Parental Advocate

Job Description

Job Description

Title Parental Advocate 

Department: Medical/Clinical Support 

Reports to: Maternal Child Health Program Manager

Effective Date: 8/13/2024 

SUMMARY: The Native American Community Clinic (NACC) is committed to enhancing the health and wellness of mind, body, and spirit for Native American families through a comprehensive range of healthcare services, including Medical, Behavioral Health, Dental, and Substance Abuse treatment. We are seeking a dedicated Parent Advocate to join our team. This role will support parents and care givers by promoting parenting skills, leading parent skills groups, coordinating parenting resources, and providing support in dealings with Child Protective Services (CPS). The ideal candidate for this position will possess strong communication and interpersonal skills, embrace challenging cases, and utilize problem-solving skills to help patients and their families overcome barriers, connect to essential services, and improve their overall quality of life.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Responsible for care coordination tasks, including identifying and resolving barriers that prevent patients from completing medical, dental, and behavioral health treatment plans, as well as addressing specific parenting challenges.
• Supports parents in accessing parenting resources, skills development, and support services.
• Serves as part of the outreach team to promote NACC in the community; attends community health fairs, events, and expos to share information, promotes NACC services, improve community health, and provide support to parents through educational and resource-sharing opportunities.
• Helps to maintain current community and parenting resource information in an organized and accessible format, including insurance, pharmacy, traditional healing, counseling, housing, tribal registration, transportation, food assistance, parenting classes, and child development resources.
• Meets with parents and care givers in the clinic to assess and assist with their social and parenting needs—performs both in reach and outreach to connect them to social services and parenting support.
• Acts as an advocate for patients and their families, working to promote community health needs and parental well-being.
• Leads parental skills groups, coordinates with external agencies such as CPS when necessary, and facilitates access to community resources aimed at strengthening family dynamics.
• Coordinates maternal child health meetings 
• Provides support in grant supply ordering and reporting.
• Other duties as assigned.

• This job has no supervisory responsibilities.

• Two + years of experience working to support parents/caregivers in a case management, social service or clinical capacity
• Associates degree (A.A.) or equivalent from a two-year College or technical school; or two + years related experience and/or training; or an equivalent combination of education and experience 
• Computer skills required: Internet Software; Spreadsheet Software (Excel); Word Processing Software (Word); Electronic Mail Software (Outlook);
• Knowledge of maternal and child health, pregnancy, postpartum care, infant and early childhood development.
• Understands the needs of families involved with CPS, ICWA, Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act, and culturally responsive approaches to supporting Native families.

• Project Management - Develops project plans; Coordinates projects; Communicates changes and progress; Completes projects on time and budget; Manages project team activities.
• Diversity - Demonstrates knowledge of EEO policy; Shows respect and sensitivity for cultural differences; Educates others on the value of diversity; Promotes a harassment-free environment; Builds a diverse workforce.
• Organizational Support - Follows policies and procedures; Completes administrative tasks correctly and on time; Supports organization's goals and values; Benefits organization through outside activities; Supports affirmative action and respects diversity.
• Safety and Security - Observes safety and security procedures; Determines appropriate action beyond guidelines; Reports potentially unsafe conditions; Uses equipment and materials properly
• Adaptability - Adapts to changes in the work environment; Manages competing demands; Changes approach or method to best fit the situation; Able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events.
• Attendance/Punctuality  - Is consistently at work and on time; Ensures work responsibilities are covered when absent; Arrives at meetings and appointments on time.
• Dependability - Follows instructions, responds to management direction; Takes responsibility for own actions; Keeps commitments; Commits to long hours of work when necessary to reach goals; Completes tasks on time or notifies appropriate person with an alternate plan.

• Frequently required to stand, sit, bend, stoop, kneel or crawl
• Continually required to walk, climb, balance, talk or hear
• Frequently required to utilize hand and finger dexterity
• Occasionally exposure to wet and/or humid conditions (non-weather)
• Occasionally work near moving mechanical part
• Occasionally work in high, precarious places
• Occasionally work around fumes, airborne particles, or toxic chemicals
• Occasional exposure to outside weather conditions
• Frequently exposure to bloodborne and airborne pathogens or infectious materials
• While performing the duties of this job, the noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to loud
• The employee must occasionally lift and /or move more than 50 pounds / frequently lift and/or move up to   25 pounds / continually lift and/or move up to 15 pounds
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include Close vision; Distance vision; Peripheral vision; Depth perception and ability to adjust focus