Family Partner

Family Partner

La Casa de Don Pedro, Inc. (LCDP) was founded in 1972 by a group of local activists seeking to establish educational and charitable programs to meet the needs of Newark's Puerto Rican community. Named in honor of Don Pedro Albizu Campos, LCDP has since evolved to become the largest Latinx-led organization in the state of New Jersey, serving 50,000 Newark and Essex County residents annually under three central pillars: Early Childhood (Prenatal, Early Head Start, Head Start, and Pre-K); Healthy Homes (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Weatherization, Lead Remediation/Abatement); and Community Empowerment (Women & Family Center, Immigration, Workforce Readiness, Youth Enrichment, Housing & Home Ownership Support, and Community Organizing).

La Casa de Don Pedro seeks Family Partners who will support the Family Success Center (FSC) Coordinator and/or Family Success Center (FSC) Site Coordinator in assisting with the day-to-day administration and operations of the Community Empowerment pillar's Family Success Centers. To be successful in this role, the Family Partner should be able to partner with individuals, families, community partners and stakeholders to build relationships in the Family Success Center and the city of Newark community. The Family Partner will serve as an integral member of the Community Empowerment team and will contribute by attending and responding to the family's needs in a helpful, supportive, and timely manner.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Engagement

• Uses a process that is welcoming and invited to orient and introduce families and individual family members to the Family Success Centers.
• Creates opportunities for and encourages families and individual family members to connect with each other.
• Creates opportunities for engage families and individual family members to bring all their family members to Family Success Centers.
• Assists the Managing Director in designing and maintain furniture, decorations, and food to make the Family Success Centers homelike, reflecting the culture of the Family Success Centers and Newark community.
• Provides families within depth information about the service programs available.

Active Listening

• Creates a space for families to share their goals and/or identify their needs. Uses meaningful inquiry strategies to understand families' interests, goals, and needs.
• Uses a process to debrief with families and individual family members about their stated interest, goals, and needs to match them with available FSC and community resources.
• Facilitates parent involvement and parent leadership at the Family Success Centers.
• Assist Managing Director in identifying community resources.

Connecting

• Identifies and provides information regarding resources, services and activities offered within the community that meet families' and individual family member's interests, goals, and needs.
• Checks in with families and individual family members on their experience in connecting with resources. Asks if they were useful and, if not, help the member locate another resource.
• Keeps abreast of services and resources available to families, especially in the areas of health, parent education, employment opportunities, training, and housing.
• Collaborates with families and community partners to identify the strengths, challenges, and service gaps in the community.
• Identifies opportunities to participate in community event such as health fairs, volunteer expos, parent liaison meetings, parent breakfasts, and community advisory Council meetings.

Advocacy

• Assists families with making appointments and navigating the social service system, and by providing initial introductions to providers, as needed.
• Partners with families to support the development of skills to advocate on their own behalf.
• Coaches' families and individual family members on how to access resources or services based on their interests, goals, and needs.
• Connects with external resources on behalf of the member to access the needed resources.

Coordination

• Leads or assists in the implementation of Family Success Center activities and events as assigned by Site Director by facilitating groups, hosting events, running meetings, collaborating with community residents and service providers.
• Encourages families and individual family members to participate in volunteer activities at the Family Success Center.
• Conducts community outreach to increase awareness of the Family Success Center and La Casa de Don Pedro programs and services.

Leadership & Skill Building

• Incorporates the Standards for Prevention Programs, Principles of Family Support, Protective Factors, and the Family Success Practice Profile into all aspects of the Family Success Centers.
• Recognizes the strengths, skills, and talents of program participants in order to facilitate parent involvement and parent leadership at the Family Success Centers.

Continuous Improvement

• Ensures excellence in program implementation by analyzing assigned projects, setting goals, developing plans, and utilizing time effectively and efficiently.
• Utilizes data to guide decision-making, refine practice and improve services.

Other

• Administer and observe the organization's office operations, policies, and procedures.
• Other duties may be assigned to meet business needs.

Requirements

Educational, Required Skills and Experience Requirements:

• Associate degree in Social Services with 2 years' experience in development or implementation of community-based services, prevention programs, or any other human service program
• Bilingual preferred (English/Spanish).
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to plan, develop, and implement social service programs.
• Outstanding human relations and the ability to function in a team environment.
• Effective oral and written communication skills.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite and working knowledge of database and reporting tools.
• Ability to work independently and in a team-oriented environment.
• Must complete and pass a fingerprint criminal background check and Child Abuse Record Information form as required by the State of NJ.
• Valid New Jersey Driver's License, safe driving record, and vehicle availability is required.

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Required to lift to 15 pounds.
• *The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Salary Description Compensation Based Experience and Education