Bilingual Kinship Family Engagement Specialist R7 & R8 bei Divinity Family Services

Role and Responsibilities

Divinity Family Services is committed to preserving family connections and promoting stability by licensing and supporting kinship homes for foster care through our Foster and Adoptive Home Development (FAD) program. Guided by Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) principles, we recognize the unique strengths and needs of kinship caregivers who step in to care for children within their extended families. Within the FAD department, the Kinship Family Engagement Specialist plays a central role in developing, verifying, monitoring, and supporting kinship families. This includes offering consistent, compassionate guidance and trauma-informed coaching to help caregivers build safe, connected, and regulated home environments that meet the emotional and behavioral needs of children who have experienced adversity. Our mission is to empower kinship families through relational support, trauma-informed training, and permanency-focused services that honor family integrity and healing.

Duties

• Actively assist in the recruitment of kinship families, with an emphasis on preserving family and cultural connections.
• Communicate and collaborate with kinship families to collect and process all required documentation for licensure. Provide relational support to families as they navigate technical requirements, recognizing that kinship caregivers may need additional advocacy and coaching.
• Walk alongside kinship families to maintain a strengths-based, culturally responsive approach while tracking their progress, determining eligibility, and ensuring applicants meet verification criteria.

• Conduct walkthroughs of the home, checking for health and safety compliance (including fire and evacuation plans), while recognizing the uniqueness of kinship households and approaching variances through a trauma-informed and supportive lens.
• Ensure homes meet Minimum Standards for Child Placing Agencies as well as SSCC and DFPS contractual requirements, while offering education, empowerment, and accommodations that promote permanency without unnecessary disruption.
• Enter all required data into internal software systems and support families in uploading necessary documentation into their Parent Portal. Provide patient, hands-on assistance, especially for kinship families who may face digital literacy or resource barriers.
• Collaborate regularly with DFPS kinship and legal units to request records, share updates, and advocate for timely licensing and support of kinship caregivers. Foster positive relationships with DFPS staff rooted in shared permanency goals.
• Offer continued coaching, encouragement, and TBRI-informed strategies to kinship parents throughout and after the verification process. Recognizing kinship caregivers may experience unique stressors and deserve relational, flexible support.
• Work closely with Quality Assurance and Case Management teams to ensure each home’s file is complete and participate in collaborative discussions that focus on the kinship family’s individual strengths and the child/children’s needs.
• Conduct home study interviews that are individualized and culturally sensitive, evaluating home safety, relational dynamics, and potential risks. Engage all household members, children in care, and references in a way that builds trust and honors lived experiences.
• Complete the Kinship Addendum or full home study with a narrative approach that reflects the family’s values, trauma history, and readiness to support the child. Ensure each section tells the family’s story in a dignified and strengths-focused manner.
• Submit completed home studies and compliance files to the kinship auditing team for internal review. Incorporate feedback professionally and accurately, then submit it to the Kinship Support Supervisor for final approval and signature.
• Proactively communicate any areas of concern to the Kinship Support Supervisor and appropriate external parties, ensuring child safety and placement stability are prioritized.

Qualifications and Education Requirements

The employee must meet the minimum age requirements for full-time work in accordance with Texas child labor law and the federal fair labor standards act. This job description will act as an acknowledgment that the employee does meet the minimum age requirements set by state and federal labor guidelines. 

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Home study writing experience preferred and knowledge of Minimum Standards state guidelines and state contracts
• Preferred work experience in social, human, or protective services include paid or volunteer work within social service agencies or communities providing services to families or other at-risk populations.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) required. This position requires fluency in both English and Spanish to communicate effectively with clients/customers, team members, and community partners.

Conditions of Employment

Employees must maintain a valid Texas driver’s license and motor vehicle insurance coverage as required by Texas law. In accordance with Texas law, Divinity Family Services (DFS) will conduct criminal background checks on all candidates and reserves the right to conduct random drug screenings during employment. Employees may be required to work weekends or evening hours as necessary to meet the needs of the organization. Employees are required to always keep a functioning cellular phone to ensure availability for on-call and after-hours duties.

The physical demands of the position may require employees to stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and talk or hear. On rare occasions, employees may be required to lift 30 pounds.

In compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), employees are required to adhere to all applicable federal and state laws, as well as DFS’s policies and procedures, regarding the safeguarding of confidential healthcare information.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Divinity Family Services (DFS) will make reasonable accommodations for qualified employees with disabilities, upon request, unless doing so would cause undue hardship to the organization.

DFS is committed to diversity and inclusion, adhering to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) guidelines. The organization does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic, in compliance with federal, state, and local laws.