Family Support Worker / Parenting Time Visitation SpecialistFull-Time & Part-Time Opportunities | Community-Based Family Supportive Services of Northern Michigan, LLC | Cadillac, Michigan Looking for meaningful work where relationships, consistency, and connection really matter? Family Supportive Services of Northern Michigan is a growing, established agency serving children and families throughout Northern Michigan. A significant part of this position involves supervising weekly parenting time visits for families whose children are currently in foster care. When children and parents cannot currently live together, regular contact becomes incredibly important. Our staff help make that contact possible. In many ways, we become the link that helps families continue seeing one another while parents are working through some of the toughest struggles of their lives. This work requires compassion, professionalism, strong boundaries, good judgment, and the ability to recognize that families can be experiencing very difficult circumstances while still deeply loving and missing one another. We are looking for individuals who want to do relationship-based, community-based work while also being part of a team where they feel connected, supported, and valued. What Does the Work Actually Look Like? The majority of this position involves supervising scheduled parenting time visits between parents and their children who are in foster care. Staff help provide the consistency that allows children and parents to maintain regular contact while families work toward their goals.

Your role may include:

Supervising weekly visits between parents and their children Helping ensure visits occur in a safe, appropriate, and supportive environment Transporting children when required as part of assigned services Helping identify appropriate community-based locations and activities for visits Observing parent-child interactions Supporting parents in practicing appropriate parenting skills during visits Encouraging positive communication and interaction between parents and children Maintaining appropriate professional boundaries while building rapport with families Remaining neutral and professional during emotionally difficult situations Documenting observations, interactions, progress, concerns, cancellations, and other required information Communicating and collaborating with FSSNM team members and other professionals involved with the family Providing additional community-based family support services when assigned You may be there for ordinary moments—playing at a park, sharing a meal, helping with homework, celebrating a birthday, or simply giving a parent and child time together. You may also be there for difficult moments. Children may be upset. Parents may be struggling. Family circumstances may be complicated. Our job is not to judge a family by the hardest season of their lives. Our responsibility is to provide professional supervision, maintain safety and boundaries, document objectively, and help preserve opportunities for healthy family connection. We Become Part of the Connection For families involved in foster care, seeing one another isn't always as simple as deciding to get together. There may be schedules to coordinate, transportation needs, community locations to arrange, safety requirements to follow, and agency or court expectations that must be maintained. That's where our staff come in. Your reliability matters because a child may be waiting to see Mom or Dad. A parent may have been looking forward to those few hours with their child all week. Our staff become an important part of making those moments possible. That makes this work meaningful—but it also means dependability, consistency, professionalism, and follow-through are essential. This Is Not a Traditional 9-to-5 Position We want applicants to understand this before applying. The families we serve are frequently available when children are finished with school and parents are finished with work. As a result, our highest-demand service hours are approximately 12:00 PM-8:00 PM. Regular afternoon and evening availability is a requirement of this position. If you are specifically looking for a traditional Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM schedule, this position is unlikely to be the right fit. For someone who appreciates flexibility earlier in the day and is comfortable working later, however, the schedule can be a great fit. Your Personal Vehicle Is Part of the Job This is a community-based position , and regular driving is an essential job responsibility. Services occur throughout the community rather than in one consistent office location. Depending upon the assignment, employees may travel to parenting time locations, community settings, schools, foster placements, meeting locations, or other approved locations. Employees must have a reliable personal vehicle and be willing to use that vehicle for work-related travel. A valid driver's license and appropriate automobile insurance are required. Compensation = Hourly Wage + Mileage Reimbursement Because this position involves regular travel, we want candidates to understand the complete compensation structure.

Compensation is a combination of:

Hourly Wage + Mileage Reimbursement for Eligible Work-Related Travel Mileage reimbursement is paid in addition to hourly wages for qualifying work-related mileage. We encourage candidates to consider both components when evaluating the compensation for this community-based position. Experience Working With Children & Families Is Required Because of the independence, responsibility, and nature of the situations our staff encounter, this is not an entry-level position for someone without prior experience working with children and families. A minimum of

TWO YEARS

of experience working in some capacity with children and families is required. Relevant experience may come from areas such as: Child welfare or foster care Family support services Social work or human services Behavioral or mental health services Schools or educational settings Child development programs Youth programs Community-based services Residential or treatment programs Other professional roles involving direct work with children and families Experience with foster care, supervised parenting time, families experiencing significant life challenges, or child welfare systems is especially valuable. We are looking for candidates who already have experience building relationships with children and adults, maintaining professional boundaries, navigating difficult situations, and understanding that behavior often has much more behind it than what we initially see. Who Does Well in This Position? This position tends to be a strong fit for someone who: Has at least two years of professional experience working with children and families Genuinely enjoys working with children and parents Understands the importance of preserving parent-child relationships during foster care Can develop rapport without losing professional boundaries Is dependable and understands that families are counting on scheduled visits Can remain neutral and professional in emotionally complicated situations Is observant and able to document interactions objectively Is comfortable redirecting or intervening appropriately when necessary Can work independently in community-based settings Communicates effectively with families, coworkers, and other professionals Is flexible when circumstances change Is comfortable driving regularly Has a reliable personal vehicle Can manage documentation and deadlines Is comfortable using technology Is regularly available during our high-demand 12:00-8:00 PM service hours Above all, we are looking for people who understand that meaningful work with families requires relationship, consistency, patience, accountability, compassion, and professionalism.

Qualifications Candidates must have:

A minimum of two years of experience working in some capacity with children and families Education and/or professional experience in Social Work, Psychology, Human Services, Family Studies, Child Development, Education, Behavioral Health, Community Services, or another related helping profession A valid driver's license Appropriate automobile insurance Reliable access to a personal vehicle for work-related travel Ability to travel throughout assigned service areas Ability to work independently in community-based settings Strong interpersonal and communication skills Ability to maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries Ability to complete required documentation accurately and on time Comfort with technology Regular afternoon and evening availability, with 12:00-8:00 PM representing our primary staffing need Ability to successfully complete all required background checks Connection With Families AND With Your Team Community-based work requires independence—but independent should not mean alone. FSSNM has intentionally created a small, connected work environment where staff have people they can turn to. You will have people to call. You will have coworkers to problem-solve with. You will have access to leadership when situations become complicated. And you'll work alongside people who understand that supporting families involved with foster care can be incredibly rewarding while also being challenging. Our employees spend much of their working time out in the community, so maintaining that connection behind the scenes is especially important to us. We want to preserve the personal connection of a small agency while continuing to provide the training, technology, administrative support, benefits, and organizational structure of a growing agency. Training & Support We don't expect a new employee to walk in knowing how to navigate every situation they may encounter. FSSNM provides training and ongoing support related to our programs, supervised parenting time, documentation, safety, professional boundaries, family engagement, and expectations for community-based services. Our goal isn't to train someone and simply send them out on their own. We want employees to develop confidence in the work , continue strengthening their skills, ask questions, consult when something doesn't feel right, and know where to turn when situations become challenging. Growing With FSSNM We're growing, and we're interested in employees who want the opportunity to grow with us. As staff gain experience, demonstrate reliability, expand their skills, and become more knowledgeable about our programs, opportunities for additional responsibilities and professional growth may develop. We value people who want to become part of the team , not simply fill hours on a schedule. Competitive Benefits for Full-Time Staff Being a supportive employer means supporting our employees beyond their individual work assignments. As FSSNM continues to grow, we strive to provide competitive benefits for eligible full-time employees , including: Medical Insurance Health Savings Account (HSA) Dental Insurance Vision Insurance Life Insurance IRA Retirement Benefits Competitive Paid Time Off (PTO) Our goal is to continue investing in our employees through benefits, training, technology, accessible leadership, and a connected work environment where good employees can build a long-term professional home. Before You Apply... We want candidates to understand what makes this job different. You WILL drive. Your personal vehicle is an essential part of this community-based work. You WILL work later in the day. Our greatest staffing need is approximately 12:00-8:00 PM. You WILL work independently in the community. But you won't be expected to figure difficult situations out alone. You WILL meet families during some incredibly difficult chapters of their lives. And sometimes, you will be the person who makes it possible for a parent and child to spend those few important hours together that week. If you understand the importance of that responsibility—and that sounds like work you could care deeply about—we'd like to hear from you. Our Application Process — What Happens Next? We recognize that this is a unique position, and we want candidates to have the opportunity to understand the work before moving into a formal interview. Our application process begins with a one-on-one virtual Q&A session. This is an opportunity to learn more about the day-to-day work, supervised parenting time, community-based services, compensation and mileage reimbursement, scheduling expectations, benefits, training, and our team. It also gives us an opportunity to learn a little more about your background and determine whether moving forward to a formal interview makes sense for both of us. A Complete Application Is Required To be considered for this position, applicants must submit

BOTH:

1. A full, current resume detailing your education and employment history. 2. A full cover letter introducing yourself and explaining your interest in this specific position, including your experience working with children and families. Submission of both a full resume AND a full cover letter is a firm requirement of our application process. Applications containing only a resume, an abbreviated employment history, or no cover letter will not be considered complete and will not move forward to the Q&A stage. Qualified candidates who submit a complete application will be contacted regarding the next step in our process. Please submit your full cover letter and full resume to: info-registration@fssnm.org Family Supportive Services of Northern Michigan, LLC Cadillac, Michigan Come do work where relationships still matter.

Job Types:

Full-time, Part-time Pay:

$20.47 - $25.94 per hour

Benefits:

Flexible schedule Paid time off

Work Location:

On the road