Family Engagement Specialist

The Family Engagement Specialist is a member of the Fostering Sustainable Connections program and identifies,
engages and prepares potential permanent families and/or supportive permanent connections, for youth in the
child welfare system, who are at risk of long term foster care. The position also identifies and nurtures family
strength building and other family attributes to enhance the safety and well-being of children.

Who We Are:

Founded in 1912, Arizona's Children Association is one of the oldest and largest statewide comprehensive child welfare and behavioral health not-for-profit agencies in Arizona. Located in all 15 Arizona counties, we provide a variety of programs and services to meet the needs of more than 40,000 children, youth and families each year. When working with AzCA, you'll be surrounded by highly talented and dedicated individuals who are committed to our mission of protecting children, empowering youth, and strengthening families.

Why You'll Love Working for Us:

At Arizona's Children Association, our employees are our most valuable asset; and as such we offer a wide range of benefits to aid your health and wellness including:

• All full time employees working 30 hours or more per week are eligible and we offer several plans for each so you can choose the option right for you and your family which includes:
  • Medical provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Dental provided by Ameritas, and Vision provided by MetLife
  • We offer several plans so you can choose the option right for you and your family
  • Plans are effective the first of the month following 30 days of employment
  • We also offer: Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Health Savings Account (HSA), Life and AD&D, Short Term Disability and Long Term Disability
• Employee Assistance Program provided by Cura Linc
• Mileage Reimbursement
• Employee Wellness and Support Time
• Flexible Schedules
• Additional pay for Bilingual employees
• Generous paid time off, paid sick leave, and 8 paid holidays
• 403B Retirement Savings Plan provided through Mutual of America
• Tuition Reimbursement and Discounts

Find your passion. Join our team!

What You'll Do: 

• Identifies, locates and tracks relatives, fictive kin and/or significant adults from the referred youth's life.
• Engages identified family members/potential supportive adults using a strength-based approach.
• Assess readiness of the youth and/or family members/potential supportive adults' for initial contact with youth and prepares them for this initial contact.
• Organizes, and facilitates family/connections meetings for each youth
• Prepares for contact by determining the family members/potential supportive adults' cultural and language needs; transportation needs; and confidentiality and safety issues. 
• Implements the 3-5-7 model of practice to address youth's separation and loss issues in order to promote the youth's readiness for permanency
• Respects the youth by providing a safe place and time for expression of feelings 
• Engages youth in activities that explore their lives and let them tell their story such through the use of life books, lifelines and connectedness maps, while always respecting the youths thoughts and feelings; 
• Provides transportation for youth to activities associated with the program; 
• Collaborates with DCS and other team members for each youth referred.
• Maintains a sense of urgency throughout the process and motivates the team toward proactive action. 
• Maintains accurate and complete documentation.

Minimum Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree with 2 years of related experience OR a Master's degree with less than 2 years of related experience
• Experience will be in the Social Work, Psychology or Human Service Fields (i.e. Group Home, Shelter Care, Behavioral Health field) working with children, families, and or adults.

Minimum Qualification & Requirements:

• Must be 21 years of age (licensing requirement).
• Possess a valid Arizona driver's license and be insurable under the agency's automobile policy.
• Must be able to provide own transportation to and from clients' homes and/or other relevant organizations/agencies
• Must be able to provide DPS fingerprint clearance.
• Must be able to meet training and agency compliance requirements for the position.
• An individual may qualify for this position if the individual is able to "perform safely" the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodations. 

At Arizona's Children Association we are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that not only promotes, but values and celebrates diversity. Our goal is to create an inclusive workplace and culture to better serve our children, families and community.

Just like the uniqueness of the families we serve, we strive to be diverse in:

race, color, ethnicity, national origin, culture, language, gender, age, sexual orientation/preference, gender identity and expression, disability and/or diagnosis, marital status, religion, status, or any other protected status.

AzCA does not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.