Family Advocate-Center Based

Job Summary:

Incumbent helps families become self-sufficient and provides an environment where adults and children can develop to their fullest potential.

• Develop Family Partnership Agreements (FPA) and make referrals to agencies. Serves as advocate for families to accomplish goals set in FPA. Provide on-going contact and follow up with families.
• Provide information on community services, follow up services, and make referrals to assure delivery of needed services for families served.
• Collaborate with Head Start parents and service providers to ensure children receive required screenings and examinations and follow-up treatment.
• Track Health services for children.
• Maintain confidentiality of all child and family records.
• Co-facilitate Service Delivery Team Meetings with Teachers and Teacher Assistants.
• Perform recruitment, selection and enrollment functions including publicity, answering questions, assisting with completing applications, input application data, and preparing acceptance letters, and completing classroom assignments in collaboration with Center Manager.
• Develop and maintain a waiting list and fill vacancies within thirty (30) days.
• Ensures entry of information on families to Child Plus system.
• Assist with Parent Orientation.
• Record and monitor monthly attendance. Contact families when children are absent three (3) consecutive days without prior notification and excused absence.
• Confer with and counsel parents as needed.
• Maintain thorough, accurate, and up-to-date social service records on assigned Head Start families.
• Contact Family Partnership Specialist to identify inadequacies of existing community resources and/or the need for additional services; advocate for improved or new services.
• Coordinate transportation through Center Manager for children and/or parents to screenings, treatment and therapy appointments and/or services, and meetings as needed.
• Provide information for and assist in the distribution of program and parent newsletters.
• Keep the Family Partnership Specialist, other Specialists and Mentor Teachers, (as appropriate) regularly informed of service area activities being planned and implemented.
• Be available to assist the Specialists, Center Managers, and Teachers to carry out programmatic decisions to implement the Head Start program.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Center Manager.

• Associate Degree or Bachelor Degree in Social Work, Sociology, Psychology, Counseling or directly related field, preferred
• Volunteer and/or regular work experience in the social service field, required
• An equivalent combination of education and experience accepted.

• Knowledge of principles of social work and case management as related to low-income families.
• Skilled in listening, interviewing, interpersonal skills, working collaboratively and cooperatively with community organizations and individuals from various backgrounds, gathering information, conducting surveys, analyzing problems and making plans and recommendations based on findings, prioritizing and organizing tasks.

Essential Physical Functions: Incumbent is regularly required to walk, sit, and use hands and fingers to handle or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; and talk and hear. Occasionally required to stand, climb, balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl.
Regularly lift and/or move up to ten (10) pounds and frequently lift and/or move up to twenty five (25) pounds. Specific vision abilities required including close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Equipment Used: Office equipment such as P.C., telephone system, calculators, fax machines and copy machines.