Family Support Specialists provide information, referrals, training, peer mentoring, and problem-solving consultations for individuals and family members of children and youth with the full range of disabilities, and the professionals who serve them. Services are designed to increase their knowledge and skills in becoming effective self-advocates and promoting improved outcomes. Training for professionals increases knowledge and skills for working effectively with families and individuals with disabilities and special health care needs. Family Support Specialists identify and participate in outreach opportunities to provide service to underserved communities throughout Arizona. This is a part-time position.
Specific Responsibilities
- Information, Intake, and Consultation. Assess the strengths and needs, identify issues, and determine priority status for immediate action. Highly responsive to open cases, problem resolution, and workflow in the Salesforce database. Enter data on contacts and cases, demographic characteristics, document history and requests, types of issues, methods of support, and conduct follow-up calls.
- Training and Self-advocacy. Through consultation, training, and workshops assist with providing the knowledge, skills, and understanding of public programs, special education, problem-resolution, system navigation and access to various systems of care, evaluating options, understanding rights, filing appeals, using appropriate strategies for resolving conflict, collaborating with professionals, and IEP Partners who attend meetings and assist with self-advocacy.
- Current and Reliable Resources. Provide assistance in finding appropriate and high-quality sources of information on disability issues, care providers, childcare, meeting basic needs, early intervention, special education, youth transition, and locating community programs and services for appropriate referrals and follow-up.
- Training for professionals in special education, healthcare, and social services to improve knowledge on family and person-centered services, and effective communication and collaboration strategies for working with families and individuals.
- Develop opportunities and relationships with state agencies, schools, community organizations, professionals, hospitals, universities, and others to increase knowledge, collaboration, and stakeholder involvement.
Required Qualifications
The ideal candidate has a high level of knowledge and experience in meeting the needs of families of children with disabilities.
- Exceptional communication skills. Knowledge of principles of family and person-centered care, strength-based assessment, and collaboration with professionals. Understands and observes compliance with confidentiality requirements under FERPA and HIPAA.
- Highly skilled in guiding individuals through federal/state program eligibility, system navigation, care coordination, early intervention, special education, problem resolution, and other issues.
- Experience and skill in training and presentation; knowledge of adult learning techniques and practices.
- Ability to perform daily data entry with a high degree of accuracy, thoroughness, and in a timely manner.
- Effective in maintaining working relationships with staff, volunteers, health and social service professionals, parent groups, key community and agency stakeholders.
- Productive and effective time management, flexibility in responding to a variety of work tasks. Proficiency with basic information technology. Available for travel, evening and weekend hours.
Preferred
- Bachelor’s degree in special education, social work, or a related discipline
- Parent or family member of a child with a disability or special health care need
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