Family and Community Engagement Advocate

Lutheran Services Florida • Largo, FL

7d • Hybrid

About The Position

Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) is seeking a talented Family & Community Engagement Advocate to support and assist families in identifying and meeting their goals through a family-centered case management model. This role involves developing and carrying out program family partnership agreements, managing child files, and handling enrollment/applications. The advocate will also assist with child health requirements, screenings, assessments, and participate in HS/EHS Quality Assurance efforts. The position requires coordinating with center staff to integrate family partnership goals with classroom activities, participating in team management for family and community engagement goals, and pursuing professional development through in-service training, workshops, conferences, and college courses. Collaboration with local agencies to connect families with community services is essential, as is conducting and documenting follow-up on all referrals. The role involves maintaining confidentiality, providing health, safety, and family literacy activities to parents, and developing a working knowledge of community resources through annual visits to major agencies. The advocate will attend parent/teacher conferences, team development meetings, and staff meetings as requested, and ensure a written transition plan is prepared for children six months prior to their third birthday. Maintaining strict confidentiality regarding Head Start/Early Head Start children, families, and staff is paramount. The role also includes implementing, documenting, and reporting on recruitment, selection, and enrollment of eligible children, pregnant women, and their families, maintaining funded enrollment, and filling vacancies within 30 days. Eligibility verification, monitoring attendance, and following up on participation or attendance problems are key responsibilities. The advocate will document all efforts to assist families, track partnership efforts and outcomes, and submit required reports. Parent engagement coordination includes monthly parent committee meetings, maintaining accurate records, ensuring attendance at Program Policy Council meetings, and coordinating monthly parent engagement activities through support groups. A comprehensive, individualized, and developmental parent engagement and education program responsive to parent needs will be implemented. The role fosters two-way communication between parents and staff, encourages parent volunteerism, and provides opportunities for parents to work together on activities they develop. Parents will be encouraged to take an active role in making community services responsive to their goals and needs. Full child/family participation in program activities will be promoted, and assistance will be provided with monitoring and resolving any problems. Support will be given to families, including pregnant women, with the transition process into Head Start, from Early Head Start, or to kindergarten. Health responsibilities include assisting with child health screenings, promoting child and family wellness, establishing medical and dental "homes," and providing health, safety, and nutrition education activities. Assistance will also be provided with disability paperwork for children requiring services.

Requirements

• High School diploma or GED
• Must obtain a credential or certificate within 18 months of hire in social work, human services, family services, counseling or a related field to remain employed in position.
• At least three years of experience working with children and families in a social services environment.
• Certification in First Aid and CPR within three months of the date assigned to this position.
• Successful completion of a Level II background screening and drug screening prior to hiring.
• Knowledge of the principles and practices of social work and human behavior.
• Knowledge of human development and health.
• Knowledge of social services and health services available in the area.
• Knowledge of computer data entry processes.
• Knowledge of family-centered practices.
• Ability to communicate ideas and instructions orally and in writing.
• Ability to write reports and business correspondence.
• Ability to speak before groups of individuals, such as Committees and Staff meetings.
• Ability to calculate amounts by adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing and figuring percentages.
• Ability to interpret an extensive variety of instructions.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to make recommendations and develop implementation strategies.
• Basic computer skills.
• Must demonstrate sensitivity to our service population’s cultural and socioeconomic characteristics and needs.

Nice To Haves

• Head Start/Early Head Start experience preferred.
• Bilingual preferred: English/Spanish or English and other languages present in the local area.

Responsibilities

• Supports and assists families in identifying and meeting their own goals through a family-centered case management model.
• Develops and carries out program family partnership agreements, including responsibility for child files, enrollment/applications, etc.
• Assists with the completion of child health requirements and other required screenings and assessments.
• Participates in HS/EHS Quality Assurance efforts.
• Coordinates with center staff to integrate family partnership goals with classroom efforts and to ensure integrated child and family curriculum.
• Participates in team management functions of planning, implementing and evaluating family and community engagement goals and objectives.
• Participates in in-service, workshops, conferences and college courses to enhance skills.
• Works cooperatively with local agencies to assist families to link up with services in the local community.
• Assists with the completion of the child health screening, other required screenings and assessments and is familiar with referral requirements.
• Conducts and documents follow-up on all referrals.
• Regularly shares information with teachers to ensure coordinated services that meet the needs of individual children and families, while respecting family confidentiality.
• Provides health, safety and family literacy activities to parents, as appropriate.
• Develops a working knowledge of community resources, and visits, at least annually, with major agencies for service delivery updates and community resource guide updates.
• Attends parent/teacher conferences as requested.
• Attends multi-team development and staff meetings as requested.
• Ensures an appropriate written transition plan is prepared for all children, six months prior to their third birthday.
• Attends all required staff and parent meetings and activities.
• Maintains strict confidentiality at all times with respect to Head Start/Early Head Start children, families and staff in accordance with established policies and procedures.
• Implements, documents and reports on the recruitment, selection and enrollment of potentially eligible children birth through age 5, pregnant women and their families in collaboration with Health and Family Community Engagement Manager.
• Recruits prospective families and completes the enrollment process.
• Maintains funded enrollment and fills Head Start/Early Head Start vacancies within 30 days.
• Accurately verifies and determines eligibility for Head Start/Early Head Start enrollment.
• Monitors attendance and maintains an average daily attendance above 85%.
• Follows up with any families experiencing participation or attendance problems.
• Documents all efforts to assist families, tracks family partnership efforts and outcomes, records, monitors and follows up on referrals, and submits reports as required.
• Attends all workshops and meetings as deemed necessary by the supervisor.
• Coordinates and implements monthly parent committee meeting at your assigned center site(s).
• Maintains accurate records and documentation (e.g. meeting minutes, agenda, training, sign-in sheet, and PC members’ eligibility paperwork).
• Ensures the elected Policy Council representative and/or alternate for assign center site(s) are in attendance for the Program’s Policy Council monthly meeting.
• Coordinates monthly parent engagement activities through the A Man Everybody Needs (AMEN) and Ladies of Victory and Empowerment (LOVE) support groups.
• Implements a comprehensive, individualized and developmental parent engagement and education program responsive to parent needs, concerns and requests that supports parents in their role as the primary influence in their children’s lives.
• Ensures comprehensive, timely two-way communication between parents, Head Start staff, and as appropriate, community individuals and organizations.
• Encourages parent volunteerism throughout the program.
• Provides parents regular opportunities to work together and with other community members on activities they helped develop and in which they expressed an interest.
• Encourages parents to take an active role in making community services more responsive to their goals and needs.
• Promotes full child/family participation in program activities and assists with monitoring and resolution of any problems.
• Assists parents, including pregnant women, with the transition process into Head Start from Early Head Start or other settings, and from Head Start to kindergarten.
• Promotes child and family wellness and the establishment of a medical and dental “home” for each HS infant, toddler and preschool child and each pregnant woman.
• Provides physical/dental/mental health and nutrition education activities that are responsive to the ongoing and expressed needs of parents as individuals and in the parent committee meetings.
• Assists and supports families with engaging and completing the appropriate disability paperwork for their child requiring services.
• Acts as a team player with co-workers and all organizational staff.
• Ensures cost-effective program operations.
• Adheres to agency policies, procedures and performance standards.
• Provides effective customer service and group leadership.

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Telehealth (24/7 online access to Doctors)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Employer paid life insurance (1X salary)
• 13 paid holidays + 1 floating holiday
• Generous PTO policy (starting at 16 working days a year)
• 403(b) Retirement plan with 3% discretionary employer match OR 3% student loan repayment reimbursement
• Tuition reimbursement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED