Family Advocate

Title: Family Advocate Reports To: Family Engagement Coordinator or Head Start Director's Designee Position Job Summary The Family Advocate (FA) will work as a member of a team whose primary role is to engage all families to partner with us to promote children's healthy development and school readiness. The Family Advocate uses knowledge of the principles of family engagement to support families in their roles as their child's primary educator, encourage parent/child interactions that promote children's school readiness and healthy development, and enhance family well-being. In this role, the Family Advocate will provide more intensive and targeted support to families based upon their individualized needs. The Family Advocate will work as part of the program's broader team to expand family engagement strategies that will create a sense of belonging and shared community among families, with the goal of enhancing the relationships and support that families provide to one another in their shared aspirations for their children and themselves. The position may involve reassignment of caseload and/or center location as deemed necessary for program operations. The Family Advocate will provide direct services to a caseload of approximately 40 families, communicating with families in an effective format that is most accessible. Job Responsibilities Promote Family Environments that Enhance Children's Development Support Families to Meet Self-Identified Goals and Needs Engage Families to Support One Another Enhance Program Collaboration Maintain Accurate and Timely Record Keeping and Reporting PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTS THAT ENHANCE CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT Engage families as partners in their children's healthy development and school readiness. Participate in outreach, recruitment and attendance follow up activities to engage families in our program; and to motivate their active participation Engage families in the Family Partnership Agreement process in order to build relationships and shared accountability for promoting children's development Individualize family engagement and relationship-building to be appropriate to families' cultural context, as well as respectful of family circumstances. Conduct a minimum of two in-person visits with the family in their home or a location of their choice annually Support active supervision within the site and classrooms Support the classroom, as needed Engage families in individualized, in home and group experiences to enhance parent/child interactions that research shows foster school readiness through consistent family routines, positive guidance and discipline, experience rich home environments and literacy activities Utilize in-classroom time and home visits to build deeper understanding of the relationship between children's development and their home environments; as well as to model and coach families in positive parent/child interactionS SUPPORT FAMILIES TO MEET SELF-IDENTIFIED GOALS/NEEDS Engage in a process of collaborative partnership building based upon supporting relationships with families of children receiving Head Start services. Utilize family self-assessment information to assist families with self-identified goals to enhance self-sufficiency in areas such as education, employment, housing, and access to community resources Provide more intensive weekly face to face or phone contact with vulnerable families on caseload as identified through their self-assessment or family interactions/communication. Assure that families receive immediate (24-48 hours) support during times of crisis, and assist with referrals to community-based resources to meet their needs Identify and access services and resources responsive to family interests and goals and follow-up with parents to ensure that services met their expectations and needs. Analyze self-sufficiency data and utilize data/results to plan and coordinate a variety of parent cohort groups that allow families to support one another to achieve self-sufficiency goals. Coordinate or refer families to opportunities for continuing education, employment training/services, and housing through formal or informal networking in the community. Engage Families To Support One Another Foster a sense of community and sense of belonging among families in order to strengthen social capital Conduct parent group meetings and center-based workshops and activities designed to build social capital and create a welcoming program community committed to family engagement in children's learning and development Cultivate family leadership and support their advocacy efforts through participation in program governance bodies such as Parent Committee and Policy Council, as well as neighborhood and community based advisory groups Work in conjunction with Center staff and families to plan and conduct a wide variety of family engagement activities that provide opportunities for families to support one another. ENHANCE PROGRAM COLLABORATION Build relationships that will enhance communication and collaboration among internal and external stakeholders Work side by side with health, education and other members of the family engagement team to support families to be fully engaged in all aspects of our program Establish regular coordination and communication with Health, and Education team members in order to provide more intensive support to families of children with chronic health conditions and special needs, including targeted goal setting, and assistance with building family advocacy skills to navigate community systems of care for their children Work in coordination with Health and ERSEA team members to assure that all children on caseload are up to date on Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program requirements designated by the Medicaid agency in the State of Connecticut, including receiving timely evaluation and treatment for identified concerns Develop effective communication and collaborative strategies with teaching teams to encourage family engagement in home learning activities, including individualizing activities based upon family interests and children's developmental status Supports and implements the use of a research-based parenting curriculum that builds upon families' knowledge Participates in multidisciplinary team meetings and family caseload reviews as appropriate Establish and maintain working relationships with community partners to strengthen access to resources and training identified as priority goal areas by families MAINTAIN ACCURATE AND TIMELY RECORD KEEPING AND REPORTING Effectively manage workload and ensure accurate record-keeping and documentation Maintain accurate electronic and hard copy records and case notes to support positive child and family outcomes. Assure that all ERSEA (Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment and Attendance) information is accurately captured and documented in electronic and hard copy records to ensure 85% ADA is maintained for their caseload Contact families of absent students within 1 hour of the school day and document reason for absence Document efforts to assist families to identify their strengths, needs and self-sufficiency goals through completion of Family Self-Assessment, Family Partnership Agreement, and case notes in real time (24-48 hours) Record, monitor and follow up on referrals for support services Submit monthly reports by third business day of the following month Updates all emergency contacts at a minimum twice a year Updates all PIR information on families in the database monthly Minimum Qualifications An Associate's Degree (AA) or Baccalaureate Degree (BA) in social work, human services, family services, counseling, or a related field preferred A passion for achieving positive child and family outcomes through high quality family engagement Experience, training, and skill assisting the parents of young children to advocate for their families Ability to effectively community verbally and in writing Experience working in low income diverse communities preferred Bilingual/Multilingual is an asset Pass physical examination, background check, and fingerprinting screen Computer literacy in email, word processing and internet navigation Salary and Terms of Employment: 10-month work year Local 3429 BOE Paraprofessionals, Group 2 ($36,344) To view Medical Benefit information, click here: Evaluation Performance will be evaluated in accordance with provisions of the Board of Education's policy on evaluation of personnel and the Head Start Program Performance Standards guided by the Family Advocate Success Rubric NOTE: The above description covers the principal duties and responsibilities of the job. The description shall not be construed as a complete listing of all duties or a contract. In all cases, these relationships, functions, and applications are subject to change as necessary. #J-18808-Ljbffr