Summary of Position
The Family Works program is an in-home parenting support intervention designed to stabilize and strengthen foster, pre-adoptive, post-adoptive, and guardianship families at risk of placement disruption. The program serves families whose capacity to meet the complex needs of children impacted by abuse and neglect has been significantly strained.
Foster & Adopt Stability and Support Specialists hold a master’s degree in social work or a related counseling field and possess specialized training and therapeutic understanding of developmental trauma, neurobiology, attachment, and their effects on foster and adoptive children and families. Specialists provide crisis support to enrolled families as needed, which may include availability outside of standard business hours, including evenings and weekends.
The program emphasizes building caregivers’ capacity to understand, accept, and effectively respond to challenging behaviors exhibited by children and youth. Through individualized support, skill development, validation, and psychoeducation, caregivers are supported in remaining emotionally present and engaged with their children—even during periods of significant behavioral difficulty—thereby creating a safe and nurturing environment for healing and growth.
Family Works are grounded in the principles of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and utilize trauma-informed strategies to promote family stability. Interventions focus on strengthening relational skills, enhancing children’s sense of safety and security, addressing developmental trauma, and fostering healthy, secure relationships within the family system.
Essential Functions & Responsibilities
- Utilize trauma-informed, attachment-based strategies to educate and support parents and caregivers on issues related to adoption and guardianship, including identity development, loss, grief, attachment, and developmental trauma.
- Schedule and conduct appointments based on family availability; up to 20% of work hours may occur during evenings and/or weekends.
- Provide direct, face-to-face interventions with children and families in home and community settings.
- Respond promptly and effectively to family, providing stabilization and support.
- Maintain timely, professional communication with families, agency staff, and community partners.
- Collaborate with families to identify strengths, set realistic goals, and support progress toward achieving those goals.
- Identify, collaborate with, and refer to collateral and community-based service providers.
- Provide wraparound support by building relationships with community resources (e.g., schools, courts, camps, therapy providers) and linking families to services.
- Obtain, review, and utilize psychological, medical, educational, legal, and social service records to inform interventions.
- Attend and actively participate in team meetings, case conferences, and collateral meetings; most meetings are held in person.
- See job description for a complete list of responsibilities.
Qualifications & Requirements
Education
- Master’s degree in counseling, social work, or a related counseling field is required.
- LMSW or PLPC preferred.
Experience
- Background providing trauma-informed, attachment-based services to children and families impacted by abuse, neglect, adoption, foster care, or guardianship.
- Ability to deliver in-home or community-based family interventions, including crisis response, care coordination, and collaboration with multidisciplinary providers.
- Competence in working with complex family systems and behavioral challenges, including goal development, progress documentation, and use of data systems to support service delivery.