Job Description

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

SUMMARY: Responsible for engaging and involving families of children enrolled in Head Start, Early Head Start, and/or Child Care Partnership through activities, practices, and services that support parents as the primary nurturers, experts, and teachers of their child to promote and sustain their child’s development and life success. Supports compliance with the Family/Community Partnership and Program Governance Performance Standards. To act as an Ambassador to the Agency and to reflect on all Agency matters positively.

REPORTS TO: Regional Manager

FLSA STATUS OF A FAMILY ADVOCATE: Full-Time, Non-Exempt

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A FAMILY ADVOCATE: Include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

1. PROMOTING AND ENHANCING PARENT/CHILD RELATIONSHIPS

• Collaborate with classroom and administrative staff to promote families’ understanding and management of their child’s behaviors, including positive approaches to discipline, as well as management of their emotional responses.
• Participate in all child/family staffings.
• Promote Family Literacy.
• Actively participate in staff meetings, trainings, and other collaborative planning meetings.
• Assist in follow-up of health screenings, immunization verifications, and outside agency referrals to promote needed treatment and compliance with licensing and program requirements.

2 . FAMILY PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND GOAL SETTING

• Develop and sustain collaborative relationships with an assigned caseload of families and serve as their primary point of contact on behalf of their children and their involvement in ICAA Head Start/Early Head Start/Child Care Partnership. Utilize all formal and informal opportunities to build and maintain relationships.
• Lead work with families to identify family strengths, and areas of need, and to develop goals through Family Assessments, including the use of Family Maps, Surveys, and the Needs Assessment. Conduct regular follow-ups on family goals and objectives.
• Support and assist families in crisis.
• Conduct regular home visits and face-to-face interactions with families.
• Make referrals and link families to needed community services; follow up on referrals made and outcomes to help ensure families’ needs are met.

3. PARENT INVOLVEMENT & COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

• Coordinate the planning and facilitation of family meetings, family activities, and parent education.
• Attend parent meetings and functions.
• Conduct follow-up on absenteeism (including excessive tardiness) to identify and address barriers to children’s regular attendance.
• Develop strategies with families that help them appreciate and contribute to the educational activities of the agency and successfully use their voices to advocate on behalf of their children and themselves.
• Promote parents’ participation in program governance including Policy Council and their local parent committee.
• Provide opportunities and promote the participation of fathers.
• Collaborate with the Teacher in the child’s current setting (HSP, EHS, CCP) to involve parents in all transitions, i.e., into the program, from EHS to HSP, and from HSP to 4K/Kindergarten or to another setting.
• Develop working relationships with the local schools and Birth to Three Programs to help coordinate the successful transition of children and families from Early Head Start/Child Care Partnership to Head Start Preschool and then to their school of choice.
• Participate in the recruitment, enrollment, and orientation of families. including completing paperwork with families.
• Provide content for parent newsletter as needed.
• Cultivate relationships with appropriate and effective referral agencies and individuals to enable referrals for families to receive needed services not provided by the program.
• Responsible for active supervision of all children during Head Start Preschool/EHS/CCP activities.

4. UTILIZE INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT CHILD/FAMILY/AGENCY OUTCOMES

• Maintain up-to-date records in ChildPlus, track monthly statistics, and generate reports as needed for enrollment, attendance, meal service, class lists, transportation needs, and parent volunteer hours.
• Document in ChildPlus all significant correspondence or contact with parents/caregivers including but not limited to in-person visits, phone calls, texts or emails, invitations sent for family night, education given at family night, and resources given to families (individual or sent home in backpacks).
• Complete Family Needs Assessment twice per program year in ChildPlus. PIR and family contact information should be updated as necessary.
• Understand the role of a Mandated Reporter. Monitor and report child abuse and neglect as per policy and procedures.
• Participate in self-assessment and program monitoring and continuous improvement of services and ensure compliance with Head Start Performance Standards.
• Responsible for supporting the program in collecting in-kind to meet federal requirements.
• Keep and submit records and reports as required.
• Attend meetings, trainings, and appropriate professional development activities.
• Other duties as required.

5. OTHER ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Must follow the agency’s Standards of Conduct, Code of Ethics, and Child Abuse and Neglect reporting policies.
• To the extent possible, employees will not provide direct services to their family members. However, when this is not possible, to minimize potential conflicts of interest, employees should avoid providing direct services to their family members. If an employee is responsible for the care and guidance of closely related children, they should make every effort to transfer these responsibilities to another caregiver within the classroom. This approach helps maintain professional boundaries and ensures im-partiality in service delivery.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES OF A FAMILY ADVOCATE:

• None

BENEFITS OF THE FAMILY ADVOCATE:

• Dental Insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance
• Short-term and Long-term disability

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE FAMILY ADVOCATE: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE OF THE FAMILY ADVOCATE: A.A. Degree in Human Services, Social Work, Psychology, or a related field preferred. Minimum of a credential or certification in social work, human services, family services, counseling, or a related field.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Demonstrates clear and complete oral and written communication skills, appropriate respect, and good listening skills. Maintain confidentiality and professionalism of all family, volunteer, and staff information. Communicates optimistically, positively, and with honesty and openness.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Manages time effectively and uses program resources wisely. Must have computer skills.

REASONING ABILITY: Demonstrates effective leadership, teaming, and conflict resolution skills and demonstrates knowledge of appropriate child management strategies. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES: Ability to serve as a productive team member on an interdisciplinary team of professionals, respect and respond competently to the culture, traditions, lifestyle, language, and values of each family and community, and maintain professional boundaries and confidentiality.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS: Valid driver’s license. Documentation of a degree.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: 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 essential functions.

• Ability to lift and carry a 40-50-pound child or other objects, to sit on the floor or low chairs to put you at the level with the children, participate with the children in outside activities daily during the program year, and participate in classroom meals as a role model for the children.
• Ability to travel.

WORK ENVIRONMENT OF THE FAMILY ADVOCATE: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• The ability to work and communicate with diverse groups of people requires a non-judgmental, culturally sensitive, social justice approach as applied both internally and externally by the Agency.
• Ability to work in a team atmosphere and willingness to help others when needed.
• Ability to participate and adhere to the development of an Agency culture of quality improvement, compliance, and high ethical performance within the Agency.

THIS JOB DESCRIPTION IS NOT ALL-INCLUSIVE AND AN EMPLOYEE WILL ALSO PERFORM OTHER REASONABLE, RELATED BUSINESS DUTIES AS REQUIRED AND AS ASSIGNED BY THE HEAD START DIRECTOR AND OTHER MANAGEMENT.

THIS ORGANIZATION RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REVISE OR CHANGE THE JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS THE NEED ARISES. THIS JOB DESCRIPTION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A WRITTEN OR IMPLIED CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT.

ICAA is an equal opportunity employer and provider operating under an approved Affirmative Action Plan. As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to apply.

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