Partnership Family Advocate

The Centers•Cleveland, OH

142d

About The Position

The Partnership Family Advocate serves at assigned partner sites and performs direct service and administrative work. The role facilitates Family and Community Partnerships, Program Governance, and ERSEA (Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance) activities. The advocate connects families with center staff and service-area personnel, builds positive relationships with caregivers, and provides responsive services that support the achievement and well-being of family members involved in the lives of children enrolled in the Early Learning Program. The position is an active member of the Family Support Team and requires frequent travel between partner sites. The advocate works in public-school partner environments, following each site’s rules and procedures, and collaborates with families, agency staff, schools, businesses, and community organizations. The position supports family engagement, recruitment, enrollment, attendance, referrals, family goal-setting, documentation, and program compliance. The role also involves home visits, family events, data entry, and tracking children’s and families’ follow-up needs.

Requirements

Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in a Human Services-related field.
No record of child abuse or moral turpitude, as determined by a fingerprint-based background check.
Comfort using various technology platforms and data systems.
Ability to travel independently between sites.
Able to work occasional evening and weekend hours.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a social work field setting.

Responsibilities

Follow partnership sites’ rules, regulations, and policies while working in public-school environments, including entry and exit procedures.
Represent The Centers at partnership-site meetings and school events, and attend annual parent orientations.
Conduct two Head Start home visits per school year for partnership-site families and students, plus additional visits as needed for children’s needs, attendance concerns, enrollment, family services, and paperwork.
Work across multiple partnership school sites when assigned.
Build cooperative relationships with local businesses, agencies, and community organizations, and maintain current Community Partnership Agreements.
Support families’ transitions into programs, connect them with appropriate Link families and internal or external community resources, and provide or make referrals according to need.
Complete family pre-assessments within 90 days of enrollment and facilitate Family Success Plans or Family Partnership Agreements, including helping parents set goals and checking progress within required timelines.
Lead monthly family engagement events with staff, families, and partner agencies, and submit parent-planning documentation monthly.
Recruit, facilitate, and document center volunteers and donations, and educate volunteers about their role in the Early Learning Program.
Attend community meetings and events to create connections to community resources; assist families with obtaining and maintaining publicly funded childcare benefits and navigating the Electronic Childcare system.
Recruit families to meet funded enrollment goals at the site and agency-wide, engaging staff and parents in recruitment efforts.
Collaborate with Early Learning staff to ensure the site complies with ODJFS and SUTQ requirements.
Attend agency-sponsored in-service training, seminars, training sessions, and external meetings to gain experience and knowledge.
Work with the Enrollment team to complete eligibility and enrollment documentation, including an eligibility checklist for each child or family file.
Maintain accurate client files and case notes, record child health information, and obtain required documents and signatures promptly.
Document and track follow-up needs, including family partnership goals and health, dental, nutrition, growth assessment, hearing, and vision concerns.
Track and report daily attendance accurately so it can be analyzed and reported monthly; support families in addressing attendance barriers when a child’s average daily attendance is below 85%, and follow up on absences.
Complete family contacts and related data entry and documentation in the data management system in a timely manner.
Collaborate with site staff to maintain center compliance and submit documentation to service areas as needed and on time.
Collaborate with site staff to ensure families and children are served and safe.
Perform other duties as assigned.