CalWORKs Home Visiting Program- Home Visitor

Our Mission:

Abrazar (to Embrace in Spanish) is a non-profit, direct-service organization providing services to residents in Orange County. Abrazar is dedicated to embracing the diversity of families in our community, educating them on the resources we provide through our community collaborations, and empowering them to improve the quality of their lives through programs addressing health equity. Abrazar has been addressing inequities in the social drivers of health since 1975.

Abrazar serves the community by delivering programs that address the social drivers of health and improve health equity. Our goals are to Embrace, Educate and Empower children, families, and individuals with the necessary tools to achieve better health outcomes. We believe that diversity and the delivery of collaborative services are critical to the success of our programs and measure the impact of our programs by evaluating their ability to enhance our clients' social drivers of health.

Position Summary:

Healthy Families America- The Family Support Specialist (FSS) is responsible for initiating and maintaining regular and long-term (up to three years) contact and support with families. This will occur primarily within the family’s home; each visit should last for at least one hour. Virtual visits may take place as needed. The interventions should be family-centered, strength-based, and directed at establishing a trusting relationship; strengthening the parent-child relationship; promoting healthy childhood growth and development; and enhancing family well-being by reducing risk and building protective factors. The FSS partners with families and honors diverse family structures and parenting practices. Activities may also include but are not limited to: administering the Family Resilience and Opportunities for Growth Scale (FROG) Scale; administering screening tools such as the ASQ, ASQ-SE, Depression Screens etc.; identifying and referring families for other supportive services, such as health care services. The FSS will also be responsible for assisting the family in establishing goals and supporting them throughout this process.

Parents As Teachers- To support building relationships with families, parent educators (PE’s) engage families in a cycle of partnering, facilitating, and reflecting. As Partners, PE’s enter a relationship where everyone has an equal status and is united around a common interest. PE’s share ownership of the visit with families and acknowledge that they are experts too. PE’s are transparent about their role which helps build trust and rapport. This is imperative to the educator-family partnership and helps make sensitive conversations more approachable. It is critical that your approach to sensitive conversations is strengths-based, collaborative, and respectful of families’ cultural background. PE’s work to make sensitive conversations easier for parents by remembering and sharing the boundaries of our role. PE’s approach sensitive conversations openly and with care for the families’ experiences. PE’s should use the reflective processes (questioning, role play, and visualizing) to motivate parents, identify barriers, and develop problem-solving skills. As reflectors, parent educators use evidence-based practices to prompt reflections and generate awareness. A strengths-based look and reflection of the family at one moment in time helps the PE get a sense of the family’s personal resources and helps the family use them to fulfill their collective goals.

Position Responsibilities:

• Professional Development: ongoing professional development is included in this role. This includes trainings, presentations, and can include attending professional conferences.
• Group participation: You will work collaboratively with the rest of the Home Visiting program in planning monthly activities outside of the home visits for families to engage in such as Stroller Walks, Group Connections, etc.
• Outreach: This may include attending community events into the evenings or on the weekend, to engage in community out reach at resource fairs, networking with other agencies, attending collaborative meetings, etc.
• Schedules: Flexible scheduling is required to meet the needs of families- this includes adjusting your day to start later to accommodate evening visits, or alternatively, starting earlier for an early visit, and/or working Saturdays if families can only meet then. The standard schedule is M-F 8AM-4:30PM (in office).

We're looking for candidates who:

• Must be bilingual speaking. You will be tested.
• Strong organizational, verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to prioritize duties in a fast-paced environment.
• Case Management
• Must have a valid driver’s license, insurance, clean driving record, and reliable vehicle for transportation
• Must pass criminal background check

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• A four-year degree in early childhood education or a reflated field is preferred but minimally should have a High School diploma or GED.
• Experience working with families, children, and community outreach.
• An ability to establish trusting relationships as well as using diagnostic skills to make assessments of the needs of children and families.
• Acceptance of individual differences and the ability to set aside personal bias to work with culturally diverse families.
• Knowledge of infant and child development.
• Willing to engage in building reflective capacity (e.g., capacity for introspection, communicating awareness of self in relation to others, recognizing value of supervision, etc.)

Regardless of qualifications, candidates must:

• Have employment eligibility verification
• Have or be able and willing to obtain CPR/First Aid training
• Successfully complete the following as a condition of hire:
  1. Tuberculosis Test
  2. Background Screening
  3. Drug Test

DRIVING
Driving is an essential function of this position. To meet the employment requirements for this role, all candidates must:

• Have reliable transportation
• A valid driver's license
• Proof of insurance and ownership for personal vehicles used during work duties
• The ability to qualify for Abrazar’s insurance coverage

PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEMANDS AND CONDITIONS:

• Must possess body mobility to stand and/or sit frequently or for an extended period of time at meetings, trainings, conferences or community events in office or offsite community locations
• Must be able to function effectively in a standard office environment and have the ability to move about to perform daily office tasks such as access files cabinets and office machinery
• Must be able to communicate information accurately, clearly and concisely in normal vocal tone
• Must be able to transport laptop, files and/or other materials to and from meetings
• Must be able to drive to meet with members at various locations
• Must possess manual dexterity sufficient to use hands, arms and shoulders to operate a keyboard, take notes, utilize office equipment, complete and file reports, and file and copy documents
• Must possess sufficient vision to read standard text
• Must possess the ability to independently reason logically to analyze data, reach conclusions and make recommendations as required in the accomplishment of job duties
• Occasionally/Frequently/Continually required to stand
• Occasionally/Frequently/Continually required to walk
• Occasionally/Frequently/Continually required to sit
• Occasionally/Frequently/Continually required to utilize hand and finger dexterity
• Occasionally/Frequently/Continually required to climb, balance, bend, stoop, kneel or crawl
• Occasionally/Frequently/Continually required to talk or hear
• Occasionally/Frequently/Continually exposure to outside weather conditions
• Occasionally/Frequently/Continually exposure to extreme heat or cold (non-weather)
• While performing the duties of this job, the noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
• The employee must occasionally lift and /or move more than 50 pounds

Benefits:

• Minimum start $24 - $27.00 an hour
• Paid Time Off - Vacation (12 days per year), after 3 months, accrued monthly.
• Paid Time Off – Health (56 maximum hours per fiscal year), after 3 months.
• Holiday Pay (10 days per year), eligible after 3 months.
• Health Insurance
• Dental and Vision Insurance

This description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions. This job description is subject to change at any time. This description is intended to indicate the kinds of work duties that will be required in this position. It is not intended to limit, or in any way modify, the rights of any supervisor to assign, direct, and contract work of staff under his/her supervision. The use of a particular illustration describing duties shall not be held to exclude other duties, not mentioned, that are of a similar level or difficulty. Diversity in organizational practices is a core value of ABRAZAR resulting in culturally competent services, materials, resources, and programs. Our hiring and business practices appreciate the strengths offered through different backgrounds.

About Abrazar (to Embrace)

Abrazar (to Embrace) is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization that provides shuttle bus and non-emergency medical transportation to patients. Abrazar is dedicated to promoting the general welfare and prosperity of very poor to medium income seniors and families in Orange County through programs that improve health, nutrition, socialization, lifelong learning and economic self-sufficiency in culturally sensitive ways

Abrazar is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, physical disability, and sexual orientation. Abrazar complies with all EEO and ADA guidelines.