FAMILY ADVOCATE

Department: Early Childhood Development   

Category: RFT     

Reports to: Family Wellness Manager   

Hours of Work: 35-40 hours/Varies     

PCN: S402   

Level: G-07     

FLSA Status: Non-exempt   

Date Approved: 01/31/2020    

SUMMARY    

This position provides family services to a caseload of up to fifty families enrolled in the program and provides coordinated services and activities with families and communities that foster family strengths, healthy living, and overall well-being. They also provide support in a case management style and act as a liaison between families, staff, the community, and other family-related services. The family advocate encourages all family members to become advocates for their children and family.   

 JOB DUTIES  

· Develop consistent, stable, and supportive relationships with families served, while maintaining professional boundaries.  

· Collaborate with families to develop child and family goals, identifying family strengths as well as areas of concern; outlining the goals and steps taken to accomplish them on established forms, and incorporating them in the individual family goals.  

· Responsible for parent communication systems using text, phone calls, flyers and Parent Activity Calendar or Newsletters to share information on training opportunities or family/community engagement activities.  

· Track children’s attendance and follow up with families on children who are absent according to Performance Standards. 

· Promote parental involvement in curriculum and activity planning, program governance, and the overall Head Start 0-5 program. 

· Assist families in identifying and accessing community resources that will help in promoting child development or strengthening the family unit, providing referrals and acting as a liaison and advocate between community resources and Head Start 0-5 families as needed.  

· Participate in family review meetings, taking case management notes and documenting in Childplus.  

· Encourage and empower families to advocate for their children in all aspects of their children’s lives. 

· Follow policies and procedures in regards to monitoring concerns and /or reporting child abuse and neglect.  

· Advise appropriate coordinator of health, family services, and educational concerns; working together to provide quality services, crisis intervention and resource referrals.  

· Complete and maintain accurate records and documentation of all provided services entering this data daily in Childplus database system to provide complete and accurate reports following program guidelines and schedules.  

· Prepares and submits to supervisor monthly reports documenting case load, in-kind, and training in a timely and accurate manner.  

· Maintain confidentiality of family records and information.  

· Recruit new families and disseminate program information to local agencies and community partners. 

· Attend and participate in staff meetings, family reviews, training's, and other scheduled activities.  

· May be required to support center-based classrooms and work in other capacities when needed, such as working in classroom, reception, and data entry.  

· Performs other duties as assigned.  

NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITY  

· Knowledge of local social service agencies, community resources, and services offered to families. 

· Ability to report to work in a timely manner. 

· Skill in operating personal computer utilizing a variety of computer software.  

· Skill in building relationships with families in order to assist them in attaining their goals. 

· Understanding and sensitivity to diverse cultures and lifestyles, and ability to work effectively with Alaska Native populations.  

· Skill in managing multiple priorities and tasks concurrently to meet deadlines.  

· Skill in oral and written communication.  

· Skill in establishing and maintaining cooperative and respectful working relationships with children, parents, supervisors, co-workers and community partners.  

· Ability to work independently as well as in teams.  

· Strong customer services skills and ability to effectively present instruction, and/or information to students, staff, parents, administrators, and public. 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (Education & Experience)

· Current credential or certification in social work, human services, family services, counseling or a related field. 

· Two (2) years experience working in an Early Childhood or Head Start Program. 

· Three references demonstrating positive experience working with families or caring for children. 

· A combination of experience, education, and training that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities may substitute for credential/certification requirements. 

· Current Infant/Toddler/Child CPR/First Aide or ability to obtain within 30 days of hire.  

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS (Education & Experience)

· BA degree in Social Work, Child Development and Family Studies or Early Childhood Education. 

· Four (4) years experience working in an Early Childhood or Head Start Program.  

WORKING ENVIRONMENT 

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.  

This position corresponds to medium work, involving physical exertion of 20-50 lbs. frequently; such exertion involves the lifting and/or moving of young children in the program, and/or goods and materials within the facility. There is frequent walking, standing, climbing, stooping, bending, and squatting/crouching in an indoor classroom as well as an outdoor environment. The majority of work is performed in a classroom setting with a wide variety of people with differing functions, personalities, and abilities. The office is a non-smoking facility with outside smoking areas. May involve local travel between various program components of FNA and home visits where exposure to extreme weather conditions are likely. Works in an environment where protection of client confidentiality is essential. Position requires cleaning the class area every day, including putting supplies in proper space, cleaning and sanitizing surfaces with bleach solution to disinfect. Personal Protective Equipment will be provided where/when needed.  

SPECIFICATIONS 

Supervision Received: 

Position receives supervision from Family Wellness Manager. Work will be monitored through weekly meetings, monthly reports, and regular communication with your supervisor. General guidelines for operations are based on program requirements and the general policies and procedures of FNA. 

Supervision Exercised: 

The incumbent will be expected to work in collaboration with the teachers and families using best practices related to family centered services. 

Position Impact: 

Impact at the program level is high. Program’s level of compliance with program standards is directly affected by the effective performance of duties, especially as they relate to providing family and community engagement opportunities for families of young children.  

Contacts: 

Contacts include, and not limited to, volunteers, staff, parents, children, and outside agencies. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT STATEMENT 

This Job Description describes the essential functions and qualifications. It is not an exhaustive statement of all the duties, responsibilities, or qualifications of the job; and management has the exclusive right to alter this job description at any time without notice. Incumbent(s) may not be required to perform all duties listed and may be required to perform additional, job-related duties. This document is not intended to exclude modifications consistent with providing reasonable accommodation for a disability.    

This position will (or may) require you to frequently (or incidentally) drive your personal vehicle for FNA business. Per FNA’s automotive insurance policy, in order to drive a FNA-owned vehicle, an individual must be at least 21 years of age. In order to drive a FNA-owned vehicle with consumers in the vehicle, an individual must be at least 25 years of age. No employee may transport a FNA consumer in a personal vehicle. 

Continued employment status will be contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal background investigation and the pre-employment drug testing process. Where required, continued employment status (post job offer) will be contingent upon employee providing certification of annual tuberculosis (TB) screening and medical certification that employee does not, because of infectious or communicable disease, pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health and safety of program participants or others in the workplace.