We are seeking a passionate, resilient, and solution-focused Family Specialist to deliver the Option 2 strengths-based family model, supporting families where children are at risk of entering local authority care due to parental or carer substance misuse and other complex needs.
You will manage an intensive caseload, working directly with families to reduce risk, maximise safety, and strengthen protective factors within the home. Using assertive and evidence-informed interventions, you will address issues such as substance misuse, domestic abuse, and mental health challenges, empowering parents and carers to create meaningful and sustainable change.
Working as part of a multi-agency team, you will deliver coordinated interventions to safeguard children and vulnerable adults at risk. You will support individuals to engage with services tailored to their needs, record robustly and attend multi agency meetings.
In addition, you will provide professional guidance and insight to colleagues regarding risk and protective factors in families with multiple needs, particularly where children are subject to safeguarding plans or are on the edge of care.
This is a highly rewarding role requiring resilience, strong crisis management skills, and a commitment to strengths-based practice. Your work will promote recovery, build family resilience and independence, and achieve positive, long-term outcomes that enable children to remain safely within their families wherever possible.
Main duties of the job
Working as a family specialist to deliver The Option 2 strengths-based family model.
To carry an intensive caseload of families where children are at risk of entering local authority care because of parental/carer substance misuse.
Working as part of a team to support parents to keep children in their care.
Work to reduce risk and maximise safety within the family setting including assertive interventions for domestic abuse and mental health.
Showing resilience and taking a solution focused approach to family crisis management
Work to promote recovery and positive outcomes for children and families.
About us
Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation TrustInclusion service offers psychological and drug & alcohol services, in the community, and in prisons, and has contracts across the country.
As an organisation we serve a population of 1.5 million and currently employ around 9000 members of staff.
We have a wide range of exciting opportunities for people looking to work in a truly integrated NHS organisation. By joining MPFT you will become part of a team who are empowered and supported to deliver care in a way which is consistent with our values:
* Putting people at the heart of what we do
* Empowering people to improve care and wellbeing
* Delivering better health, better care in partnership
Please be aware that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in completing application forms will be monitored to ensure fairness and transparency. If you have used AI you must state this in your application.
Please note, we may be required to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications
Job responsibilities
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Main duties and responsibilities
1. Delivery of the option 2 model working intensively with families managing multiple high risk needs.
2. Following a whole family approach to deliver solution focused interventions that support families in meeting their individual goals for reducing risk of children being removed into local authority care.
3. To provide brief interventions to enable parents/carers to understand and deal with their substance misuse and its impact on their children and other family members.
4. Keep records of all work and produce weekly reports for case holding social workers and programme maintenance summary reports.
5. Completion of strengths charts and goal plans that are empowering for families meaning they need to engage family members of all ages.
6. Planning of your own diary to manage caseload and meet the needs of individual families and ensure that timeframes are adhered to for end of interventions and report deadlines.
7. To represent the service at both internal and external partnership meetings and attend child protection reviews, sharing outcomes from intervention and being part of risk management action planning.
8. Ensure that all adult and childrens safeguarding issues are dealt with in line with Staffordshires safeguarding policies and organisation policies and procedures.
9. Ensure practice promotes equality and diversity within all areas of work.
10. To develop and maintain positive and constructive working relationships with local community and voluntary groups, statutory agencies, and other relevant stakeholders.
11. To ensure that children and young people and their families are fully involved in and consulted about the projects work and to support them in representing their views.
12. Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of legislation which may affect service users and staff.
13. To provide a flexible service to families in line with their needs including evening and weekend work.
14. To lead on own specialist area which can include supervising students on placement, design and delivery of internal and external training or representing the service at key partnership meetings.
15. To support with the induction of new team members into the family and young peoples teams and across other Staffordshire teams if required. Providing shadowing opportunities for internal and external colleagues to support learning and development.
16. To complete file audits and support management audits where required.
17. To always ensure professional conduct when representing the service within the community, supporting families, attending meetings and any other communication
Systems and equipment
18. To contribute to the development of systems and interventions as and when required.
19. To familiarise and use I.T. equipment as provided by Inclusion and accurately record all required information.
20. To have skills for working on keyboards and using equipment remotely across a range of community hubs.
Decisions and judgements
21. To make decisions based on effective communication and risk management. To seek management advice where appropriate
22. To complete strengths-based assessments and safety plans alongside families with complex needs and where risk to lone work can be a factor for consideration. Safety planning can include exploring risky associates, access to weapons, drug dealing, domestic abuse, mental health, substance misuse, county lines, criminal and sexual exploitation, and behaviours placing children at significant risk of harm.
23. To work within the family home facilitating the completion of whole family strengths-based exercises. This requires the experience to judge what information is and is not encouraged for sharing within this setting to ensure safety of children and vulnerable adults within the home.
24. The ability to analyse information from intervention sessions from which decisions are made to elevate safeguarding risk and to use this for feeding into core group decision making around the welfare of the child/ren.
25. An ability to make safe decisions under pressure when working remotely across the county
26. To identify training needs and utilise supervision effectively.
27. To be aware of boundaries at all times.
28. To be responsible for your own security and safety and be fully compliant with trust policies.
Communication and relationships
29. To effectively communicate and work collaboratively with a range of people including service users, colleagues, external partners/providers to ensure the familys needs are met.
30. To work within and promote an integrated service.
31. To communicate sensitive information to multi-disciplinary partners which can include the police, education, social services, domestic abuse partners, mental health, and substance misuse teams. There will be a requirement to communicate this information at core groups and safeguarding partnership meetings.
32. To highlight sensitive information within case records, intervention and court reports.
33. To work autonomously across the county, being responsible for checking in with line managers and providing buddy support to colleagues.
34. To comment on policies and pathways that support service development
35. To be professional at all times, including whilst representing Inclusion at internal and external events.
36. To take part in appropriate training and seek to improve personal performance, contribution, knowledge and skills. Participate in appraisal, supervision and Learning & Development processes
Physical demands of the job
38. To be prepared to travel to various locations across the county to meet the needs of families.
39. To attend training and meetings in different geographical areas from the service.
40. To work flexible hours in line with service needs (i.e. evening, weekend and bank holidays as and when required).
41. This role delivers intensive intervention, going into family homes daily and the need to plan admin and break time. There are requirements for concentration during intervention delivery and when completing reports and updating risk assessments to timescales.
Most challenging/difficult parts of the job
42. Whilst a zero-tolerance policy to abuse is in place, there is potential for Family Intervention Specialists to be exposed to verbal and non-verbal aggressive or challenging behaviours, family members under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and adults and children/young people in vulnerable or distressing situations.
This can be a fast-paced work environment meaning that Family intervention specialist need to have excellent time management skills.
This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. If it is identified that you require sponsorship to undertake this role your application may be withdrawn
Person Specification
Level 3 Health & Social Care or equivalent
* Level 3 Health & Social Care or equivalent
* Level 3 Safeguarding
Experience
* Experience of working with drug and alcohol service
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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