Family Advocate

Job title  

Family Advocate

Program 

Family Services

Reports to  

Family and Community Engagement Director

General Description 

It is the responsibility of the Family Advocate to encourage and assist the family in its own efforts to set goals and improve quality of family life, to facilitate parents' awareness of community services and resources, encourage appropriate utilization of services, to maintain an outreach and recruitment process which systematically ensures enrollment of eligible children regardless of race, sex, creed, color, national origin, abilities or disabilities, and to facilitate and encourage parent participation in center and program related activities. The Family Advocate produces results compliant with local policies and procedures, State Licensing requirements, Performance Standards, and accrediting agency regulations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities 

·        Complete Interview Applications/Enrollment Packets

·        Assists in planning and implementing all recruitment, enrollment, and orientation services. Timely recruitment and enrollment according to a timeline distributed in January of each year by the Family Services Unit. Enrollment goals must be met. Ongoing recruitment is required to maintain a waiting list of children ready to enroll. Recruitment activities must be tracked and reported monthly. NCPK enrollment must consistently be met. Not achieving timely enrollment reflects on job performance.

·        Complete daily student attendance and follow-up with student’s absences. Ensuring that all students are maintaining 85% monthly attendance.

·        Work closely with Teachers, Center Directors, Case Managers, and the Family Service Specialists to ensure coordination of services for children and parents.

·        Provide assistance to families in emergency/crisis situations. Make documented referrals to the appropriate community agencies and case management. Follow-up with referrals to ensure timely and adequate services.

·        Must maintain program and client confidentiality policies.

·        Participate in reflective supervision opportunities with supervisor.

·        Report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect to the Center Director who will follow the child abuse/neglect reporting procedures.

·        Ensure timely and accurate data entry of all family and child data beginning at application and throughout the child and family’s enrollment in the HS/EHS program.

·        Communicate in an empathetic manner while maintaining professional boundaries. Respect parents as their child’s first and primary teacher.

·        Support and participate in quarterly student case staffing with Case Manager, Teacher, and Center Director. Coordinate assigned students case staffing with staff. In addition, attend other meetings to ensure coordination of services to children and families. Ensure that documentation is timely and accurately entered Child Plus.

·        Follow-Up as needed, regarding identified family needs discussed during case staffing meetings, FPA’s and document information into ChildPlus. If a case staffing has been closed and concerns emerge with student, the case staffing can be re-open as needed.

·        Completes documentation of required actions and events in Child Plus daily (applications, routine Family contacts, referrals, follow-up, and health information).

·        In conjunction with Center Committee meetings, plan and coordinate training on topics which reflect the required parent trainings that are held yearly, must identify suggestions from parents on parent survey sheets.

·        Maintains a comprehensive and confidential record keeping system for assigned caseload and ensure that all records are kept up to date.

·        Help facilitate and support monthly Center Parent Committee meetings with Center Director and the Center Committee chairperson. Responsible for submitting a copy of the monthly Center Committee meeting agenda, minutes, and sign in sheets and any handouts to Center Director.

·        Assist with arranging referral transportation for parents to health services and other program related activities as needed.

·        Obtain a current physical and dental exam for each child at the time of enrollment. Ensure that physicals, dentals and other required screenings and assessments remain current. Follow-up on a regular and ongoing basis to support children and families in acquiring ongoing treatment of health, nutritional, dental, or other conditions identified by public health institutions.

·        Submit and uploads copies of required and appropriate forms to ChildPlus; follow up on children's physicals and dentals to maintain up to date record of the child’s health, dental and other screenings, and assessments.

·        Collaborate with NFP Nurse Home Visitor to ensure adequate support and resources for dually enrolled families. Participate in scheduled meetings with Nurse Home Visitor(s) to discuss attendance concerns and actions taken, referrals and follow-ups completed, and emerging child/family needs to promote collaborative services. Maintain documentation of meetings in a binder located at the center.

·        Share in the responsibility of maintaining complete and accurate files by filing, entering data into ChildPlus, monitoring and sharing in the development of solutions to emerging challenges.

·        Collaborate, share information, and partner with FSC Career Coaches in serving dually enrolled participants.

·        Performs other job duties as assigned by supervisor.

·        Support families through the transition process (into HS/EHS, into kindergarten, etc.).

Essential Qualifications 

·       

·        Family Service Credential (obtained within 6 months of hire), High School Diploma or AA Degree. Certification/Degree in social work, human services, family services, counseling, or a related field; 1 year case management experience preferred; bi-lingual skills preferred.

·        Experience in Social Service area or related field through internship or volunteer experience.

·        Commitment to goals and objectives of Guilford Child Development Program with particular emphasis on provision of services to families and children.

·        Demonstrated ability to exhibit professional attitudes to staff, families and children and ability to carry out responsibilities with a minimum of supervision.

·        Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills.

·        Ability to work collaboratively and harmoniously with others to address needs and concerns.

·        Availability of automobile during working hours and a valid driver's license and insured

Americans with Disability and Workers’ Compensation Specifications 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand, walk sit, use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls, reach with hands and arms, climb stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, talk hear, taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close, distance, color, peripheral depth and the ability to adjust focus.  

·       While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time.  

·       The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.