Family Services Advocate

Richland County First Steps; Columbia (SC); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

Richland County First Steps is seeking a Family Support Advocate to provide prevention home-based services to pregnant women and families with children 0-5. You will conduct weekly visits using Parents as Teachers, offer parent education and case management, and link families to medical, counseling, and community resources.

The role emphasizes positive relationships, outcome-oriented work, and collaboration with the State Child Welfare system to strengthen family well-being and permanency in

Qualifications

• Requires Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education, Social Work, Psychology, or related field.
• Bachelor's Degree preferred.
• Experience with infants, toddlers, and diverse families.
• Ability to learn and use database systems.

Responsibilities

• Conduct weekly or biweekly home visits using the PAT curriculum.
• Provide child development, parent education, case management and family support.
• Link families to community resources and document referrals.

Skills

Child development

Case management

Parent education

Data entry

Education

Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education, Social Work, Psychology, or related field

Bachelor's Degree preferred

Tools

Parents as Teachers portal

SC FS State Database

ChildPlus

BambooHR

Job description

Connected Families Program

Family Support Advocate (FSA)

Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM- 5:00 PM

Occasional Evenings and weekends – Community Events

Position Overview:

This individual will provide prevention home-based services to pregnant women and families with young children 0-5, under involvement with the State Child Welfare system within Richland County.

The FSA follows the Parents as Teachers curriculum which focuses on the family, providing weekly or biweekly visits according to their risk factors.

Connected Families main goal is to maintain family permanency and child well-being preventing the unnecessary removal of children from their homes and to prevent further involvement in the Child Welfare system by giving families access to voluntary, coordinated services and community resources.

This position will work within the framework given to ensure that all activities are grounded in positive, ongoing, and goal orientated relationships with families. Outcomes may include improving parent-child relationships, family well-being, families as life-long educators, families as learners, family connections to peers and community and families as advocates and leaders.

Essential Functions:

• Using the Parents as Teachers curriculum, conduct weekly or biweekly home-visits.
• Provide child development, parent education, case management and family support to participants.
• Provide linkage to other community resources that support high-risk families served through the program including medical home, counseling, community assistance, employment, and training. Follow-up with families and agencies as appropriate to document use/success of referral.
  

Job Duties:

• Treat participants, community members and fellow staff with positive regard.
• Provide all required documentation in a timely manner, which may include weekly visit logs, child assessment and screening information, activity reports and more.
• Input accurate and complete data for all families into proper databases.
• Create, maintain, and break down comprehensive binders for each family.
• Participate in reflective supervision with the Director of Home Visitation and participate in staff meetings and trainings to promote growth and positive team relationships.
• Establish transition plans for each child/family based on age.
• Maintain caseload of 12-15 families at all times.

Requirements and Preferred Qualifications:

• Must possess at least an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education, Social Work, Psychology, or a closely related field. Bachelor's Degree is highly preferred.
• Experience working with infants, toddlers, and families with varied educational socio-economic backgrounds and cultural groups.
• Experience working in a variety of settings with culturally diverse families and communities with the ability to be culturally sensitive and appropriate.
• Experience working with families in crisis situations especially those involved with the Welfare System
• Ability to establish rapport with all assigned families.
• Proficient with technology, ability to learn new database systems used for documentation.
• Must have reliable transportation and a valid driver's license.

Technology/Equipment/Databases Used:

• Technology/Equipment: Computer, Zoom, MS OneDrive suite
• Database(s): Parents as Teachers portal, SC FS State Database, ChildPlus, Community Pathways Portal, BambooHR (training provided for all)
• Curriculum, Screening & Assessment Tools Used (training can be provided for all)
• Curriculums: Parents as Teachers -PAT, Partners for a Healthy Baby, Conscious Discipline
• Screenings: Life Skills Progression – LSP, Ages & Stages Questionnaires – ASQs’ 2&3, Adult Child Interactive Reading Inventory - ACIRI, Healthy Families Parenting Inventory - HFPI

Learn more about Richland County First Steps at richlandfirststeps.org