Family Support Specialist I - Fulltime

At Children’s Wisconsin, we believe kids deserve the best.

Every child deserves a safe and loving home. When parents are unable to provide this on their own, intervention is needed to ensure these children are free of abuse and neglect.

We provide child well-being services to help children live in a safe and nurturing environment. We provide services to parents needing education and guidance to improve their parenting skills so their children can remain with them.  We also provide services to children who are placed with foster families until they can return home or become part of an adoptive family.

Our experienced professionals provide the following services to families in Milwaukee County and at locations throughout Wisconsin.

• Foster Care

• Treatment Foster Care

• Adoption

• Respite Care

• Child Advocacy Centers

• Family Case Management

• Family Finding

We offer a wide variety of rewarding career opportunities and are seeking individuals dedicated to helping us achieve our vision of the healthiest kids in the country. If you want to work for an organization that makes a difference for children and families, and encourages you to be at your best every day, please apply today.

Please follow this link for a closer look at what it’s like to work at Children’s Wisconsin: https://www.instagram.com/lifeatcw/

Position Summary:

The Family Support Specialist I provides a combination of services that may include education, parent child interaction, housing and home management assistance, parenting and nurturing, resource referral, safety assessment, and support services to parents or foster parents, and children.  This position may provide individual or group services in a community, school, or home setting.  Supports at risk families through services which allow children, where appropriate, to remain safely with their families or return to their families in a timely manner.  In conjunction with case managers, assess family's needs and the parents' ability to meet child's needs by developing strategies to reach that goal.

Position Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree OR high school education with three years experience working with families of diverse ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic background.
• Requires a valid driver's license, acceptable driving record, personal auto  liability insurance coverage and the ability to be insured by the CHHS auto insurance carrier.  Personal vehicle must be available for regular use and be able to accommodate at least 2 children in car seats. Must use personal vehicle to transport children, complete in-house car seat transporter training within one month of hire and re-train biannually thereafter to maintain.
• Ability to model and redirect parents in their guidance and nurturing of children.
• Ability to engage families and children who are dealing with safety issues and other related problems to improve family functioning that ensures positive child development. Excellent judgment skills. 
• Learns quickly when facing new problems and makes good decisions based on a mixture of analysis.  Ability to make sound judgments, to use supervision effectively and to take independent action if needed to ensure child safety.  Is cool under pressure and can effectively cope with change.
• Ability to work independently in a fast paced environment.
• Excellent verbal and written skills.  Ability to communicate effectively both in oral and written communication, including the ability to write factual progress notes, effectively present information in individual and group settings with a variety of audiences.
• Strong computer skills.
• Must adhere to the mandated reporting of child abuse and neglect.
• Capacity to help families make strong connections with community resources and knowledge of community resources and services available to support program participants.

Children's Wisconsin is an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment for all employees. We treat everyone with dignity, respect, and fairness. We do not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status or condition protected by the law.