Family and Community Engagement Specialist (3522)

Lutheran Services Florida • Largo, FL

20h • Hybrid

About The Position

Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) is seeking a Family & Community Engagement Specialist to make a significant impact on the lives of others. This role requires advanced knowledge in social services, exercising discretion and independent judgment to provide optimal services and support to children and families in the Head Start/Early Head Start program. Key responsibilities include managing eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance (ERSEA), facilitating parent engagement, providing health, mental health, and nutrition support, linking families to resources, building partnerships to help families identify their own goals and strengths, assisting with family partnership agreements, and managing comprehensive family files.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work or Human Services or related human services field.
• At least two 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.
• Considerable 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.
• 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

• Conduct eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance (ERSEA).
• Facilitate parent engagement.
• Provide high-quality health, mental health, nutrition support and resource linkage.
• Build partnerships with families to assist them in identifying their own goals, strengths, needed services and support system.
• Assist with developing and implementing family partnership agreements that outline families strategies and timetable for achieving their own goals.
• Manage and maintain records for the family comprehensive file.
• Initiate collaborative partnerships with parents to establish mutual trust and respect.
• Assess family needs for social services, develop individualized plans, and deliver or coordinate services.
• Conduct and document follow-up on all referrals.
• Establish Family Partnership Agreements (FPA) with families and identify strengths, needs, and interests to help parents develop and achieve goals within 45 days of enrollment.
• Facilitate follow-up on Family Partnership Agreement (FPA) goals with families within 90 days and on-going at a minimum of 90 days or more frequently if necessary.
• Provide comprehensive community resource information to families, individualizing to respond to their needs and concerns.
• Refer families to community agencies/programs and assess the accessibility, relevance, and usefulness of assistance received.
• Assist with establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships with community organizations responsive to the concerns of families of children birth through age 5, pregnant women and their families; participate in community awareness events.
• Report suspected child abuse and/or neglect following program procedures and Florida law.
• Serve on a community board located in the area of assigned Head Start/Early Head Start site.
• Develop a working knowledge of community resources, and visit major agencies at least annually for service delivery updates and community resource guide updates.
• Implement, document, and report on the recruitment, selection, and enrollment of potentially eligible children birth through age 5, pregnant women, and their families in collaboration with the Health and Family Community Engagement Manager.
• Recruit prospective families and complete the enrollment process.
• Maintain funded enrollment and fill Head Start/Early Head Start vacancies within 30 days.
• Accurately verify and determine eligibility for Head Start/Early Head Start enrollment.
• Monitor attendance and maintain an average daily attendance above 85%.
• Follow up with any families experiencing participation or attendance problems.
• Coordinate and implement monthly parent committee meetings at assigned center site(s). Maintain accurate records and documentation (e.g., meeting minutes, agenda, training, sign-in sheet, and PC members’ eligibility paperwork).
• Ensure the elected Policy Council representative and/or alternate for assigned center site(s) are in attendance for the Program’s Policy Council monthly meeting.
• Coordinate monthly parent engagement activities through the A Man Everybody Needs (AMEN) and Ladies of Victory and Empowerment (LOVE) support groups.
• Implement 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.
• Ensure comprehensive, timely two-way communication between parents, Head Start staff, and as appropriate, community individuals and organizations.
• Encourage parent volunteerism throughout the program.
• Provide parents regular opportunities to work together and with other community members on activities they helped develop and in which they expressed an interest.
• Encourage parents to take an active role in making community services more responsive to their goals and needs.
• Promote full child/family participation in program activities and assist with monitoring and resolution of any problems.
• Assist parents, including pregnant women, with the transition process into Head Start from Early Head Start or other settings, and from Head Start to kindergarten.
• Assist with the completion of child health screening, other required screenings and assessments, and be familiar with referral requirements.
• Promote 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.
• Provide physical/dental/mental health and nutrition education activities that are responsive to the ongoing and expressed needs of parents as individuals and in parent committee meetings.
• Provide health, safety, and family literacy activities to parents, as appropriate.
• Assist and support families with engaging and completing the appropriate disability paperwork for their child requiring services.
• Ensure an appropriate written transition plan is prepared for all Early Head Start children, six months prior to their third birthday.
• Document all efforts to assist families, track family partnership efforts and outcomes, record, monitor, and follow up on referrals, and submit reports as required.
• Collect child and family data and enter into ChildPlus; monitor; update; prepare data reports for program use and complete all Program Information Report (PIR) indicators within ChildPlus.
• Maintain accurate, objective, timely, and confidential records documenting all child, family, staff, and agency contacts; disseminate appropriately; and document recruitment and enrollment activities.
• Coordinate with center staff to integrate family partnership goals with classroom efforts and to ensure integrated child and family curriculum.
• While respecting family confidentiality, regularly share information with teachers to ensure coordinated services that meet the individual needs of children and families.
• Attend parent/teacher conferences as requested.
• Attend multi-team development meetings and staffings as requested.
• Ensure an appropriate written transition plan is prepared for all children, six months prior to their third birthday.
• Participate in team management functions of planning, implementing, and evaluating family and community engagement goals and objectives.
• Participate in in-service, workshops, conferences, and college courses to enhance skills; and attend all workshops and meetings as deemed necessary by the supervisor.
• Maintain strict confidentiality at all times with respect to Head Start/Early Head Start children, families, and staff in accordance with established policies and procedures, including the ability to recognize situations in which confidentiality is required.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.
• Be a team player with co-workers and central service office staff.
• Ensure cost-effective program operations.
• Adhere to agency policies, procedures, and performance standards.
• Provide effective customer service and group leadership.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental and 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: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees