Family Support Specialist - PAT

The Family Tree, Inc.; Baltimore (MD); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

The Family Tree, Inc. seeks a Parent Educator to provide home visits to families with children from pregnancy to age five, delivering early childhood education using the Parents as Teachers curriculum.

You will promote healthy child development, offer age-appropriate resources, and support parent-child interactions. Under supervision of the Parent Educator Supervisor, you will maintain records, participate in outreach, and collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to empower families and ensure

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in early childhood development or related field is preferred.
• Minimum of two years’ experience with young children under age 5.
• Must have a personal vehicle and valid driver's license.

Responsibilities

• Attend training to become a Certified Parent Educator.
• Provide personal home visits to families on assigned caseload
• Plan and conduct home visits using the PAT curriculum-based activities.
• Provide early detection and developmental screening services to children zero to five years old.
• Monitor client caseload and record child’s developmental progress
• Maintain accurate records of all home visits, contacts, screenings, resources and progress reports.
• Maintain client confidentiality and integrity per agency policies and program requirements.
• Learn to use the Client Management System (Visit Tracker) and other databases.
• Participate in community outreach events as needed and required.
• Attend agency staff meetings as necessary and required.
• Perform other duties and adhere to policies and supervisory directives.

Skills

Child development

Parent education

Observation

Communication

Cultural sensitivity

Confidentiality

Time management

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in early childhood development

Job description

Summary:

Under the direct supervision of the Parent Educator Supervisor, the Parent Educator provides parent education, developmental information, and family support to parents through personal home visits to promote the healthy development of children from pregnancy to kindergarten. Parent Educators utilize the nationally recognized Parents as Teachers curriculum to deliver quality home-based early childhood education, developmentally age-appropriate resources and effective child-parent interaction techniques.

Responsibilities

• Attend training to become a Certified Parent Educator.
• Provide personal home visits to families on assigned caseload
• Plan and conduct home visits using the Parents As Teachers (PAT) instructional curriculum based activities, methods and materials.
• Provide early detection and developmental screening services to children zero to five years of age.
• Monitor client caseload and record child's developmental progress
• Maintain accurate records of all personal home visits, contacts, screenings, resource linkages and data input of progress and required reports.
• Maintain client confidentiality and integrity in keeping with agency policies, practices, professional standards, and program requirements.
• Acquire knowledge and expertise of the agency's Client Management System (Visit Tracker) software and other various database systems.
• Participate in community outreach events as needed and required.
• Attend agency staff meetings as necessary and required.
• Perform all other duties as assigned and adhere to ongoing policies, program standards and supervisory directives.

Education

Bachelor's degree in early childhood development or related field is preferred; with a minimum of two years' experience directly working with young children under the age of 5 required.

Other

This position requires a personal vehicle, a valid driver's license, and a current car insurance policy. No transportation of participant families or children is necessary, but having a vehicle facilitates ease of completing home visits in addition to all other job requirements. May be asked to do some light transporting of donated items, such as clothes, diapers, and pack-n-plays at times.

Skills Required

• Strong knowledge of child development, parent education, and the Parents as Teachers curriculum
• Ability to build trusting, respectful relationships with diverse families
• Skilled in observation, assessment, and documentation of child and family progress
• Effective communication and active listening skills
• Experience connecting families to community resources and supports
• Strong organization, time management, and documentation abilities
• Understanding of trauma-informed care and family systems
• Demonstrates cultural sensitivity, professionalism, and confidentiality
• Self-motivated and able to work independently while collaborating with a team
• Genuine commitment to empowering parents as their child’s first and most important teacher

Work Environment

• Must work flexible hours
• Must be prepared to travel to various program sites and various communities.