What does a family support specialist do?
A family support specialist is an individual who provides counseling and rehabilitation services to families who are facing crises so that their lives can be improved. Family support specialists conduct interviews with members of a family to determine areas that need support such as anti-social behavior, bullying, or domestic violence. They collaborate with healthcare and social professionals to evaluate caseload needs. In cases of relevant child protection, family support specialists are also required to attend court sessions.
Family support specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real family support specialist resumes:
- Manage RSP curriculum for wide spectrum of needs including LD and autism.
- Help children/youth in state custody achieve permanency whether through reintegration, adoption or custodianship.
- Provide first aid or CPR.
- Provide intensive services to families that are DHS who are determine to be reunify with their families.
- Attend and participate in weekly staff meetings, individual supervision, and other meetings require by DCF.
- Provide activities supervision and individual counseling to DCFS wards of the state within a therapeutic milieu setting.
- Work collaboratively with the CFT, medical, treatment and management team in implementing agency policies and procedures.
- Attend preliminary court hearings as deemed necessary for intakes and participate in DCF case conferences, and juvenile proceedings.
- Deliver written/verbal reports of DCFS client's day to day routines to co workers, and designate medical staff.
- Attend regularly schedule CFT meetings, staff meetings, case reviews, community meetings and other meetings as assigned.
- Develop and execute daily academic lessons in reading, language arts, and mathematics for students with learning disabilities.
- Implement the wraparound model encourages family voice and choice while collaborating with various organizations to support the client and family.
- Organize and conduct workshops for monthly youth support groups and prepare and complete DHS state reports and records for annual audits.
- Facilitate wraparound family team meetings.
- Create and present medical coding PowerPoint presentations.
Family support specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Family Support Specialists are proficient in Social Work, Child Abuse, and Patients. They’re also known for soft skills such as Emotional skills, Organizational skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Family Support Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Social Work, 23%
Collaborated with treatment team of clinical social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists and rehabilitation counselors to develop individualized treatment plans.
- Child Abuse, 9%
Provided support services including crisis counseling, education, and referrals for families involved in child abuse investigations.
- Patients, 7%
Mediated conflicts between patients, handled medical emergencies, assisted patients in developing and implementing positive and cooperative living skills.
- Child Development, 4%
Coordinated home-based intervention services that provided child development and parenting skills information, resource and referrals for high-risk families of newborns.
- Crisis Intervention, 4%
Developed crisis intervention curriculum and effective communication curriculum.
- Foster Care, 4%
Provide direct supervision of program management staff for specialized case management and foster care case management.
Common skills that a family support specialist uses to do their job include "social work," "child abuse," and "patients." You can find details on the most important family support specialist responsibilities below.
Organizational skills. Many family support specialist duties rely on organizational skills. "social workers must help and manage multiple clients, often assisting with their paperwork or documenting their treatment.," so a family support specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways family support specialist responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "applied organizational leadership goals to develop outreach strategy communicated organizational focus at community events to inform families about home visiting services"
Communication skills. family support specialists are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to family support specialist responsibilities, because "clients talk to social workers about challenges in their lives." A family support specialist resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "maintain regular and routine communication with the division of children and family services. "
Interpersonal skills. family support specialist responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "social workers must be able to work with different groups of people." This resume example shows what family support specialists do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "received extensive interpersonal skills and conflict resolution training. "
Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for family support specialist responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of family support specialists all the time, as "social workers must analyze their clients’ complex situations and develop practical solutions." An excerpt from a real family support specialist resume shows how this skill is central to what a family support specialist does: "prepare family service plans using a strength-based, solution-focused approach. "
Compassion. While "compassion" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to family support specialist responsibilities. Much of what a family support specialist does relies on this skill, seeing as "social workers often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of family support specialists: "be sensitive to any medical and/or mental health issues present to provide compassionate and quality care. "
The three companies that hire the most family support specialists are:
- Roehl Transport690 family support specialists jobs
- WCCA - Wright County Community Action
97 family support specialists jobs
- Magellan Health43 family support specialists jobs
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Compare different family support specialists
Family support specialist vs. Service counselor
Service counselors provide guidance to couples, individuals, groups, and families who are going through issues that influence their well-being and mental health. They comprehensively approach their clients by utilizing a "wellness" model that focuses on and motivate the client's potentials. Their duties include inspiring clients to talk about their emotions and experiences, helping them determine their action plans and goals, as well as designing therapeutic methods. Also, they may refer their clients to other services or psychologists.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, family support specialist responsibilities require skills like "child abuse," "child development," "foster care," and "family services." Meanwhile a typical service counselor has skills in areas such as "social services," "rehabilitation," "customer service," and "aaa." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Service counselors earn the highest salaries when working in the education industry, with an average yearly salary of $43,030. On the other hand, family support specialists are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $38,192.The education levels that service counselors earn slightly differ from family support specialists. In particular, service counselors are 2.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a family support specialist. Additionally, they're 1.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Family support specialist vs. Case worker
Caseworkers are social workers who watch over the welfare of underprivileged individuals and at-risk families by counseling and providing them with assistance. Usually employed under the government or a local non-profit organization, a caseworker must conduct a thorough interview and house visits to determine the needs of the family. They then refer them to any programs or agencies that can give them the specific care and help needed. Furthermore, it is crucial to identify neglect and abuse signs, reporting them to the authorities right away.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real family support specialist resumes. While family support specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "child development," "family services," "cpr," and "public assistance programs," case workers use skills like "customer service," "intake assessments," "mental illness," and "public assistance."
On average, case workers earn a higher salary than family support specialists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, case workers earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $40,730. Whereas family support specialists have higher pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $38,192.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Case workers tend to reach similar levels of education than family support specialists. In fact, they're 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for family support specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Virginia Schwindt
MSW Field Director/Associate Professor, Union University
Family support specialist vs. Foster care worker
A Foster Care Worker helps improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families as well as increases the family's well-being and the academic functioning of children. They counsel families about issues regarding their child's care and develop healthy living situations.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, family support specialists are more likely to have skills like "patients," "child development," "family services," and "public assistance programs." But a foster care worker is more likely to have skills like "social services," "compassion," "court reports," and "state regulations."
Foster care workers earn the best pay in the construction industry, where they command an average salary of $50,830. Family support specialists earn the highest pay from the professional industry, with an average salary of $38,192.Most foster care workers achieve a higher degree level compared to family support specialists. For example, they're 12.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Family support specialist vs. Social worker
Social workers help their clients get through problems that they may be facing. Social workers help identify individuals or groups of people, usually families, who may need assistance, generally through a set of pre-determined criteria. They then determine the best ways to help their clients by interviewing them, getting to know them, and understanding the context of their lives. They create plans that will help their clients become better, such as integrating into a new environment, assisting them in their needs, or even rescuing them from their current place. Social workers have good interpersonal skills and communication skills.
Types of family support specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
