HFA sites have three primary staff positions: (1) direct service staff; (2) supervisors who provide administrative, clinical, and reflective supervision to direct service staff; and (3) program managers who oversee program operations, funding, quality assurance, and evaluation.
The HFA National Office allows sites flexibility in staffing and emphasizes hiring staff with lived expertise and knowledge of the community. The HFA National Office requires that direct service staff have, at a minimum, a high school diploma or equivalent. It also requires that sites select staff based on their personal characteristics, including: their experience working with or providing services to children and families; an ability to establish trusting relationships; acceptance of individual differences; their experience working with culturally diverse communities (that are present among the site’s intended population); their knowledge of infant and child development; their ability to maintain boundaries between personal and professional life; and their capacity for reflection. The HFA National Office requires that supervisors have either (1) a bachelor’s or master’s degree with relevant supervisory experience or (2) commensurate HFA experience if they do not have a bachelor’s degree. In addition, Infant Mental Health Endorsement is preferred, but not required, for all supervisors.
The HFA National Office requires each direct service staff member to receive a minimum of one and a half to two hours of individualized reflective supervision per week to promote self-awareness, increase clarity in their work with families, build confidence, and increase service quality. Supervision sessions include administrative, clinical, and reflective supervision practices. In addition, supervisors shadow direct service staff at least twice a year to monitor and assess their performance and provide constructive feedback and professional development. Please contact the model developer for information on supervision or support offered to supervisors.
Before providing services, the HFA National Office requires affiliated sites to provide orientation training to supervisors, program managers, and direct service staff. The training includes information about the challenges faced by the community’s families and the local resources available to support those families, along with information on staff safety, boundaries, and confidentiality. Nationally certified HFA trainers deliver the following HFA model-specific trainings to indicated staff in an online, blended learning format:
- Foundations for Family Support Training (all staff)
- FROG Scale Training (staff who administer the scale and their supervisors, before first administration)
- Supervisor Training (supervisors and program managers)
- Implementation Training (program managers)
Please contact the model developer for additional information about training requirements.
The HFA National Office requires staff to participate in ongoing professional development. Within 12 months of hire, supervisors and direct service staff must complete wraparound training on a variety of topics. The HFA National Office offers affiliated sites more than 38 hours of distance learning modules and/or recorded webinars that meet all the mandatory training requirements for three, six and 12 months post hire. Supervisors, program managers, and direct service staff must participate in annual ongoing training after the first year of employment based on staff need. Please contact the model developer for additional information about the ongoing professional development requirements.
