Family Advocate

Family Advocate

Are you excited by the prospect of working for an organization that truly values your contributions, provides opportunities for growth and development, AND gives you a chance to make a difference in the lives of children and families?

What You Will Do:

The Family Advocate is a non-exempt position responsible for working in collaboration with the Safe at Home team to build the natural supports of the family, including providing linkage to formal (community providers) and informal (family, friends, neighbors, church, school, etc.) resources to clients involved with the Florida Department of Children and Families, ensuring child safety needs are met in conjunction with the provision of family strengthening interventions. This position is also responsible for maintaining and managing assigned client families, including implementing the Nurturing Parenting Curriculum and modeling positive parenting practices utilizing Attachment Parenting fundamentals.

• Help parents improve their relationships with their children and household environment by providing better care, nutrition, hygiene, discipline, protection, instruction, and supervision, and by teaching household maintenance, budgeting, and purchasing.
• Utilize the Nurturing Parenting Curriculum with identified families.
• Conduct home visits with parents, caretakers, at-risk children, their families, and extended support networks and report any safety concerns and progress updates to the Safe at Home team, stakeholders, providers, etc.
• Teach parents and children how to manage and resolve conflicts.
• Assist parents in meeting the special physical, mental, or emotional needs of their children, and help parents deal with their own special physical, mental, or emotional needs that interfere with their ability to care for their children and manage their households.
• Help families discover and gain access to community resources that can assist in meeting their needs.
• Keep an accurate record of all activities, including documentation of all phone calls and linkage with community supports, as well as home visits, within the required contractual timeframes.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

What We Offer:

• $18.00 per hour
• 15 PTO Days per year
• 13 Paid Holidays
• Medical, Dental & Vision insurance
• Healthcare Concierge
• Financial Wellness Program
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Immediate eligibility for 403b Savings Plan with 25% match
• Supplementary Accident, Hospital Indemnity, and Specified Disease insurance
• Paid Life/AD&D insurance
• Pet, Legal, and Identity Theft programs
• Continuous training and professional development opportunities
• Mileage Reimbursement
• An opportunity to make the world a better place!

What You Will Need:

• High school diploma or equivalent, plus two (2) years of experience providing direct services to children, youth, or their families
• Knowledge of childhood development and effective parenting skills and techniques.
• Must successfully complete the required Nurturing Parenting Curriculum Training.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to form alliances with community organizations.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule and on-call rotation.
• Ability to use personal vehicle to travel for home visits and/or transport clients.
• Ability to work under stressful situations.
• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs. and climb stairs.
• Must have a valid driver's license with auto insurance coverage.

From babies to seniors, Gulf Coast JFCS serves all people in need, regardless of race, religion, culture, or gender identity. Our programs span a broad spectrum of human services, including behavioral and mental health, child welfare and adoption, family support, job and employment transition, housing, food, transportation, and home care assistance for the elderly.

Gulf Coast JFCS strives to offer opportunities to gain field experience and direct client contact hours for both Bachelor's and Master's level practicum and internships. For license-eligible candidates, we may provide both individual and group supervision from a Board-Certified qualified supervisor to help fulfill state requirements, at no cost to the employee, depending on staff availability and scheduling capacity.

Gulf Coast JFCS is committed to maintaining a work environment free of harassment, discrimination, and inappropriate behavior. Gulf Coast JFCS will not tolerate discrimination against its employees on the basis of their race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, citizenship, gender identity, sexual orientation, workers' compensation status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Background Screening Requirements: It is our policy at Gulf Coast JFCS that any candidate being considered for employment must successfully complete the organization's background screening requirements, including drug screening and applicable motor vehicle checks. Gulf Coast JFCS is a Florida Care Provider of the Department of Children and Families (DCF), Agency for Health Care (AHCA), and the Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA), which requires all candidates to undergo fingerprinting through the Florida Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse. To learn more about the Clearinghouse, please visit: HB531 | Florida Agency for Health Care Administration

Gulf Coast JFCS is an Equal Opportunity Employer, Drug-Free Workplace, and E-Verify employer.