Family Educator

Easter Seals Blake Foundation • Sierra Vista, AZ

just now • Onsite

About The Position

Easterseals Blake Foundation, which began as the Cerebral Palsy Foundation of Southern Arizona, has grown to become one of Arizona's leading providers of comprehensive behavioral health services, child welfare, and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organization serves over 40,000 individuals and families across 10 counties and supports more than 3,700 children in Foster Care throughout Southern Arizona. The Family Educator role is dedicated to mentoring families to become their child’s first teachers, specifically working with families who have children aged birth to three years old, as well as expectant mothers.

Requirements

• Home Visitor Child Development Associate (CDA) or Associates Degree in Early Childhood or related field required.
• Experience working with young children and families required.
• Must be at least 21 years of age.
• Current, unrestricted AZ driver’s license with no more than two (2) minor moving violations or one (1) accident within the past three (3 years).
• Three (3) years of driving experience required.
• Must be able to pass a criminal background check.
• Ability to obtain and maintain an AZ DPS Level 1 fingerprint clearance card (employer provides).
• CPR and First Aid certification (Employer provides).
• Initial and current negative TB test result (Employer provides).
• Ability to obtain a pre-employment physical to assess fitness to perform required duties.
• Able to establish and maintain a team atmosphere of communication and collaboration for all that reach out to the Department.
• Must be self-directed and be sensitive to cultural and linguistic diversity.
• Excellent customer service in stressful situations.
• Maintains a professional appearance, communications, and actions.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to approach work with families in an empathetic, nonjudgmental, respectful, and professional manner.
• Knowledge of Office of Head Start’s policies, practices, and performance standards.
• Knowledge of developmentally appropriate early childhood practices for working with young children; family dynamics and family-centered practices; and community resources and networking.
• Possess a high level of computer proficiency.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s Degree in Education (Early Childhood, Special Education), Social Work, Family Studies or closely related field preferred.
• Bilingual (Spanish) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Assesses strengths, capacities and needs of each family. Assists in identification of family achievements and goals. Follows-up on these achievements and goals and encourages further progress. Documents the process in family partnership agreements.
• Actively engages in recruitment efforts to maintain enrollment and waiting list.
• Plans, conducts, evaluates, and documents with parents’ weekly home visits (minimum 1.5 hours each) to ten-twelve families. Completes Home Visit Plans weekly, submitting to supervisor monthly. Completes and submits all required paperwork within required timeframes (i.e. end of month reports, Child Plus data, accident reports, assessments, early intervention documentation, etc.).
• Identifies resources and connections families can utilize in achieving progress toward goals, independence, and self-sufficiency. Assists families to obtain identified services and coaches, and collaborates with families to understand referral process. Follows up with families on the results of referrals and their satisfaction level.
• Promotes parental involvement and implementation of all aspects with the Early Head Start program (program curriculum, parent involvement, governance, health, nutrition, safety, and family services). Supports families to understand and complete all health, safety and nutrition requirements for the program.
• Collaborates with families to regularly complete developmental screening and assessment of the enrolled child(ren).
• Provides intentional, collaborative, safe, and high-quality group experiences with parents, community volunteers, and children. Regularly plans, delivers, and evaluates bi-monthly group socialization experiences with parents.
• Shares individual child information with parents on a regular basis; facilitates ongoing meaningful discussion on child with family; and assists the family to advocate for their child(ren).
• Transports families when appropriate to and from community resources or other activities.
• Assists the family to plan for transition from family-based program to center-based and other educational programs.
• Participates in the process of ongoing professional development and meetings. Maintains comprehensive communication among all contacts within the agency, members, and external agencies. Models professional standards and ethics in accordance with EBF Code of Conduct, Strategic Plan, Mission, and Vision.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental and Vision
• Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Flexible Spending Account
• Health Savings Account
• Voluntary Life insurance
• Voluntary Short-term Disability insurance
• Critical Illness insurance
• Accident insurance
• Employer paid life insurance, long-term disability insurance, and Employee Assistance Program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees