The Family Advocate works with families for the purpose of providing quality, comprehensive child/family support services to preschoolers, infants, toddlers and twos and their families. Family Advocates provide support, training, resources and case management to assist parents/guardians in meeting the needs of their children/families and enhancing his/her role as the primary influence on their child’s education and development. Family Advocates recruit, determine eligibility for program, enroll families in program, and work with parents/guardians in identifying and achieving goals and assessing support services. Efficiently and effectively in collaboration with PFCE Manager, PFCE Specialist and Cultural Liaison implement quality family engagement activities involving parents and children from diverse populations served.

• Recruits, selects and enrolls eligible children and families for the purpose of providing comprehensive services, child/family support services and encouraging family involvement/engagement, maintaining full enrollment and serving families most in need of services according to federal guidelines.

• Assesses family and child needs (complete need assessment, skill inventory, conducts surveys, interviews, etc.) for the purpose of determining eligibility and/or developing a Partnership Agreement action plan to remove barriers to child’s success in school.

• Assists parents in a variety of areas (filling out forms/surveys, health, nutrition, budgeting, job skills, goal setting, etc.) for the purpose of developing a Family Partnership Plan to remove barriers to child’s success in school and supporting the family in basic life skills and economic stability

• Maintaining regular, ongoing contact with families to support the achievement of family goals

• Orients prospective participants (center tours, program overview and eligibility requirements, benefits, etc.) for the purpose of establishing familiarity with program, services, and required processes

• Assists with providing support to obtain medical home, well-child exams, health required documentation, immunization verifications, and outside agency referrals (hearing, vision, immunization compliance, height/weight, etc.) for the purpose of promoting needed treatment and complying with the Head Start Performance, state, and local requirements.

• Visits families’ homes for the purpose of enrolling children in program, interviewing parents, informing parents of school and/or community resources and providing child development/parenting information, and setting family goals.

• In collaboration with content managers, center managers plan and/or facilitate parent center committee meetings and parent engagement events (health, nutrition, child development, mental health, budgeting, etc.) for the purpose of providing family support and complying with the HS Performance Standards.

• Participate in workshops, meetings, community events (leadership team meetings, conferences, etc.) for the purposed of receiving and/or presenting information.

• Provides outreach to communities, community leaders and organizations for the purpose of recruiting families to Head Start, developing resources and building partnerships with community members.

Professional Responsibilities:

• Responsible for reporting potential child abuse and neglect (Child Maltreatment) according to the Head Start/Early Start Policies and Procedures.
• Must be able to periodically attend out of town conferences and training sessions as needed
• Completing and submitting required forms and records in a timely and accurate fashion

Parent Family Community Engagement (PFCE):

• Coordinate with local agencies, community service organizations and educational providers and partners.
• Provide information on the Head Start program to the community.
• Participate in and assist with community events.
• Assist parents/community in the completion of the Annual Self-Assessment.
• Supporting parents to organize and/or participate in parent/program activities including orientation volunteering, social events, educational programs, parent committee meetings, and Policy Council meetings

• Support recruitment plans to assure full enrollment in program
• Support enrollment and attendance to assure full program capacity (enrollment), by selecting the next eligible child from the waitlist.
• Work with School Readiness Manager regarding enrollment of children with disabilities
• Monitor classroom absences to ensure average daily attendance rate of 90%.
• Follow up with parents/guardians who did not call to inform the child will be absent from school.

Position Qualifications:

• Minimum of 1 year of experience in a social services or early childhood position Preferred
• Proficient in conversational Spanish
• 2 years of case management experience in a Child Development, Head Start, or Early Head Start organization

• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Exceptional customer service, and interpersonal skills
• Effective problem-solving and influencing skills
• Strong organizational, self-motivation, and decision-making skills

The physical demands and work environment characteristics 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.