Family & Community Engagement Specialist (3636) at Lutheran Services Florida

Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) envisions a world where children are safe, families are strong and communities are vibrant.

LSF is looking for a talented Family & Community Engagement Specialist who wants to make an impact in the lives of others.

Purpose & Impact:

Primary responsibility is performing duties that requires advanced knowledge in the field of social services and using such knowledge and prior work experience to exercise discretion and independent judgment in providing the most appropriate services and support to children and families in the Head Start/Early Head Start program; 1) Conduct eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance, 2) Facilitate in parent engagement, 3) Provide high- quality health, mental health, nutrition support and resource linkage, 4) Build partnerships with families to assist them in identifying their own goals, strengths, needed services and support system, 5) Assists with developing  and implementing family partnership agreements that outline families strategies and timetable for achieving their own goals, and 6) Responsible for the management and recordkeeping of the family comprehensive file etc.   

Essential Functions:  

Social Services 

• Initiate collaborative partnerships with parents to establish mutual trust and respect. 
• In collaboration with each family assess their  need for social services; develop an individualized plan that responds to the family’s need; deliver and/or coordinate the delivery of needed social services to each family through referral or providing director services; review and update as necessary. 
• Conducts and documents follow-up on all referrals. 
• Establish Family Partnership Agreements (FPA) with families and identifies family’s strengths, needs and interests to help parents develop and achieve goals within 45 days of enrollment.  
• Facilitate follow-up on Family Partnership Agreement (FPA) goals with families within 90 days and on-going at a minimum of 90 days or more frequently if necessary.   
• Provide comprehensive community resource information to families, individualizing to respond to the family’s needs and concerns to the maximum extent possible.  
• Refer families to community agencies/programs; assess accessibility, relevance and usefulness of assistance  
• Assist with the establishment and maintenance of ongoing collaborative relationships with community organizations responsive to the concerns of the families of children birth through age 5, pregnant women and their families; participate in community awareness events. 
• Report suspected child abuse and/or neglect following program procedures and Florida law. 
• Serves on a community board located in the area of assigned Head Start/Early Head Start site. 
• Develops a working knowledge of community resources, and visits, at least annually, with major agencies for service delivery updates and community resource guide updates. 

Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, Attendance (ERSEA) 

• Implement, document and report on the recruitment, selection and enrollment of potentially eligible children birth through age 5, pregnant women and their families in collaboration with Health and Family Community Engagement Manager. 
• Recruits prospective families and complete the enrollment process.  
• Maintain funded enrollment and fill Head Start/Early Head Start vacancies within 30 days. 
• Accurately verify and determine eligibility for Head Start/Early Head Start enrollment. 
• Monitor attendance and maintain an average daily attendance above 85%. 
• Follow up with any families experiencing participation or attendance problems. 

Parent Engagement 

• Coordinate and implement monthly parent committee meeting at your assigned center site(s). Maintain accurate records and documentation (g. meeting minutes, agenda, training, sign-in sheet, and PC members’ eligibility paperwork). 
• Ensure the elected Policy Council representative and/or alternate for assign center site(s) are in attendance for the Program’s Policy Council monthly meeting 
• Coordinate monthly parent engagement activites through the A Man Everybody Needs (AMEN) and Ladies of Victory and Empowerment (LOVE) support groups.   
• Implement a comprehensive, individualized and developmental parent engagement and education program responsive to parent needs, concerns and requests that supports parents in their role as the primary influence in their children’s lives. 
• Ensure comprehensive, timely two-way communication between parents, Head Start staff, and as appropriate, community individuals and organizations. 
• Encourage parent volunteerism throughout the program. 
• Provide parents regular opportunities to work together and with other community members on activities they helped develop and in which they expressed an interest. 
• Encourage parents to take an active role in making community services more responsive to their goals and needs. 
• Promote full child/family participation in program activities and assist with monitoring and resolution of any problems. 
• Assist parents, including pregnant women, with the transition process into Head Start from Early Head Start or other settings, and from Head Start to kindergarten. 

Health 

• Assists with the completion of the child health screening, other required screenings and assessments and is familiar with referral requirements. 
• Promote child and family wellness and the establishment of a medical and dental “home” for each HS infant, toddler and preschool child and each pregnant woman; 
• Provide physical/dental/mental health and nutrition education activities that are responsive to the ongoing and expressed needs of parents as individuals and in the parent committee meetings. 
• Provides health, safety and family literacy activities to parents, as appropriate. 
• Assist and support families with engaging and completing the appropriate disability paperwork for their child requiring services.   

Recordkeeping 

• Ensures an appropriate written transition plan is prepared for all Early Head Start children, six months prior to their third birthday. 
• Documents all efforts to assist families, tracks family partnership efforts and outcomes, records, monitors and follows up on referrals, and submits reports as required.   
• Collect child and family data and enter into ChildPlus; monitor; update; prepare data reports for program use and complete all Program Information Report (PIR) indicators within ChildPlus. 
• Maintain accurate, objective, timely and confidential records documenting all child, family, staff and agency contacts; disseminate appropriately; and document recruitment and enrollment activities. 

School Readiness 

• Coordinate with center staff to integrate family partnership goals with classroom efforts and to ensure integrated child and family curriculum. 
• While respecting family confidentiality, regularly share information with teachers to ensure coordinated services that meet the individual needs of children and families. 
• Attend parent/teacher conferences as requested. 
• Attend multi-team development meetings and staffings as requested. 
• Ensure an appropriate written transition plan is prepared for all children, six months prior to their third birthday. 

Program Operations 

• Participates in team management functions of planning, implementing and evaluating family and community engagement goals and objectives. 
• Participates in in-service, workshops, conferences and college courses to enhance skills; and attends all workshops and meetings as deemed necessary by the supervisor 
• Maintains strict confidentiality at all times with respect to Head Start/Early Head Start children, families and staff in accordance with established policies and procedures, including the ability to recognize situations in which confidentiality is required. 
• Other related duties as assigned. 

Other Functions: 

Note: The duties above are illustrative and not exhaustive. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position. Depending on assigned area of responsibility, incumbents in the position may perform some or all of the activities described above. 

Physical Requirements: 

Must be able to lift at least 45 pounds.  Reasonable accommodation may be made for otherwise qualified persons with disabilities. 

Education: 

Bachelor’s Degree is required in Social Work or Human Services or related human services field.   

Experience: 

At least two years of experience working with children and families in a social services environment.  Head Start/Early Head Start experience preferred.  

Also required:

Certification in First Aid and CPR within three months of the date assigned to this position; and successful completion of a Level II background screening and drug screening prior to hiring. 

Bilingual preferred: English/Spanish or English and other languages present in the local area.  

Skills: 

• Considerable knowledge of the principles and practices of social work and human behavior. 
• Knowledge of human development and health. 
• Knowledge of social services and health services available in the area. 
• Knowledge of computer data entry processes.  
• Knowledge of family-centered practices. 
• Ability to communicate ideas and instructions orally and in writing. 
• Ability to write reports and business correspondence. 
• Ability to speak before groups of individuals, such as Committees and Staff meetings. 
• Ability to calculate amounts by adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing and figuring percentages. 
• Ability to interpret an extensive variety of instructions. 
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions. 
• Ability to make recommendations and develop implementation strategies. 
• Basic computer skills. 

Other:  Must demonstrate sensitivity to our service population’s cultural and socioeconomic characteristics and needs. 

Principal Accountabilities: 

• Team player with co-workers and central service office staff.  
• Cost effective program operations. 
• Adherence to agency policies, procedures and performance standards.  
• Effective customer service and group leadership. 

Why work for LSF?

LSF offers 60 programs across the state of Florida serving a wide range of populations in need. Mission Driven staff members become part of the LSF community while transforming the lives of those in need. Our staff additionally find growth opportunities as they explore areas of interest within the organization. 

Amazing benefits package including:

• Medical, dental and vision
• Teladoc (24/7 access to doctors)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Long-term disability
• Employer paid life insurance (1X salary), AD&D
• Health and dependent care FSA
• 13 paid holidays + 1 floating holiday
• Generous PTO policy
• 403(b) Retirement plan with 3% discretionary employer match
• Tuition reimbursement

Lutheran Services Florida embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion in all business practices. LSF is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.