Family Advocate/ERSEA

Umatilla-Morrow Head Start•Hermiston, OR

About The Position

The Family Advocate/ERSEA assists the Family Services Manager with coordinating and implementing family and community strengthening and comprehensive health services for families participating in full-day Head Start and Early Head Start options. The role implements recruitment and enrollment processes, supports family goals and access to social services, promotes parent involvement and community leadership, and assists with health services and parent education. The position serves the Hermiston and Stanfield locations. The Family Advocate recruits, selects, and enrolls children and families; maintains enrollment levels; conducts recruitment home visits and family assessments; and coordinates referrals and follow-up. The role builds partnerships with families, agency staff, and community resources; supports parent involvement, father engagement, volunteer and career-ladder activities, and community advocacy; and assists with health screenings, health records, referrals, and parent-staff conferences as assigned. The role also requires timely and accurate records and reports, confidentiality, participation in meetings and training, adherence to agency policies and professional standards, and a commitment to serving culturally diverse families. A bachelor's degree in a related field is preferred, or the employee must obtain a relevant credential or certification within 18 months of hire. The organization will cover the cost of the required credential or certification. Salary is commensurate with education and experience.

Requirements

One year of experience in social work.
Current CPR and First Aid cards.
English fluency, both verbal and written.
Demonstrated outreach and retention skills and proficiency.
Experience and willingness to serve culturally diverse communities and families, with a commitment to working effectively with parents, children, and staff from diverse backgrounds.
Ability to relate tactfully, confidently, sensitively, and nonjudgmentally with parents, staff, and community partners.
Ability to drive a private or agency vehicle; a valid driver’s license and personal automobile, or another plan that allows fulfillment of position requirements, is required.
Current enrollment in the Child Care Division’s Central Background Registry.
Current physical examination, drug screen, and TB screen documentation before hire.
Desire to work with low-income children and their families.
Ability to communicate effectively with staff, families, children, and the public by telephone and in face-to-face, individual, and group settings.
Ability to observe, compare, and monitor behavior, records, and data; comprehend and analyze written material; and make inferences and references from it.
Ability to lift and move heavy or bulky objects up to 50 pounds; sit for extended periods and perform computer keyboard and data-entry work; occasionally stand, handle objects, reach, and use hands; and frequently drive, walk, and climb stairs in office, community, and home settings.
Ability to produce clearly organized written documentation using proper sentence construction, punctuation, and grammar.
Ability to perform occasional filing, including lifting files, opening filing cabinets, and bending as necessary.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Social Services, Social Work, Sociology, or a related field.
Bilingual Spanish skills.
Head Start experience.
Community service experience.
Multicultural experience.
Applicants without a bachelor’s degree are encouraged to apply if they are willing to obtain a credential or certification in social work, human services, family services, counseling, or a related field within 18 months of hire; the organization will cover the cost.

Responsibilities

Recruit, select, and enroll children and families, and maintain enrollment levels in accordance with Head Start policies and performance standards.
Assist with planning and implementing recruitment, including recruitment home visits, family assessments, and identifying children with documented disabilities or special needs.
Provide input on agency selection criteria and ensure applications are placed on the appropriate waiting list and enrollment remains full at the assigned center.
Submit completed reports to the supervisor on time and keep required family, enrollment, subsidy, and health records accurate and current.
Maintain child care subsidy paperwork and tracking for families in full-day, full-year centers, including collecting and recording copayments.
Maintain a social services referral system and work with families to identify goals, make plans, access resources, and follow up on referrals.
Initiate or participate in family unity meetings with community partners and coordinate services and support for families with high needs.
Conduct sufficient home visits to develop family plans and collaborate with families, agency staff, and community staff to meet family goals.
Offer or coordinate case management, parenting and child-development education, assessment, and community services.
Develop and maintain working relationships with community resources and partners, including DHS, CAPECO, DVS, health departments, mental health providers, police, and schools.
Orient parents to agency policies and program design at the Welcome to Head Start and provide information about social services and community resources to staff and parents.
Help implement the agency-wide Parent Involvement Program and work with center teams to involve parents in agency components and programs.
Promote family-strengthening and prevention activities, parent training, leadership training, and parent education and support programs.
Ensure volunteers are supervised and are never left alone with a child; assist with the volunteer and career-ladder program.
Support father and male involvement, including assisting the Volunteer Specialist with the Men’s support group and related activities.
Identify and recruit parents for Community Leadership Training and other community activities; assist with training and community development.
Assist in forming and maintaining community or neighborhood coalitions, promoting advocacy and collaboration, and coordinating at least two neighborhood walks with Head Start families.
Coordinate with families to address barriers to participation and assist with agency-wide Wellness Day activities.
Assist the Health & Mental Health Manager with the Health Services component and help families establish ongoing relationships with health and dental providers.
When trained and assigned, complete hearing and vision screenings for enrolled children within 45 days of enrollment.
Ensure medical and dental screenings, follow-up, and referrals are completed; provide parent education about initial screenings and Lift the Lip exams and subsequent six-month follow-ups for Head Start families.
Ensure nutrition assessments and follow-up or referrals are completed, including discussing WIC and nutrition goals with classroom staff and following up with parents.
Encourage required childhood immunizations and keep CIS/immunization records current, routing updates to the ERSEA Data Specialist.
Participate in staffing about health issues and review ChildPlus Health Tracking records for accuracy, submitting corrections to the ERSEA Data Specialist monthly.
Work with Full Day Teachers to prepare for two Comprehensive Parent Staff Conferences per child each year, participate in preparation as needed, and complete the applicable conference form section.
Review Parent Involvement Surveys and plan classes or groups based on family interest; promote Early Head Start parent education and peer-support groups and other community education opportunities.
Participate in staff meetings, conferences, training sessions, and workshops as assigned.
Maintain respectful working relationships, professional standards, confidentiality, accurate records, and timely reports; serve as a mandated reporter and contribute positively as a team member.
Maintain the skills and education needed for the role, demonstrate commitment to the agency’s mission and policies, and perform other duties assigned by the supervisor.