Family Liaison Specialist Job in Johnstown, Pennsylvania US
Position Summary
The Family Liaison Specialist (FLS) is responsible for identifying areas of need within a child’s ecology and arranging to remedy those needs to assure the generalization and maintenance of positive program effects beyond the program environment.
Coordinates and implements all family liaison activities for up to 18 students and their families.
Essential Responsibilities
A. To assure ongoing communication between the school, the child’s parents, the referring school district, and the other involved community agencies regarding the child’s progress, the FLS will:
1. meet with the student’s family in their home within the first two weeks of school placement to communicate school rules and policies, and to discuss home and community issues that may bear directly on the student’s educational program;
2. maintain, weekly telephone contact and a minimum of one home visit every month with each student’s parents;
3. arrange for each student’s parents to visit the school, at least, two times per year;
4. maintain ongoing communication with the referring school district;
5. maintain communication (within the limits of confidentiality) with representatives from all the community agencies (e.g., Children and Youth Services, Juvenile Court, and Mental Health) involved with the student.
6. maintain, at a minimum, four to five phone contacts and one home visit per family over the summer break and fulfill summer expectations as defined.
7. actively implement components of all Re-ED values in the school, home, and community settings
B. To assure the development and implementation of appropriate beneficial educational programming for each student, the FLS will:
1. conduct a comprehensive assessment of the areas of family and community functioning that may inhibit and/or support the educational programming provided within the school program;
2. share the results of the ongoing assessment with the student’s team and work with them to develop a comprehensive plan to deliver the needed services;
3. implement the services required in conjunction with the overall educational program of the student;
4. implement family services during regularly scheduled family sessions;
5. meet with coordinator weekly to discuss family progress;
6. complete documentation and review with coordinator and in weekly sessions;
7. integrate experiential education into the student’s sessions and in ongoing family work;
8. Assist in monitoring the attendance of each assigned student on a daily basis and implement
needed programs to assure regular attendance for every student;
9. report both informally and formally (through written and oral team meeting reports and written reports) all face-to-face contacts on progress in program
implementation;
10. utilize technology through electronic documentation, electronic communication, and use of the internet to supplement programming and communication;
11. spend, at least, one regularly scheduled hour per week in each assigned classroom and support the teaching team as needed to assure ongoing familiarity with the educational programs for each students;
12. meet regularly with each student to discuss and monitor his/her current goals, interests, and/or problems in the classroom, home, and community;
13. assist the team in identifying children eligible and in need of Enhanced School Based Partial Hospital Services;
14. provide services to child and family as designated in the ESBPH plan;
15. assist in completing authorization requests and documentation required for ESBPH;
16. facilitate the implementation of affective groups
17. work with school districts and transportation providers to assure that appropriate and safe transportation services are available;
18. in the absence of a Coordinator, coordinate and conduct team meetings, document discussion and decisions made, and submit completed forms
19. demonstrates a proficient level of cultural sensitivity.
20. respond to crisis situations during nontraditional hours as needed
C. To assure appropriate discharge planning and post-program success, the FLS will:
1. participate in team meetings at which students who are nearing readiness for discharge are identified;
2. communicate with identified students and their families regarding discharge planning and encourage their active participation;
3. coordinate the multi-disciplinary evaluation of students who are being considered for discharge;
4. assure that all needed discharge-related correspondence is completed and forwarded to the appropriate persons;
5. work with receiving school district personnel and/or community programs to arrange for all services
6. inform all other service providers involved with the student of the discharge plans and coordinate the various services they will be providing;
7. review outcome data for effectiveness of service delivery;
8. on an ongoing basis, respond to requests for assistance received from the student, parents, school district personnel, or other agency personnel involved with the student.
D. To assure the continuous safety of all students, the FLS will:
1. directly supervise assigned students
2. follow program-designated procedures for all physical contact with students;
3. follow program-designated procedures for student illness and injury, including arranging necessary medical care - - (with approval of Coordinator or Program/Education Director) - - informing appropriate persons of the situation, and documenting the injury/illness and actions taken;
4. assist other staff, as needed, in physical interventions to protect students, staff, and property from damage;
5. detect and remediate, with approval of Coordinator, if necessary, any potentially dangerous environmental conditions
6. when transporting students, maintain safe driving procedures.
E. To assure the continuing development of professional skills, the FLS will:
1. participate in all regularly scheduled inservice programs
2. with the approval of the Program/Education Director, periodically serve on program committees;
3. with the approval of the Program/Education Director, periodically attend local, state, or national conferences and workshops.
F. To promote the professional image of Pressley Ridge School in local, state, and national communities, the FLS will:
1. with the approval of the Program/Education Director, provide inservice/training programs to other programs;
2. with the approval of the Program/Educational Director, give formal presentations on program-relevant issues at local, state, or national workshops or conventions.