Community Wellness Advocate II – Child and Family Advocacy

Community Wellness Advocate II – Child and Family Advocacy

As a member of an innovative care team, the Community Wellness Advocate – Child and Family Advocacy works collaboratively to identify and address barriers to health and wellness and contributes to care delivery models using a strengths‑based approach. The role is embedded within the Child Protection Team, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Its long‑term focus is to promote family wellbeing and preservation, reduce risk factors and increase protective factors for child safety, address care gaps for children in DCF custody, and increase family engagement in medical and other multidisciplinary services at Boston Medical Center and beyond.

• Functions a key member of an inter‑disciplinary team (social workers, and physicians) providing clinical services to children who are at risk for and who have experienced abuse or neglect.
• Serves as a point of contact for pediatric ambulatory patients entering the custody of the Department of Children and Families and ensures valid court paperwork is obtained, demographic and insurance information is accurate, and works to expedite appointment scheduling of DCF 7‑Day (Screening) and DCF 30‑Day (Comprehensive) visits with the multidisciplinary care team.
• Triage referral work queues for Child Protection Team by reviewing medical charts and discussing referrals with clinicians (MD & SW).
• Verify and update patient demographic and insurance information and ensures that legal paperwork documenting custody is on file when scheduling any visits.
• Ensure thorough and high‑quality referrals are received and timely scheduling of appointments by identifying additional paperwork needed and recommending additional/alternative referrals/services for families if they are not clinically appropriate for Child Protection Team.
• Conducting initial calls with caregivers and outline details of what will happen when seen by the Child Protection Team to prepare families for their appointment.
• Proactively contacts patients' families for whom DCF has requested a medical update and who are identified to be behind on care and/or have open referrals. Identify and resolve potential barriers for appointment completion and expedite appointment scheduling.
• Fields administrative/operational requests from clinicians and staff regarding referrals.
• Support referral pathways and communication with referring health care centers and associated hospitals to promote high‑quality referrals, improve access to services for referred patients and promote patient wrap‑around care.

• Engages families in‑person and via telehealth to provide caregiver coaching and support, including outreach to and engagement with families to define individual goals, promote healthy development, child safety and access to care and services.
• Teaches caregivers key educational and developmental messages using a variety of culturally, linguistically and educationally appropriate strategies, in a variety of settings.
• Documenting patient communications in the electronic medical record in a timely and comprehensive manner.
• Coordinate and participate in multidisciplinary team meetings and liaises with The Department of Children and Families, community‑based multidisciplinary teams, including Child Advocacy Centers, across Massachusetts, other state and city agencies, and Child Protection Teams from other hospitals in the Commonwealth.
• Providing direct support to caregivers who are navigating DCF involvement, through provision of individualized and tailored resources, referrals to community‑based programs, and connection to ongoing care. Areas of support may encompass concrete supports healthcare support services, behavioral health, financial mobility coaching, school‑based interventions, early‑intervention, child‑care, legal resources, domestic violence resources, social isolation and any other appropriate community resources.
• Uses appropriate screeners (e.g., PHQ9, SEEK, Pediatric Symptom Checklist, SWYC) to identify social determinants of health (SDOH), developmental and…