

Assist referred families to:

• develop healthy family functioning that keeps children safe
• develop household management skills
• increase parenting skills to gain self-sufficiency

Specifically:

• Work with families in crisis addressing safety and support issues for families with children or planning for family reunification.
• Work closely with caseworkers from Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) to assess child safety, stabilize and improve parental protection of children and help the family access necessary formal and informal community resources and supports.
• Supervise visits for families experiencing domestic violence.
• Facilitate family time for parents with children in established meeting spaces.
• Support our parenting group program as substitute.
• 75% of time is spent in direct face-to-face contact with referred families and 25% for supervision, consultation, ongoing professional training, service planning, and other administrative tasks.
• Weekly work schedule includes some evenings, weekends, and occasional early mornings.
• Your work locations will vary depending on the families we serve.

Education and experience requirements may be met in several ways:

• 3 years direct experience providing in-home or similar support or Child Welfare experience
• Bachelor’s degree in social services and at least one years’ experience in social service-related field or Child Welfare
• Master’s degree in social work, counseling, marriage and family therapy or related field

Qualifications:

Essential:

• Familiarity with issues affecting high-risk families
• Familiarity with effective parenting skills, child development and behavior management
• Effective interpersonal skills and the ability to immediately motivate and connect with parents successfully
• Strong writing skills, be highly organized and self-motivated
• Must have own vehicle, driver's license, auto insurance and safe driving record
• Must have Internet access
• Competency in Microsoft Office programs – Word, Excel

Preferred:

• Bilingual/Bicultural
• Highly skilled individual with needs assessment and/or case management experience
• Demonstrated knowledge of crisis theory, trauma-informed parenting, Family Systems theory, cognitive/behavioral, solution-focused interventions
• Hands-on experience working with children
• Prior experience leading or facilitating small groups.

Benefits:

• Collaborative team environment with strong supports for continuous training and learning
• Medical and dental insurance – 50% paid by company (upon meeting eligibility)
• Weekend pay differential
• Language pay differential
• Career progression and promotion encouraged
• Cell phone and tablet provided on loan
• Gas reimbursement plan
• Professional development training

COVID-19 considerations:
We provide masks and other PPE to all staff for personal use as well as the children and parents we serve, upon need or request. We work with families following all state COVID guidelines.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $18.00 - $22.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Weekends as needed

Application Question(s):

• You will need to use a vehicle to visit clients. Do you have a vehicle that is insured in Oregon?

Education:

• High school or equivalent (Required)

License/Certification:

• Driver's License (Required)

Work Location: In person