Family Care Home Liaison

I - SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Completes Form 239 Monthly Checklist, with comments as appropriate. Based on review of Form 239, writes a brief progress note with observations, recommendations for corrective action or follow-up, if warranted. Completes OMR Form 238 semi-annually if applicable.
• Develops the Residential Habilitation Plan or Staff Action Plan in conjunction with the individual, the Family Care Provider, the team and reviews it monthly with the Family Care Provider. Distributes to the Family Care Provider monthly Residential Habilitation Data Sheets for each individual and completes monthly Residential Habilitation Progress Notes for each individual. Reviews and signs the above documents.
• Acts as direct link and contact for the Family Care Provider to the agency.
  Ensures that fiscal and other provider needs and concerns are addressed and are met consistent with the needs of the individual(s) in the home.
• Ensures all personal allowance or other financial documents are correctly completed monthly in compliance with state regulations. All money ledgers should be reviewed, reconciled, and initiated by the Home Liaison to ensure that the monthly funds are accounted for.
• Confirms that program and any environmental requirements are being met and maintained. Ensures environmental and safety requirements are met in conformance with the Family Care Manual and the NYCRR governing the Family Care Program.
  Collaborates with other staff as appropriate for safety and welfare of the individual(s) in the home.
• Provides Family Care Providers with monthly in-home training on various topics and provides training to the Approved Respite/Sitter Providers as needed, in accordance with needs of Provider. The topics will be specific to the individual and the Family Care Coordinator.
• Ensures that the Family Care Provider records are maintained and updated monthly in each home.
• Ensures that issues affecting the family are addressed and referrals made, as necessary.
• Ensures that the Family Care Providers are treated with dignity and respect and informed of and complying with, any new Family Care regulations to include attendance at meetings and training.
• Ensures all external and internal agency visits are documented (i.e., nurse, FCC, care managers).
• Ensures, through a discussion with the Family Care Provider, that the family composition and income have not changed since the last visit.
• Conducts a walk-through of the entire home to ensure that the individual’s sleeping arrangement has not been changed since the last home visit; the individual’s personal possessions are accessible; evidence that each individual has adequate and individually owned personal hygiene supplies, as well as grooming and hygiene supplies customarily shared by a family; if present, firearms are secured in a locked cabinet.
• Ensures that the provider supplies the individual with adequate supply of linen; appropriate bedroom furniture to include bed and bed frame, mattress and box spring, chest of drawers, and dressers, chair and lamp or lighting.
• Assesses the environment to ensure that the home is clean and neat, and free of hazardous conditions such as: trip hazards (torn linoleum, torn carpet), clutter (old newspaper, boxes, furniture), peeling paint, loose handrails. Follows up and ensures that all deficiencies are addressed.
• Assists with and reviews the fire evacuation plan on no less than a quarterly basis.
• Ensures that fire drills are conducted monthly as well as observe at least one fire drill during the calendar year to ensure that each person (including members of the provider’s family and the impact of any visitors, especially young children, or elderly relatives during the evacuation process) evacuates the home in a timely manner. Observes that there are no obstructions that will impact on the family’s ability to exit the home.
• Ensures by review of documents, that all dogs and cats residing in the home are properly immunized according to state requirements. Dogs must be licensed annually. Also ensuring that pets visiting the home are free from diseases and pose no threat to the individual(s) living in the home.
• Ensures that each Family Care Provider receives a cumulative of 24 hours of training at the time the home is recertified.
• Ensures that all significant events or situations that may endanger the well-being of individuals are promptly reported, reviewed, investigated and corrective actions taken, as necessary.
• Ensures that each Family Care Provider has access to an approved substitute provider or sitter who is available to provide short-term substitute services when the provider is in need of relief or is absent from the home. Ref. Family Care Policy 10.4.4.
• Ensures that issues affecting the family, (death, divorce, loss of income, domestic violence, abuse and neglect, serious illness, stress) are addressed, and referrals made, as necessary.
• Contact the Family Care Provider if the individual has been ill for more than two (2) days or visits the Family Care home if the individual has been ill for more than five (5) days and is unable to attend his day program (ref. Family Care Policy 10.4.2.)
• Visits the Family Care home when substitute provider service is provided during each five (5) day period throughout the duration of substitute service (ref. Family Care Policy 10.8.6)
• Ensures that recertification of the FAMILY CARE HOMEs are completed in a timely manner to safeguard against the lapse of the operating certificate.
• Provide weekly schedule to the Supervisor no later than the Friday before the start of the following work week.
• Complete DDP2s via OPWDD portal CHOICES within 30 days of admission, when there is a significant change in the individuals’ life and update the form every two years.
• Must be flexible in their schedule to meet with individuals and Providers, must be able to attend outside meetings or trainings, as necessary.
• The caseload may consist of visits to other boroughs and locations.
• Collect and distribute nursing paperwork.
• Any other task deemed appropriate by the department.

II – QUALIFICATIONS:

• Associate's degree or Bachelor’s degree in health or human service field preferred
• Experience working with people with developmental disabilities and OPWDD system is preferred.
• Valid New York State driver’s license.

III - RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS

• The Home Liaison must have good communication and interpersonal skills, the ability to form relationships with individuals, families, Family Care Providers, staff, and any outside service provider, as necessary.
• In addition, employees need to possess the following characteristics:
  Be team players.
• Have a strong sensitivity to cultural differences present among staff and clients within our organization.
• Possess a strong belief in people’s ability to grow and change; able to forge a mutually respectful partnership with persons served and their families.
• Ability to set limits and maintain helping role of practitioner and to intervene appropriately.

IV - WORKING CONDITIONS

• The Family Care Home Liaison is based out of Brooklyn & Briarwood.

V – MOBILE WORKFORCE PILOT PROJECT

• Employee eligibility is in the sole discretion of SCO, subject to consideration of business needs, employee job function, employee job performance and costs, if any.
• The employee remains obligated to comply with all agency policies, practices and instructions and will be evaluated by their supervisor on a regular basis. A mobile workforce assignment may be withdrawn at any time at the discretion of management.
• Members will be provided with computer technology (cell phone and laptop) to enable them to perform their duties remotely. As such, mobile workforce staff will no longer require or be assigned an SCO dedicated workspace. Rather, employees will only report to their assigned SCO office for regularly scheduled meetings, or when physical presence is required. For those times when an employee needs to report to an SCO office, a hub site will be identified for the employee.
• Meetings in the office may be scheduled at the convenience of management. Employees working remotely are expected to attend in-person meetings in the office when determined necessary by SCO.
• Employees working remotely must work comparable hours to those while in the office.
  All work hours must be recorded using the UKG Pro mobile app on a smartphone or tablet. UKG Pro must be accessed to clock-in at the start of the workday. UKG Pro must also be used to clock-out at the end of the workday.
• The employee shall be responsible for the safeguarding and confidentiality of Agency information and documentation as well as the cell phone and laptop.
• The agency assumes no liability for injuries occurring in the employee’s home workspace.