Family Advocate

Job Description Summary: Under the direct supervision of the Director of Family Support Program (FSD) Family Advocate provides general case management, linkages to services, facilitates parenting curricula individually, in groups, either in person or via Zoom.  Travel to home visits, schools, medical appointments, and etc.  Maintain the needs of each client, assist clients with creating and completing individualized service plans.  Documentation of client’s engagement or participation in funders database.  Coordinate services including housing programs, day care respite programs, employment and training, continuing education and training, continuing education programs, alcohol and drug treatment services, etc.  Compete monthly, and quarterly reports.  Work with other services providers, build connections within communities, other job duties as assigned. 

Reporting Relationship:

Reports To: Director of Family Support Program

Supervises (Position Title): None

Essential Responsibilities & Duties:

• Conducts individual and family interviews to assess client strengths and needs, formulates treatment goals, selects treatment approach, and achieves treatment objectives.
• Provides emotional support and offers concrete suggestions.
• Maintains necessary records on client services, and documenting case notes in the funder provided database in a timely manner. Completes monthly statistics and reports as required and prepares summaries for consultation, and monitoring for referral purposes.
• Establish a trusting relationship with all family members
• Coordinate community services including housing programs, day care programs, employment training, continuing education programs, alcohol and drug treatment services, etc.
• Facilitates parenting curricula, individually, or in groups.
• Performs other duties as assigned within the Family Support Program

* Non-essential duites*

Essential Competences :

• Interpersonal Skills:
  • Possess the ability to partner with clients individually and/or in a familial setting to help them mobilize resources and build resilience.
  • Maintain appropriate boundary setting even during emotionally charged and difficult situations and interactions with clients.
  • Demonstrate the experiences, beliefs, attitude and awareness that indicate cultural sensitivity to the client populations served.
  • Must be able to objectively evaluate situations through observation, discussion, and research.
  • Must work with other staff in a fair and honest manner while treating others with respect, compassion and understanding.
• Communication Skills:
  • Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.
  • Possess active listening, concentration, and empathy skills to engage and establish trust with clients.
• Organizational Skills:
  • Effectively manage paperwork and case load while being able to identify a prioritization of tasks.
• Technological skills:
  • Ability to navigate Microsoft Office and related technologies to communicate with team and work on documentation.
  • Willingness to learn and utilize new technologies.
• Commitment to Mission:
  • Comply with all Ada S. McKinley policies and procedures as outlined in the organizational operating procedures and human resources manuals.
  • Participate in the Teamwork, Innovation, and Excellence initiative.
  • Contribute to the One Ada Culture.
  • Embrace and practices the concepts of a growth mindset.

Child Development & Youth Services Core Competencies: 

• Adaptable: Adjust to new conditions, changes, challenges, and experiences. 
• Communicator: Is understood by others (both verbally and in writing) and understands the ideas and perspectives of others. 
• Uses a Growth Mindset: Embraces their potential to learn and grow and views successes and failures as development opportunities. 
• Has Integrity: Honesty, trustworthiness, ownership, accountability, and respect are hallmarks of integrity.   
• Collaborator: Cooperates and works well with peers, colleagues and team members by giving and receiving ideas, comments, and feedback with an open mind. 

Requirements:

• The position requires a minimum bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, with a major in one of the Behavioral Sciences i.e., Social Work, School Guidance Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling, School Psychology, Criminal Justice, etc. 
• One or more years of social service/child welfare experience.
• Valid Illinois Driver’s License and insurance.

 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Demonstrates the experiences, beliefs, attitude and awareness that indicate cultural sensitivity to the client population served.
• Ability to partner with clients individually, in family, to help them mobilize resources and their inner capacity to address problems they face.
• Ability to coordinate effectively with other team members, other Agency resources and outside services in addressing client needs.

Mental/Physical Demands: Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.  Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.  Work requires concentration using a computer in analyzing and manipulating data. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear.  The employee frequently is required to sit.  The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk.  The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

Environmental Conditions: The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.  Duties are performed in a typical office environment.  No unusual or adverse working conditions exist.

This description documents the general contents and requirements of the job.  It is not to be construed as an exhausted statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements.  The principal duties and responsibilities shown are all essential job functions except for those indicated with an asterisk (*). The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.