Family Advocate Specialist - Childcare Partnership

Overview

Position Overview

The Family Advocate Specialist (FAS) has a primary role of engaging and involving families of enrolled students in activities, practices and services that support parents as the primary nurturer, experts, and teachers of their child in order to promote and sustain their child's academic learning and development; and life success. The FAS will also develop strategies to meet or exceed all Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) Charter and Head Start Performance Standards compliance mandates that relate to student attendance, tardiness, enrollment, family engagement, and health records.

The FAS has a specific and intentional role in the following three areas of work with families:

• Activities/strategies that promote and enhance the parent-child relationship.
• Activities/strategies that engage parents in discussions about their child's growth and development. Providing parents information and opportunities to learn about concrete things they can do to promote their child's learning.
• Activities/strategies that encourage parents' involvement in the education of their child and in their child's school both at Next Door and in the K-12 system. This includes helping parents recognize and expect "quality education"; know how to access quality elementary schools; and learn how to advocate for a quality education for their child.
• Activities and strategies that support parents in achieving family and community outcomes.

• Professional Development
• Being an active participant in Reflective supervision and reflective practice groups.
• Maintain Licensure (if applicable).
• Utilize specialized trainings when working with families i.e. Touchpoints, Trauma Informed Care, Motivational Interviewing, Family Development Credential, assist and open to mentoring opportunities.

• Develop strategies with families that help them appreciate and contribute to the educational activities of the agency and successfully use their own voices to advocate on behalf of their children and themselves.
• Promote an average school attendance that meets or exceeds MPS levels.
• Monitor monthly attendance and create an attendance plan with families that fall below expected attendance.
• Mentor parents in building relationships, advocacy, and effective communications skills (conflict resolution).
• Actively participate in the internal planning and subsequent involvement of parents in all of their child's program transitions, from EHS to HS, HS to Kindergarten, and Kindergarten to first grade.
• Develop working relationships with local schools to help coordinate the successful transition of children and families from Next Door Charter School to a quality school.
• Provide educational opportunities and strategies that assist parents to achieve PFCE outcome.
• Promote parents' overall participation in program governance and family engagement opportunities.

• Facilitates and participates in interdisciplinary work and collaboration among all program staff.
• Collaborate with classroom staff to co-facilitate two parent teacher conferences and two home visits.
• Collaborate with classroom teaching staff to provide a minimum of four classroom family meetings
• Actively participate in multidisciplinary teams in Family Child Reviews and staffing to provide support to families in their effort to support and promote their child's developmental needs.
• Attend Positive Behavior Support team meetings.
• At a minimum, participate in a monthly meeting with classroom staff regarding updates and sharing of information.

• Establish a Family Partnership agreement that aligns with the Family Outcomes/Family Needs Assessments.
• Support and promote the agency's mission and values. Participate in the recruitment, enrollment, and orientation of families entering the school including completing the paperwork with the family.
• Actively participate in staff meetings, trainings, and collaborative team meetings.
• Maintain up-to-date records in Child Plus (the electronic tracking system). Track monthly statistics and generate reports as needed for: enrollment, attendance, meal service, class lists, transportation needs, childcare authorization, and parent volunteer hours.
• Support families in obtaining student immunizations, establishing a medical and dental home, and ensuring that they are up to date on the EPSDT to achieve the highest level of compliance as mandated by the Department of Public Instruction, Head Start Performance Standards, and Wisconsin Licensing Regulations.
• Cultivate relationships with appropriate referral agencies and individuals for families to receive services not provided by the program.
• Attend Next Door trainings and meetings as required.

• Participate in Self
  - Assessment, peer assessments, and program monitoring and continuous improvement of program services.
• Conduct follow-up on absenteeism (including excessive tardiness) in order to identify and address barriers to…