Family Worker Dual Sites - Nia Family Center and the Taylor Center for New Experiences

POSITION SUMMARY:

This position is responsible for the Family Engagement portion of the Head Start Program Performance Standards at the school level including (but not limited to) parent partnerships community partnerships and the creation and followup of family goals. The Family Worker will be responsible for the coordination of family engagement meetings and training as well as working closely with the staff of the Family Hub to bring parents/guardians into our schools and increase their involvement. Additionally the Family Worker will be responsible for meeting the needs of all diverse learners. This includes paperwork monitoring of IEPs and IFSPs data entry scheduling and facilitating family review meetings. The Family Worker will also be responsible for providing direct and indirect supportive servicesinmedical health dental health and social services. This role will also assist the ERSEA Manager with the recruitment of students into our schools and is responsible for the enrollment of eligible children. This position must be available to work some evenings and weekends. This position will support both the Nia Family Center and the Taylor Center for New Experiences.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Bachelors degree in social services or related field(Masters preferred).
• Hold a Gateways Family Specialist Credential Level 5.
• Bilingual in Spanish preferred

Experience & Training Requirements:

• Must have excellent communication and customer service skills
• Must be able to work with a diverse clientele
• Must be able to maintain confidentiality
• Must display strong leadership skills
• Must be able to share ideas and information effectively
• Must have the ability to work under stress in a fastpaced environment
• Must be a flexible team player able to adapt to any situations
• Must be able to serve as an advocate for children and families
• Ability to read write and speak in English.
• Ability to communicate in Spanish is a plus
• Ability to use word processing software
• Availability to work some evenings and weekends

The candidate must also have experience with MS Word Excel and PowerPoint.

Desired Outcomes:

• Ability to meet full enrollment requirements set by program funders including recruitment efforts
• Increase family engagement participants to meet individual needs
• Ability to maintain recordkeeping as required by program funders

Essential Job Requirements & Duties:

• Contributes to the development of the agencys child development philosophy and goals
• Establishes relationships and trust with all families
• Work with families in completing Family Assessments and in setting realistic goals.Monitors these goals on an ongoing basis through personal contact (no less than three times per year).
• Maintaincompliance with family goals family partnership agreements diverselearnersand parent engagement activities.
• Conduct the recruitment of children and families (including 10 of children identified as diverse learners).
• Completeintake and registrationof new students.
• Enter all case notes into the computer database weekly.
• Participate inhome visitsandparent/teacher conferences.
• Be responsible for Diverse Learner Trackingand oversee the efforts for serving families of children considered diverse learners including but not limited to referrals observations required documentation and interdisciplinary team meetings.
• Participate in and track all student transitions.
• Assist in planning participation assessment and documentation of all Family Engagement Activities and Family Hub activities.
• Develop and maintain annual partnerships with community organizationsto provide resources and referrals to families to meet identified needs.
• Attends community events to recruit families and develop community partnerships
• Assist with maintainingCommunity Resource Directory.
• Meet regularly withCenterDirectors to collaborate betweencenterneeds and family worker resources including the coverage and school events.
• Contribute to teamsincluding CenterLeadership Teams Family Worker Teams and larger teams that span across Chicago Commons.
• Follow up (as needed) with Program Information Report(PIR)monitoring.
• Other duties as assigned.

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform.

While performing the duties of this job the employee is regularly required to speak and read English proficiently. The employee frequently is required to stand walk reach with hands and arms and stoop kneel crouch or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 pounds. Specific vision requirements include the ability to see at close range.

Employment Conditions:

This job description is to ensure that essential functions and basic duties have been included. It is intended to provide guidelines for job expectations and the employees ability to perform the duties as described. This job description is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all functions responsibilities skills and abilities. Additional functions and requirements may be assigned as deemed appropriate commensurate to the position. This document does not represent a contract of employment and Chicago Commons reserves the right to change this job description and /or assign tasks deemed appropriate.

To learn more about Chicago Commons benefits package please click HERE.