Prime Time Family Service Coordinator

LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES•Natchitoches, LA

About The Position

The Family Service Coordinator (FSC) engages families as partners in promoting children’s healthy development and school readiness. The FSC supports parents in their roles as their child’s primary educator, encourages parent-child interactions that foster development, and works to enhance family well-being. The role provides more intensive, targeted support to vulnerable families and families of children with chronic health conditions or special needs. The coordinator works with the broader program team to build family engagement, belonging, and mutual support. Caseloads and work locations may be reassigned as needed for program operations. The FSC conducts family engagement and partnership activities, supports families’ self-identified goals, connects them with services and community resources, and fosters family leadership and peer support. The position collaborates with early learning, health, nutrition, disability, center, and community partners. It also includes recruitment, eligibility and enrollment work, attendance support, service coordination, and accurate record keeping and reporting. The position requires travel between sites. Work takes place in educational settings and may also involve kitchen or cafeteria environments. The role may involve exposure to weather, varying indoor climate conditions, heat or cold, sharp objects, food-borne illnesses, pathogens, blood, saliva, and other bodily fluids; appropriate training, safeguards, and protective equipment are required. Physical demands may include occasionally standing, walking, sitting, using hands, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, talking, hearing, tasting, smelling, and lifting or moving up to 50 pounds, with or without assistance.

Requirements

Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Human Services, Family Services, Counseling, or a related field; alternatively, an AA or BA in another field with a commitment to complete a Family Services certificate or credential within 18 months of hire; or a high school diploma with three years of community experience working with families and a completed Family Development Certificate or Credential.
Ability to interact effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
Computer literacy, including Microsoft Office applications, basic data systems, and internet navigation.
Ability to be detailed, organized, data-driven, and able to prioritize and multitask.
Honesty, dependability, and ability to meet deadlines.
Ability to work independently and be self-motivated.
Strong computer skills, integrity, and work ethic.
Ability to engage positively with the public.
Ability to travel between sites.
Ability to meet the position’s physical demands, including occasional lifting or moving of up to 50 pounds, with or without assistance.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of or experience with Head Start Performance Standards.
Experience, training, and skill assisting parents of young children.
Experience working in low-income, diverse communities.
Bilingual ability.
Nonprofit experience.

Responsibilities

Conduct outreach, recruitment, and attendance follow-up to engage families and encourage active program participation.
Engage families in the Family Partnership Process and build relationships and shared accountability for children’s development.
Individualize family engagement to respect families’ cultural contexts and circumstances.
Provide in-home, classroom, and group experiences that support parent-child interactions and children’s school readiness and development.
Use home visits and classroom time to understand children’s home environments and model and coach positive parent-child interactions.
Implement a research-based family curriculum that extends classroom learning into the home and models adult-child interactions around the four Family Life Practices.
Use family self-assessment information to support self-identified goals related to self-sufficiency, education, employment, housing, and community resources.
Provide more intensive weekly contact, including home visits, for vulnerable families as identified through assessments or interactions.
Support families during crises and connect them with counseling, treatment, entitlement, and other community-based resources.
Identify and access services responsive to family goals, and follow up to ensure services meet families’ needs and expectations.
Analyze self-sufficiency data and coordinate parent cohort groups that help families support one another in achieving goals.
Coordinate or refer families to continuing education, employment training, and employment services.
Foster family community and belonging, and conduct workshops and activities that build social capital and support family engagement in children’s learning.
Cultivate family leadership and support participation in Policy Council and neighborhood or community advisory groups.
Work with center staff and families to plan family engagement activities, including school-readiness campaigns, self-sufficiency groups, and monthly Family Engagement Network meetings.
Build collaboration among internal and external stakeholders and coordinate with health, early learning, disability, nutrition, and family engagement staff.
Provide intensive support to families of children with chronic health conditions or special needs, including goal setting and help navigating community care systems.
Coordinate with Health and Nutrition staff to ensure children on the caseload meet EPSDT requirements and receive timely evaluation and treatment for identified concerns.
Collaborate with teaching teams to encourage home learning and tailor activities to family interests and children’s developmental status.
Maintain relationships with community partners to improve access to resources and training prioritized by families.
Manage workload and maintain accurate electronic and hard-copy records, case notes, family agreements, referrals, and reports.
Follow up on program inquiries and maintain tracking systems for potential enrollees and phone or walk-in inquiries.
Schedule, plan, and coordinate recruitment activities throughout the year.
Ensure eligibility, selection, and enrollment comply with HSPS and Prime Time Head Start ISP/PP requirements.
Review applications and work with families to complete enrollment and intake forms; determine eligibility and ensure documentation is accurate and complete.
Determine eligibility for extended-day services and assist families with childcare subsidy applications.
Enroll children according to selection criteria, maintain an accurate wait list, fill vacancies, and monitor funded enrollment.
Keep current with Office of Head Start communications, including Information Memorandums, Policy Clarifications, and Program Information documents.
Provide clerical attendance support as schedule permits and assist with monitoring centers below 85% ADA and maintaining Attendance Action Plans.
Inform Early Learning and Family Services staff about children’s allergies, chronic health conditions, or special needs so documentation and case conferences are in place before entry.
Coordinate with the Director of Analysis to ensure PIR data is current in the data system.
Provide courteous service, protect client confidentiality, identify service and process improvements, support quality improvement, assist coworkers, orient new coworkers, and perform other required duties.