CFI Central VA Regional Coordinator

Summary:

The Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University celebrates 40 years as Virginia's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Research, Training, and Dissemination (www.partnership.vcu.edu).

The Partnership believes that families are best served by other families, especially those with similar experiences and challenges. Families are the experts on their own children and can pass this expertise to others.

The Partnership's Center for Family Involvement (CFI) (www.centerforfamilyinvolvement.org) provides emotional, informational and systems navigational support to families to help them increase their skills as advocates, mentors, and leaders so that families, children, and adults with disabilities can lead the lives they want.

We are seeking a dynamic candidate for the role of Central Virginia Regional Network Coordinator for the CFI’s Family to Family Network of Virginia initiative that is funded by four state and two federal agencies to provide 1:1 emotional, informational and systems navigational support to families of children and adults with disabilities and/or special health care needs.

Position Primary Purpose

The Regional F2F Network Coordinators (RNCs) are .80 FTE (full-time) grant funded positions, reporting to the director of the Center for Family Involvement’s Family to Family Network of Virginia. RNCs are responsible for overseeing a region of the state, recruiting, training and supporting volunteer Family Navigators to help family members of children and adults with disabilities (aged 0-50) to identify and find information, services, community support that meet their needs; and outreaching to organizations and groups in their region with whom the CFI and Partnership should partner with to meet the needs of families with children and adults with disabilities. We are particularly interested in the Central Virginia region of Virginia on supporting families of transition-aged youth with disabilities.

Typical Duties

• The Central Virginia Regional Network Coordinator will work 32 hours per week.
• The position could potentially work approximately 18-20 hours each week from home (the remainder of the hours are to be worked in the office at 2235 Staples Mill Drive (4th floor) in Richmond) following a probation period and subsequent eligibility for telecommuting up to 60% of the work week.
• This is a grant-funded position
• Some travel will be expected to attend meetings, conferences, and presentations
• A laptop will be provided to the employee.

Service Navigation

• Following CFI and Parent to Parent (P2P) USA evidence informed practices, the RNC recruits, trains and supports a minimum of 5 people with disabilities or family members of people with disabilities as volunteer Family Navigators in their region
• Following CFI and P2P USA evidence informed practices, the RNC ensures that Family Navigators in their region are matched with 90% of the family callers and are providing emotional, informational and systems navigational support to families of children/adults with disabilities (contributing to the minimum of 600 families statewide supported each year)
• When unable to match a family with a Family Navigator, the RNC provides direct support to the family
• The RNC collects timely data from Family Navigators on family matches and maintains up to date information on professional and family support in the CFIs Salesforce data system

• The RNC identifies gaps in services as well as conflicts that may arise between services providers and families, and reports issues and resolutions to the F2F Network director and CFI director

Community Relations

• The RNC completes community mapping of associations, groups and organizations in the Central Virginia region to help the CFI maintain up-to-date information on resources, services, contacts, etc.
• The RNC serves on state and/or regional committees as a CFI/Partnership representative
• The RNC exhibits or supports Family Navigators to exhibit CFI and Partnership materials a resource fairs/conferences in the Central Virginia region
• The RNC establishes collaborative relationships with leaders and professionals in the community to promote the mission, goals, and services of the CFI and Partnership to the community, including training on disability laws and services for which their child and family may be eligible
• The RNC should understand the culture of the Central Virginia region, particularly underserved communities (i.e., rural, poverty, linguistically diverse, military) and develops and sustains a trusting and supportive relationship with organizations and families in the region
• Support the work of the Dept of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDS) Individual and Family Support Program (IFSP) including but not limited to facilitation of IFSP Council meetings, promoting IFSP council event, completing monthly reports and identifying new partnerships and resource identification

Organization Support

• The RNC attends and participates as a team member in regular CFI and Partnership staff meetings/trainings to stay abreast of our initiatives
• The RNC determines a schedule for bringing Central Virginia Family Navigators together to ensure they are kept up to date on important CFI, Partnership (and partner agency) information
• The RNC serves as a resource to the CFI and Partnership by bringing Central Virginia regional family perspectives to ensure the delivery of effective culturally agile and family centered services to organizational clients
• The RNC assists, develops and participates in programs or projects assigned by the supervisor to ensure the integration of family wisdom and experience to these programs

Professional Development

• The RNC attends mandatory Partnership, CFI and/or VCU employee orientation and on-going staff development opportunities
• The RNC participates in at least three face to face or virtual training, seminars or courses and at least one state conference every year to improve service knowledge and skills and provide/share knowledge with CFI team and/or act as a content expert in a particular area of interest or knowledge
• The RNC actively participates in RNC team discussions (4-6 times/year) by sharing experiences, training information, resources, etc. with other RNC team members and identifying gaps in services and possible solutions
• The RNC meets at least one time per month with the F2F Network director (and/or F2F co-director)
  Connect for Success Symposium Planning
• The Central Virginia RNC supports a planning team of professionals in order to organize an in person family engagement conference for PRCs, TTACs, military SLOs, CFI, PEATC, family organizations and Family Engagement Network members (called the Connect for Success Symposium)
• The Central Virginia RNC meets regularly with the CFI director and a member of the Partnership events planning team to review conference plans and share decisions made by the planning team
• The Central Virginia RNC facilitates the 2 day event with support from planning team members
  Council Support
• The RNC supports the Central Virginia Individual and Family Support (IFSP) Council by recruiting members appropriate to council service, attending state and Central Virginia regional IFSP Council meetings, and ensuring meeting materials and notes are in place
• The RNC attends regular meetings with the Virginia Dept of Behavioral Health & Developmental Services to provide updates on IFSP Council work and to plan for state and regional council meeting agendas