Family Support Worker at MERCER STREET FRIENDS CENTER – TRENTON, New Jersey

Nourish. Empower. Thrive.
Where there is a need, Mercer Street Friends finds a way.

Mercer Street Friends is dedicated to:

• Delivering food security through our Food Bank
• Providing social and emotional care to parents and families
• Offering educational opportunities through our preschool, community school initiative, and adult education program

Mercer Street Friends has been serving Mercer County for over 65 years, addressing food insecurity, supporting families, and providing educational opportunities for children and adults. Through our Food Bank and agency partnerships, we provide more than 6 million meals annually while connecting families with the resources they need to thrive.

Join our team and be part of this vital work — where your expertise in food volunteer engagement directly impacts families in need and strengthens our community.

Overview
We are seeking a compassionate and dedicated Family Support Worker to join our team. This role is essential in providing support and guidance to families in need, ensuring the well-being of children and fostering healthy family dynamics.

Full-time home visitor needed to provide in-home health and parenting and support services as part of nationally recognized home visitation program to at-risk, pregnant women or women with children and their families primarily in the City of Trenton.

• Demonstrate initiative, dependability, and the ability to work independently and efficiently.
• Continually assess client needs, develop goals, provide appropriate intervention strategies, and adjust services accordingly.
• Ability to communicate with staff and clients with sensitivity, flexibility and responsiveness to gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion, age, sexual orientation, or special needs. Assume an active role in agency events.
• Provide culturally competent service delivery. Uphold ethical standards in accordance with National HFA Model and Program specific policies and procedures.
• Frequently required to stand, sit, walk, bend, use hands and arms and must occasionally lift up to 20 pounds.
• Must have own vehicle, valid driver's license, and acceptable driving record.
• Health benefits and 403b plan available
• Bachelor's degree required
• Spanish-speaking a plus.

Duties

• Provides outreach to locate and engage families assigned for enrollment.
• Assists in planning/implementing activities to enroll families.
• Assists in the tracking and reengaging of “lost to care” families.
• Assists families to enroll in appropriate health insurance plans.
• Provides intensive home visiting in compliance with the Healthy Families Critical Element standards.
• Assists families in identifying goals related to their overall health and self-sufficiency within the structure of an Individual Family Support Plan.
• Teaches and role models healthy behavior in all interactions with families
• Provides basic parenting education to families (focused on parent-child interaction) in the home and in the community.
• Teaches basic health and life skills, e.g. prenatal care, immunizations, budgeting, etc and ensures appropriate utilization of needed health and social services.
• Encourages families to enrich their home environment with books and developmentally appropriate toys.
• Accompanies parent as needed to prenatal/postnatal appointments and well-child appointments
• Provides transportation, as needed to medical and social service appointments.
• Assists in connecting families with referrals and ensures follow up.
• Attends ongoing training sessions and meetings.
• Upholds guiding principles of the project and maintains standards of quality care.
• Assists the family in developing problem-solving skills.
• Encourages the family to advocate for themselves and their children
• Assists in center-based actives as needed.
• Maintains client charts and records.

Requirements

• 1-year experience in Child Development/or parent education or/ community outreach in an urban setting preferred
• Bachelor's Degree
• Bi-lingual Spanish preferred
• Physical/Mental – meets physical and mental demands as outlined
• Working knowledge of local, State and Federal Regulations
• Commitment to working in a style consistent with the Quaker values of equality, integrity, simplicity and non-violent conflict resolutions
• A driver's licenses in good standing, reliable transportation & Automobile insurance for driving own vehicle.

Other:

• Strong ability to engage young families in educational and support services.
• Experience working with families in their homes and in an urban community.
• Currently needed are Bilingual speakers of English/Spanish and English/Polish.
• Possess maturity and experience working with families.
• Experience in working with community agencies, including implementing a referral process.
• Strong interpersonal skills/ability to relate to people with respect for their individuality.
• Must be non-judgmental.
• Task-oriented, behavior supports beginning and completing a project/task within a specific time frame.
• Demonstrate strong organizational and writing skills.
• Commitment to working with culturally diverse communities/families and the ability to be culturally sensitive and appropriate.
• Experience in working with culturally diverse communities/families and the ability to be culturally sensitive and appropriate.
• Must be able to maintain a schedule that is conducive to the participant's schedule, including evening, and possibly, weekend hours.

This position requires a proactive approach to supporting families through various challenges while promoting resilience and empowerment. If you are passionate about making a difference in the lives of children and their families, we encourage you to apply.