Family Advocate - Othello

Location: Othello, 750 N. 7th Ave., Othello, WA 99344, USA

Position is responsible to ensure families meet eligibility criteria to receive social and health related program services. Within an assigned caseload, interview clients individually, in family or in other small groups to determine child and family needs to support and mobilize inner capacities and obtain community resources to improve social, health and mental health functioning, as required by Head Start and/or ECEAP Performance Standards.

Participate in the development of Individual Education Plan (I.E.P.) and Individual Family Service Plans (IFSP).

Inspire Development Centers provides early Childhood Education (ECE) and social services to 3,110 children in a center‑based and home‑based setting, at more than 25 Child Development Centers (CDC) throughout the State of Washington. At these sites, Inspire employs over 1,000 staff on a $52 million annual budget. Inspire provides these services under various federal and state funded programs with differing regulations and stipulations, which must be coordinated and adhered to, including, but not limited to:
Regional Head Start (RHS), Migrant Seasonal Head Start (MSHS), Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), and Early Head Start (EHS). The organization is required to meet an annual quota of non‑federal share (in‑kind) funds. A large majority of children’s first language is Spanish. Over the past 40 years, Inspire has strategically and incrementally increased its capacity to address the rapidly changing needs of its families and communities.

The Family Advocate reports to the Center Manager and works closely with Program Support, Compliance Specialists, Registered Nurses, Core Team, Center Staff, Parents and with and around children.

• Establish and maintain an ongoing recruitment process that will ensure enrollment of eligible children under the different funding sources of criteria, including children with disabilities and severe disabilities.
• Responsible for eligibility verification of children and families, maintaining an up-to-date waiting list, selecting and enrolling children based on established criteria. Responsible for inputting all family and child data into database systems.
• Responsible for reviewing daily attendance and entering attendance results into database systems. Contact parents and assist with attendance plan if necessary.
• Perform strength and needs assessment and develop progress goals with all participating families in order to systematically provide assistance to members in their efforts to help themselves. Make ongoing entries in child/parent files regarding progress of activities, services, and/or concerns.
• Conduct home visits as stated on the Service Plan.
• Develop local community partnerships to maintain resources for families. Contact program participants to provide information about the center and other available services such as employment, education, welfare, health, legal services, housing, and training. Maintain a continuous line of communication between center and the community.
• Contact parents using a variety of media to motivate and interest them in attending PCC and Parent meetings. Follow‑up on parent training requested. Provide transportation to Program Coordinator Representatives as needed to attend Policy Council meetings.
• Prepare and present training for parents and staff on relevant component areas. Participate in center level meetings such as staffing, core team, staff, and transitioning meetings. Organize local training from local interests in skill building training.
• Responsible to ensure all processes for Mental Health and Disabilities are followed and implemented, including, but not limited to: make referrals for mental health and disabilities and assist families in identifying and accessing mental health services. Review ASQ screening scores to ensure referrals are not missed and verify that the correct screening tool is used based on the child’s chronological age.
• Schedule mental health observations,…