Family Advocate Hidalgo

Description

The Family Advocate is responsible for engaging all families to partner with us to promote children’s healthy development and school readiness. The Family Advocate uses knowledge of the principles of family engagement to support families in their roles as their child’s primary educator, encourage parent/child interactions that promote children’s school readiness and healthy development and enhance family well-being. In this role, the Family Advocate will provide more intensive and targeted support to vulnerable families and families of children with chronic health conditions and special needs to assure that our engagement strategies meet their specialized needs.

The Family Advocate is responsible for engaging all families to partner with us to promote children’s healthy development and school readiness. The Family Advocate uses knowledge of the principles of family engagement to support families in their roles as their child’s primary educator, encourage parent/child interactions that promote children’s school readiness and healthy development and enhance family well-being. In this role, the Family Advocate will provide more intensive and targeted support to vulnerable families and families of children with chronic health conditions and special needs to assure that our engagement strategies meet their specialized needs.

Child Growth and Development

• Engage families as partners in their children’s healthy development and school readiness.
• Engage families in individualized, in home and group experiences to enhance parent/child interactions that research shows foster school readiness through consistent family routines, positive guidance and discipline, experience rich home environments and literacy activities.
• Utilize in-classroom time and home visits to build a deeper understanding of the relationship between children’s development and their home environments; as well as to model and coach families in positive parent/child interactions.
• Implement the AVANCE Parent-Child Education Curriculum that extends our classroom curriculum into the family's home, modeling high quality adult- child interactions teachers use in their classrooms for families around the four Family Life Practices.
• Develop effective communication and collaborative strategies with teaching teams to encourage family engagement in home learning activities, including individualizing activities based upon family interests and children’s developmental status.

Communication and Service Coordination

• Build relationships that will enhance communication and collaboration among internal and external stakeholders.
• Work side by side with health, early learning and disabilities and other members of the family engagement team to support families to be fully engaged in all aspects of our program.
• Establish regular coordination and communication with Health, Nutrition and Disabilities team members to provide more intensive support to families of children with chronic health conditions and special needs, including targeted goal setting, and assistance with building family advocacy skills to navigate community systems of care for their children.
• Work in coordination with Health and Nutrition team members to assure that all children on caseload are up to date on EPSDT requirements, including receiving timely evaluation and treatment for identified concerns.
• Establish and maintain working relationships with community partners to strengthen access to resources and training identified as priority goal areas by families.
• Coordinate with Director of Analyst to assure that all PIR data is up to date in the data system.
• Inform Health Coordinators, MHD, Early Learning and Parent, Family and Community Engagement Coordinators regarding children with allergies, chronic health conditions, or special needs to assure that medical documentation is received, and case conferences occur prior to entry.
• Service Coordination (General).

Record Keeping and Reporting

• Maintain accurate electronic and hard copy records and case notes to support positive child and family outcomes.
• Document efforts to assist families to identify their strengths,…