Master Family Service Specialist

Summary Statement

The Family Court Liaisons provide a central point of contact and expertise for the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) when Family Court interfaces with the three DSCYF service divisions. The goal of the liaisons is to effectively represent DSCYF in Criminal and Civil court proceedings and to support positive outcomes for all participants. The liaisons present recommendations in one voice when providing the department perspective and information about youth’s community behavior and treatment services.

The liaisons are often the first DSCYF point of contact for families when youth become involved in the juvenile justice system.

• Provides services to advocate for health, safety and welfare or rights of clients and their families and assists them in obtaining needed services.
• Interviews clients and family members and/or professionals to gather personal, social and background information; works closely with the client and family to formulate a clear description of the client and family’s problems; identify the key forces which maintain the problems; discover resources and strengths available to the client and family to resolve the problems; and identify the blocks, if any, that prevent the client and family from resolving the problems without the intervention of the State agency.
• Determines eligibility for various social service programs offered by the agency or available in the community.
• In collaboration with the client and family, develops and implements service/treatment plans, outlining the goals and objectives to be accomplished, methods and techniques to be used, and anticipated results; helps the client and family to obtain community, social and/or therapeutic services and resources needed to accomplish plans and objectives.
• Conducts individual and group counseling sessions with clients and members of the family to aid in achieving satisfactory social development and adjustment to specific problems and situations.
• Assesses progress toward goals and makes recommendations on plans such as reclassification, discharge, aftercare, emergency protective placement in emergency or crisis situations, guardianship, petitions or options counseling.
• Prepares social histories, client progress reports, evaluation and discharge summaries, court reports or petitions; prepares and maintains a variety of records and files pertaining to clients assigned to caseload.
• Enforces court orders and conditions of community supervision as required. Attends court hearings and other judicial proceedings to answer questions, make recommendations and present progress reports regarding clients.
• May be called upon to intervene in crisis situations such as potential suicides, assault and battery against clients, and sexual abuse cases; may coordinate with law enforcement and other emergency staff if needed.
• May be required to isolate and/or physically restrain clients who are acting out.
• May be required to perform emergency duty which requires being on call for an assigned time period.

Professional health or human service work may include but is not limited to determining eligibility for and availability of community resources; assisting and connecting clients and their families to needed services; addressing family conflict and engaging crisis resolution; and evaluating progress towards goals.