Family Support Specialist II

REPORT TO:

Family Support Specialist III

Baltimore, MD

Urban Strategies, Inc. (USI) is a national nonprofit advancing place-based, family-centered strategies in communities undergoing physical revitalization. We partner with families to build pathways to stability and economic mobility, while using data and lived experience to influence systems and policies at the local and national level.

Our approach integrates:

• Family-centered engagement that builds knowledge, skills, and agency
• Data-driven decision-making to track progress and drive results
• Systems change and advocacy to ensure long-term impact

We are committed to ensuring all families and children are stable, supported, and thriving.

The Family Support Specialist provides relationship-based, results-driven support to families across central Baltimore communities. Through individualized goal-setting and consistent engagement, this role helps families advance outcomes in education, health, economic mobility, and housing stability
.

This position centers families as partners by building trust, identifying strengths, and connecting them to resources that support their self-defined goals. Insights from this work inform broader community strategies and national advocacy efforts.

Of the families on caseload, a small subset will receive an enhanced early learning pilot in partnership with Parent Child Plus, with a focus on strengthening parent-child interactions and supporting bilingual families. Which the person in this role will be trained on

This role involves collaborating with a team of professionals in various fields to determine suitable approaches and support families in the Central Baltimore Communities (Greenmount, Barclay, Harwood, Midway, and Better Waverly). To ensure the specialist has the dedicated support needed across all areas of their work, they will work in collaboration with the Family Support Specialist supervisor and the Early Learning Program Supervisor to maintain workload balance, and overall success of employee.

• Build strong, trust-based relationships with families through consistent, and strength-based engagement
• Conduct intake, assessments, enroll residents in family support program, and visit various locations for resident information gathering.
• Collaborate with families on Development Plans, assist in accessing social services, advocate for service delivery for up to 100 individuals.
• Ensure privacy, track resident data in USI's "LEARN" system, attend community and program-related meetings.
• Attend and actively participate in weekly supervisory and training staff meetings
• Visit each Parent Child Plus family at least twice a week, using evidence based model
• Coach care givers on early literacy, language development, and positive parent-child interaction
• Available for occasional nights/weekends, travel up to 25%, perform administrative tasks.
• Offering consultation services in financial management and goal-setting.
• Hosting in-person and virtual seminars for clients seeking financial literacy management resources and capital access.
• Supporting and promoting the development of the USI CDFI client base.

• Bachelor's degree in Social Work, Sociology, Psychology, or equivalent education/experience required.
• Fluency in Spanish required, including the ability to communicate effectively with bilingual families in both verbal and written settings.
• 3 years of nonprofit or human services experience. direct practice with households who have low-income households; early learning services experience a plus.
• Valid driver's license and automobile availability for work use as home visits are mandatory for this role.
• Commitment to strengths-based, family-focused service planning and understanding of program philosophies.
• Ability to handle confidential information professionally.
• Independent and proactive work ethic, with strong team collaboration skills.
• Availability for evening and weekend functions as required.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills for diverse communities.
• Effective real-time priority management.
• Excellent organizational, planning, and time management skills.
• Ability to excel in fast-paced, culturally diverse environments.
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite (Advanced Excel) and other common software.

Urban Strategies, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.