Bilingual Family Support Specialist

Department: Youth and Family Potential - Strong Families

Location: Addison, IL 

Are you passionate about helping others? Do you want to unleash your purpose and potential?

Come join our dynamic social service enterprise as we help over 200,000 individuals across the Chicagoland area.

YWCA Metropolitan Chicago is the oldest and largest women’s organization in the region, with a mission to eliminate racism and empower women. To learn more about the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, please visit our website at https://ywcachicago.org.

The Bilingual Family Support Specilaist will provide mentoring and educational support services to parents with home visits while focusing intensely on building protective factors within the family and increasing effective parenting skills to reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect. This position will also directly work with and support students. This position will work within Bensenville School District 2 and occasionally support families at the Bensenville Public Library.  LCSW Supervision hours are available for those seeking.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Direct Service

• Serve parents of students in the School District with one-on-one parent mentoring home visits.
• One-on-one supportive services with identified students in the school including weekly student session strengthening social and emotional-growth.
• Facilitate a weekly social emotional group - creating content, presenting on material, and ongoing communication with parents on need/concern that may arise.
• Present parent education workshops for parents and provide professional development opportunities for professional staff as needed.
• Coordinate Uber pickups for parents.
• Provide crisis intervention as needed.
• Provide in-person support to families in the Bensenville community at the Bensenville Public Library.
• Maintain contact with families via designated work cell phone provided by the agency during designated work hours.
• Create quarterly family goal plan for each assigned family and update it every three months - Monitor, evaluate, and record progress with respect to family goals and modify goal planning as needed.
• Provide activities to encourage healthy family relationships, including parental skill development using Active Parenting curriculum.
• Provide education around parenting skills, child development, stress management, relationship building, problem solving, and community resources for individual families as needed.
• Strengthen families’ protective factors.
• Provide support and assistance to parents in meeting the physical, emotional, and educational needs of their children.
• In partnership with families, help them to identify strengths, needs, and goals for the establishment of a strength-based action plan.

Collaboration and Communication

• • Coordinate with school administrators to reserve a space in the school to see children one-on-one emphasizing need for privacy.
  • Coordinate with teachers and special services on time slots to see children in school weekly.
• Ongoing comprehensive communication between parents, children, and school staff.
• Weekly check ins with full service team grant on caseload needs and referral update.
• Collaborate with full service team on referral services per resources offered via the Bensenville welcome center.
• Bridge gap between miscommunications or understating between home and school. If needed, update staff and parents weekly on child needs, progress, and action plan.
• Establish presence of service provided with school administration and staff.
• Collaborate with the Bensenville Public Library

• Paperwork and Reporting
• • Collect data per service grant requirements on weekly one-on-one with students and home visits.
  • Collect data on hours worked for service grant to turn in monthly to Strong Families Program Manager and Bensenville School District.
  • Maintain required files for Strong Families for families served with home visits.
  • Monthly report out to full service coordinator on referrals, case notes, and assessments as needed.
  • Complete client file documentation, maintain electronic files information, and input all required data into ETO and designated data excel sheet.

Skills and Additional Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS: Home visiting experience preferred. Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills with cultural competence for working with diverse cultural backgrounds.  Fluency in written and spoken Spanish is required.

EDUCATION REQUIRED: Masters Degree in Social Work or similar field Preferred.                                                                                                                                   

WORK SCHEDULE: Ability to work flexible schedule, home visits, and travel within Bensenville area.

M-F days 8am – 4pm with some nights or weekends needed based on the program’s needs.

Pay Range: $48,000-$50,000

BENEFITS OVERVIEW:

• Generous amount of PTO & Sick Leave,12 Observed holidays, & Floating Holidays
• Health, Dental, Vision, Life, Short & Long Term Disability Insurance, & 401(k)
• Flexible Benefits - employee, dependent, commuter & HSA
• Employee Assistance Program (24/7)
• YWCA Retirement Fund (after completion of 2 years of service)
• Pet Insurance
• 37.5 hour work week

MANDATORY VACCINATION POLICY DISCLOSURE: YWCA Metropolitan Chicago requires all staff to be “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. An individual is considered “fully vaccinated” two weeks after receipt of the second dose of a two-dose vaccine (e.g., Pfizer, Moderna) or two weeks after receipt of a one-dose vaccine (e.g., Johnson & Johnson). Candidates who are offered a position must provide proof of full vaccination prior to their start date. Individuals in need of an exemption from this policy due to a medical reason or because of a sincerely held religious belief, or as otherwise required by law, must submit a completed Request for Accommodation form to HR.

YWCA Metropolitan Chicago is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. YWCA Metropolitan Chicago will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.

***This job description is not intended to represent a complete list of all duties and responsibilities. There may be unplanned activities and other duties assigned.***