Early Education Services Family Advocate en College Station ISD

Job Title:              Early Education Services Family Advocate

Reports to:           Director of Early Education Services and Assigned Campus

Dept/Campus:      Assigned Campus

Pay Grade:            Paraprofessional PG 3

Wage Status:        Non-Exempt

Days:                    187

Funding: Funding 80% Head Start, 20% General Fund

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Primary Purpose:
The Family Advocate assists families with meeting the needs of their children and serves as the point of contact for parents/guardians at the campus level. The facilitator will assist families in securing community services appropriate to the needs of the child or family. Additionally, this individual will make home visits as needed in response to requests from classroom teachers or the campus or program administrative staff.

Special Note: This position is split funded with 80% from Head Start funds and 20% from
district funds. This funding design allows for 20% (7.5 hours) of the facilitator’s duty to be
allocated to the assigned campus for district related duties. For facilitators who are assigned to more than one campus, the allocation is divided to be 10% (3.75 hours) at each assigned
campus. Travel time/lunch takes .5 hour is to be split between the campuses. The tasks and
time allocations are reflected on the bi-weekly Personnel Activity Report (PAR) completed by
each staff member.

Education/Certifications:

• High school diploma or GED
• Current certification for First Aid, CPR (or ability to obtain)
• Family Services Credential preferred
• Bilingual ability preferred

Experience:

• At least two years of experience working with preschool children and families from low income and diverse backgrounds or other social services preferred
• Experience in working with public schools preferred

Knowledge and Skills:

• Knowledge and experience in child development and early childhood education
• Knowledge of the principles of adult learning and family dynamics
• Knowledge of community resources and the skills to link with appropriate agencies and services
• Skill in problem solving, communicating with and motivating people
• Skill and ability in written and oral communication with other adults
• Skill in establishing rapport and communicating effectively with a variety of individuals from diverse backgrounds

Major Responsibilities and Duties:
Family Partnership Agreement
Engage in the process of building a partnership to develop mutual trust and to identify family goals, strengths and the necessary services and supports in order to develop and implement individual Family Partnership agreements that:

• Describe a family’s goals and responsibilities
• Design timetables and strategies
• Track progress toward achieving goals

Family Engagement:

• Engages in mutually respectful, positive, goal-oriented partnerships with families top romote positive child and family outcomes
• Works with families to strengthen their support networks and connections with other parents and community members who can address families’ strengths, interests, and challenges
• Respects and responds to the cultures, languages, values, and family structures of each family
• Contacts parents about Head Start and campus activities; including, but not limited to parent orientation, transition events and end of year celebrations
• Facilitates parent education activities through Campus Committee meetings
• Works to facilitate parent volunteer participation and involvement in the classroom and program
• Schedules individual home visits throughout the year and participates in scheduled parent conferences
• Supports families’ needs and planning for their safety, health, education, wellbeing, and life goals
• Enters family data in program database accurately and in a timely manner to facilitate program services
• Reports needs of children and parents to appropriate content area specialists
• Attends meetings, trainings, and individual case staffing
• Protects the confidentiality of all information

Coordination:

• Follow up on consistent or frequent absences
• Provide families with transition activities and support into Head Start and from Head Start to other educational settings.
• Coordinate Holiday Resources for families at assigned campus(es)
• Maintain contact with Administrative Team through scheduled meetings/visits at campus office

Other Duties:

• Work toward personal /professional growth by attendance at Head Start staff development sessions
• Support Head Start program policies and procedures
• Report training needs to supervisory staff
• Provide support and resources to campus families as required or assigned by campus staff
• Perform other related duties as assigned within the appropriate skill ad experience capabilities expected for this position.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• None

Equipment Used:
Personal or laptop computer, printer, copier, fax machine, shredder, calculator, telephone,
electronic mobile devices, projector, and video display monitor 

Working Conditions:
Physical Demands/Mental Demands/Environmental Factors:
The working conditions described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions and expectations. Regularly sit, talk or hear; frequently required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; frequent repetitive hand motions; prolonged use of computer; occasionally lift and/or move up to 10-50 pounds; occasionally required to stand, walk reach with hands and arms; vision abilities include close vision; and color vision, regularly work with frequent interruptions, maintain emotional control under stress; the noise level is usually moderate. The employee may spend long hours in intense concentration which requires attention to detail. There are a number of deadlines
associated with this position, which may cause significant stress. The employee must also deal with a wide variety of people on various issues. Predictable and regular attendance expected. Frequent travel to assigned campuses, large number of telephone calls, several tasks open simultaneously, public relations and people skills are required at all times.

Note: This is not necessarily an exhaustive or all-inclusive list of responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, efforts, functions or working conditions associated with the job. This job description is not a contract of employment or a promise or guarantee of any specific terms or conditions of employment. College Station Independent School District reserves the right to, modify or delete any aspect of this job (or position itself) at any time as it deems advisable.

College Station ISD does does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities. The district provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.