Kinship Navigator

As a Kinship Navigator, you will work directly with kinship caregivers to assist caregivers in navigating the child welfare system.  You will also provide support and advocacy to help ensure caregivers have the required resources to meet each child’s physical, emotional, financial, and basic needs.

As a part of Communities Connected for Kids, you will get the opportunity to work with other dedicated professionals who share your passion for helping individuals in need. We offer:

• Opportunities to make a positive impact in the lives of children in need of support
• Unique rewards that come from seeing families improve and flourish with the services you referred them to
• Salary for the Training Specialist position starts at $31,200 annually
• Quality Low-Cost Benefits and 30-day benefit eligibility waiting period for new hires! Home | BenePortal
• This position requires a background screening in accordance with FS 435.12.  See the following link for more information: https://info.flclearinghouse.com

Our Communities Connected for Kids Program provides services for children and families in the child welfare system, to ensure a community without abuse, neglect and abandonment. Based out of Port Saint Lucie, FL, this position works directly with kinship caregivers to assist caregivers in navigating the child welfare system, and provides support and advocacy to help ensure caregivers have the required resources to meet each child’s physical, emotional, financial, and basic needs.  Additional duties include:

• Conduct home visits to kinship caregivers.
• Educate kinship caregivers about available resources to meet the needs of the children they are raising, in addition to their own needs as caregivers.
• Provide enrollment information for federal, state, and local benefits.
• Provide relevant training to assist kinship caregivers in caregiving.
• Assist with navigating legal options available for child custody, other legal assistance, and help in obtaining legal services.
• Provide outreach to kinship caregivers, including distributing relevant guides or outreach materials.
• Foster and maintain collaborative working relationships and rapport with Kinship Caregivers.
• Advocate and liaison with kinship caregivers to ensure adequate support is provided and to facilitate positive outcomes for children served.
• Advocate for the needs of kinship caregivers by ensuring their voice is heard and that their needs are being addressed.
• Attend and participate in staffings to identify needed supports and services.
• Participate in the development, planning, and facilitation of virtual and in person support groups for kinship caregivers and children
• Enter data into the Statewide Child Welfare Information System FSFN.
• Other duties as required.

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EDUCATION:

• Required: High School Diploma or GED equivalent
• Preferred: Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work/Human Services or a related field.
• Knowledge in Florida's Practice Model and Florida’s official electronic system of record, Florida Safe Family Network (FSFN).
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook)

EXPERIENCE:

• One year of kinship or child welfare caregiver experience preferred.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Knowledge of and proficency in computer applications and digital communication tools.
• Ability to learn new technology and programs quickly.
• Strong interpersonal skills relative to diverse populations.
• Excellent skills in facilitation of collaborative problem-solving.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with multiple competing deadlines.
• Analytical, decision making, and organizational skills.

About Communities Connected for Kids

Communities Connected for Kids provides oversight and coordination of the child-welfare system in Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties. At any given time, there are about 1,300 abused, abandoned or neglected children in our care. We are responsible for the safety and well-being of each one of them. We meet this responsibility through a mix of direct and contracted services. If you think about it in terms of building a house, we are the general contractor of the child-welfare system. The system is the house, we are the contractor, and our network of service providers are the subcontractors we pull together to make the house strong and ready to live in.

Who We Serve

Communities Connected for Kids offers a full range of care for children, adolescents, young adults and family members in Okeechobee and the Treasure Coast. We offer our services through a wide variety of approaches including in-home parenting and prevention services, family preservation, case management, residential programs and extended foster care services for teenagers and young adults.

In the tradition of true partnership, Communities Connected for Kids works closely with several agencies that are funded through Medicaid, substance abuse/mental health or private funds to offer a continuum of treatment services otherwise unfunded by Community Based Care dollars. These partnerships help families strengthen their capacity to care for their children or help children heal from trauma they’ve experienced.

Mission

Our mission is to enhance the safety, permanency and well-being of all children in Okeechobee and the Treasure Coast through a community network of family support services.

Values

Communities Connected for Kids values are:

We are accountable to the children and families we serve and to the communities in which we live.  We ensure services provided are:

• Individualized, based on the strengths and needs of the families we serve
• Respectful and culturally sensitive
• Effective and accountable
• Evidence based and data driven
• Permanency focused
• Ensure financial and human resources are managed and maximized 

Our Vision

We envision a community without abuse, neglect and abandonment so all children grow to their full potential.