Family Preservation Worker

Job Summary:

Reporting to Family Preservation Team Lead, the Family Preservation worker will provide home support services to at-risk families, adolescents, and children. The focus of this service has been on strengthening the family through planned intervention strategies, with emphasis placed on ensuring children’s safety and enhance overall family capabilities and assisting band members addressing various social, mental, and emotional struggles, including but not limited to, addictions, children and family matters, and family violence. The position is required to participate in rotating on-call service. Caseload must be referred by Penticton Indian Band Social Development Manager. This position is funded through the wellbeing initiative dollars.

Job Responsibilities and Work Performed

• To ensure the child’s safety and wellbeing for children in the home.
• To help families gain skills to solve current and future issues regarding risks to children.
• Facilitate training and education for families and parents.
• Provide short term intensive counseling for families.
• To work directly with families in addressing risk factors.
• To prevent out of home placements, when necessary, by using intensive counseling.
• Help stabilize families dealing with situations of abuse.
• To promote self-sufficiency and minimize dependency.
• Complete home studies for foster care.
• Work with families and extended families on home studies.
• Assist Clients seeking help from other community resources.
• Support the process for families to gain access to need resources.
• Teach families the skills and competencies necessary to protect children against abuse or neglect.
• To aid in transportation to meet teaching and counselling obligations.

External Obligations

• To accompany Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) for visits.
• To operate primarily in the families’ homes.
• Provide culturally appropriate support for families.
• To ensure the abilities to reunite aboriginal families in a safe environment.

Reporting

• Reports to Social Development Manager.
• Interacts with provincial ministries (MCFD).
• Liaises with support providing agencies on case-to-case basis.

Reports to be completed:

• Keep records and reports on client family activities.
• Accept cases from referral agencies.

Accountability

Deliverables and the standards

• Ensuring ongoing safety of PIB children and Families.
• Addressing the risk factors that precipitated the need of removal of children.
• Use and in-home, short term counselling process.
• Train families with practical and applicable skills that address specific issues.
• Teach parenting skills.
• Teach coping and communication skills.
• Assist in developing integrated social network for family support.
• Assist in parents to seek help and assistance from other parents if appropriate.
• Work with programs that are designed to build on family strengths and unity within the context of their culture and community.
• Prevent, reduce, or eliminate behaviors, environment barriers and community conditions which may place children, families, or the community at risk.
• Measure progress against program metrics to monitor community progress such as number of children entering foster care.

Provide quarterly and annual reports of statistics and staff activities to:

• MCFD.
• Chief and Council.

Departmental operations manual(s) to be used.

• Social development department policy and procedure manual.
• Human Resources’ Personnel Policy.
• Ministry of Children and Family Development guide.
• Aboriginal Association of Social Workers mandate.

Relationships

Supervision Received and Given

• Self-monitored.
• Debrief and case reviews are completed within the department with Director and support staff as needed.
• Mandated maximum of 8 family caseloads.

Decision Making

• The director, the caseworker, and the Family work collaboratively to make decisions while maintaining objectivity and fairness.

Level of exercising judgement

• Judgements are not made without collaboration or seeking a second opinion.
• Must make appropriate assessments of cases.

Qualifications/Requirements:

Minimum Academic/Educational Requirements

• Bachelor of Social Work Child Welfare Degree

Other Certification, Licenses, Designations and/or Training

• Anger Management Course
• Substance Abuse Course
• First Aid

Proficiency designation requirements

• Valid BC Driver’s License Class 5

Minimum Level of Experience

• 1 to 5 years

Skill levels Necessary

• Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, Email, and Internet use

Personality Traits (Required to be successful in position)

• Time management
• Confidentiality
• Leadership skills
• Family focused.
• Dedicated to work with families.
• Respect for all others
• Flexibility to meet changing needs.
• Non challenging approach to people
• Do not work personally.
• Outgoing
• Able to listen well.
• Be familiar with available resources.
• Be visible within community.
• Culturally sensitive

Working Conditions:

• Requires working flexible hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Work is performed primarily in client homes.
• Driving. Requires travel to client homes and throughout the community.
• Involves exposure to tobacco smoke, domestic animals, household pests, and other conditions in common domestic environments.
• Frequent contact with staff and non-staff (e.g., client families, referring agencies, community professionals community agencies/programs).
• Stressful case situations
• Safe working environment.
• Drug and Alcohol-free workplace.

Entitlements to Benefits and Pension:

After successful completion of the probationary period:

• CINUP - Group Insurance (that will cover Dental care, Vision care, Disability insurance, Extended health care, and Life insurance)
• Canada Life - Registered Pension Plan (RPP)
• Paid time off (2 weeks Christmas closure and entitled vacation time)
• 15 paid Sick days per year

Preference will be given to qualified Aboriginal applicants as per section 21 of the Human Rights Code.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Salary: $33.00-$41.00 per hour

Expected hours: 35 per week

Benefits:

• Dental care
• Extended health care
• Life insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree (preferred)

Ability to Commute:

• Penticton, BC (required)

Ability to Relocate:

• Penticton, BC: Relocate before starting work (required)

Work Location: In person