Family Support Specialist

Educare Chicago provides high-quality care, best-in-class education, and a stimulating learning environment to children from birth to five years old on Chicago's South Side. As a program that serves low-income families, Educare's research-based program helps children develop the literacy, language, early math, and social-emotional skills they need to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.


We are recruiting individuals who want to join us in this mission and share a commitment to our core values of appreciation & respect, empowerment, diversity, excellence, learning, and communication .


Become part of our rewarding, mission-driven culture. We want our employees to feel empowered, motivated, energized, and passionate about the work they do.

The Family Support Specialist engages families of enrolled children in activities, practices, and services that support parents as the primary nurturer, experts, and teachers of their child in order to promote and sustain their child's academic learning and development and life success.


Reporting to the Family Engagement Supervisor, you will:

Family Partnership & Engagement

• Develop and maintain meaningful, supportive, and educational relationships with families to help promote self-sufficiency skills and positive outcomes for their children.

• Collaborate with families to establish comprehensive Family Partnership Agreements and monitor progress toward family goal completion.

• Implement activities and strategies that promote and enhance the parent-child relationship and engage parents in discussions about their child's growth and development.

• Provide parents with information and opportunities to learn about concrete things they can do to promote their child's learning.

• Design, implement, and monitor family development activities; encourage parent involvement through family meetings and adult education opportunities.

• Conduct periodic home visits to assess family resources and needs.

• Collaborate with teachers to implement two interdisciplinary home visits, two parent-teacher conferences, and quarterly classroom family events per year.

Education Advocacy

• Implement activities and strategies that encourage parents' involvement in their child's education, both at Educare Chicago and in the K-8 system.

• Help parents recognize and expect quality education, know how to access quality elementary schools, and learn how to advocate for a quality education for their child.

• Support the implementation of the Parents as Teachers (PAT) parent education curriculum to strengthen parent-child interaction and school readiness.

Community Partnerships & Recruitment

• Identify and develop community partnerships to help support family access to additional community resources.

• Perform at least three forms of recruitment per month to build a waitlist or fill vacancies within 30 days.

• Research and attend at least one community meeting per month.

Case Management & Documentation

• Track and document child and parent information in ChildPlus, including case notes, health data, enrollment data, and program information data.

• Ensure health data entry is accurate, complete, and includes but is not limited to immunization records and screening results

Health & Attendance Collaboration

• Collaborate with the Health Coordinator to ensure children are current on required health events, escalating concerns as needed.

• Collaborate with the ERSEA team to establish attendance plans when a child has a chronic attendance issue related to attendance monitoring.

Program Continuity & Other Duties

• Complete special projects as assigned by supervisor.

• In the absence of team members, assume oversight of program vacancies and critical program needs, including classroom coverage, to ensure uninterrupted service delivery and operational continuity.


• Follow all mandates of federal regulations, state and local licensing requirements, and Start Early's Standards of Conduct.

• Maintain confidentiality per Start Early policies; report unsafe conditions and ensure no child is left unattended.

• Implement Active Supervision strategies at all times while on program premises.

• Complete a minimum of 15 hours of required annual training as outlined by Illinois state licensing and Head Start performance standards.

• Attend all Professional Development days required by Educare Chicago and Start Early.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Social Work or related field required. Obtain a Gateways Family Services Credential or Social Work Credential within 18 months of hire.
• Minimum of two to four years of experience working with families in a community-based Early Head Start/Head Start or family support program.
• Obtain 15 hours of continuing education annually.
• Knowledge of programs and systems that serve children, families, low-income communities, and communities where Head Start/Early Head Start families live.
• Ability to engage culturally diverse populations.
• Organized thinker with exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to establish supportive relationships with children and families from diverse backgrounds. Knowledge of community resources and capacity to develop community cooperation to ensure that families receive comprehensive services.
• Knowledge of Head Start Performance Standards and Department of Human Services Child Care program guidelines.
• Knowledge of Illinois TANF regulations.
• Work Environment: Ability to work in general office and classroom conditions. Exposed to moderate noise levels. Ability to manage work in an environment that can be interrupted by violence.
• Physical Demands: Job requires lifting up to 40 pounds. Must be able to stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl. Ability to run. Must be mobile; ability to sit on the floor and stand. Ability to clearly hear and understand.
• Health Compliance Documentation: Current physical exam renewed every two years with a TB test (initial physical exam cannot be dated more than 6 months prior to the 1st day of employment). Two doses of MMR, and a TDAP less than 10 years old.

Salary: $51,825-$58,735

Our generous benefit plan includes:

Comprehensive Health Plans, Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion, Holistic Wellness Program, Professional Development Program, 401k Contribution, Paid Volunteer Days, 6 months paid parental leave, and much more.

Start Early is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to our core values by creating an inclusive environment for all staff.