Shire Jobs

Family Advocate for Head Start

[If you are passionate about making a difference in the lives of children and families, we encourage you to apply for the position of Family Advocate with our Head Start program. As a Family Advocate, this position assists families with completing the application process, as well as recruits, registers and selects eligible children and families that meet the selection criteria for the Head Start program. As a Family Advocate, you would implement personalized family partnerships with goals and responsibilities, providing opportunities for interaction and conducting routine/scheduled follow-ups and home visits with each family.

Service Key Result Areas: ]{role="document"}

• Family and Community Partnerships
• Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance (ERSEA)
• Child Health and Developmental Services

Requirements:

• Education: Bachelor's Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, Family Studies, or a related field.
• Experience: Have experience working with low-income families including those of diverse backgrounds and the ability to build rapport with families.
• Knowledge: Have an understanding of human development, family dynamics, case management and the social services spectrum within Montgomery County, TN.
• Skills: Proficient in planning, organizing, scheduling, and recordkeeping; excellent verbal and written communication.
• Ability: Work as a member of a team; possess a valid Driver's License, dependable transportation, and maintain a vehicle liability insurance policy.

Responsibilities:

Recruit, register and select eligible children and families for the Head Start program.

Assist families with the application process ensuring accuracy and completeness.

Select children and families based on eligibility requirements (e.g. age, income).

Maintain a center waiting list throughout the program year based on the current approved selection criteria.

Track each child's attendance, monitoring irregular absenteeism and provide intervention services as needed.

Engage each family in order to establish and implement personalized family partnerships and plans that will describe family goals, responsibilities, time tables, strategies for achieving goals, and progress; revise as needed.

Document and maintain confidential, current, and accurate records on each child and their family in each child's file and in Child Plus.

Provide social services to each family and make appropriate referrals to other agencies to support the accomplishment of goals.

Create opportunities for interactions and conduct routine/scheduled follow-ups and home visits with each family, ensuring that all interactions are respectful regarding cultural differences and diversity.

Develop and implement parent training programs and male involvement activities at assigned center.

Provide a written communication system for parents regarding relevant services, events, activities, and information to help develop and maintain healthy families in the family's native language.

Develop monthly newsletters and calendar of events.

Gather initial health-related information and documents from parents including written parental consent for information to be sent to or received from outside agencies.

Monitor and track each child's health screening and EPSDT/well child care schedule and ensure that information and documents are appropriately documented in the child's health record; if a child is not up-to-date on an age appropriate schedule of well child care, assist parent with making necessary arrangements to bring child up-to-date.

Ensure that each child has an ongoing source of continuous and accessible health care; assist parents in accessing a source of ongoing health care.

Establish a system of ongoing communication with the parents of children with identified health needs to facilitate the implementation of follow-up pla s.

Obtain parent or guardian authorization for all health and developmental referrals/procedures administered through the program or by contract or agreement, and ensure that the results of diagnostic and treatment procedures and ongoing care are shared with and understood by the parents.

Attend Multidisciplinary Team Meetings when the Child Services Manager of Health/Nutrition and Mental Health/Disabilities is unavailable.

Assist in the implementation of the Parent, Family and Community Engagement Framework and school readiness goals.

Participate in community as