Family Advocate Intern, Early Childhood Services (Unpaid)

Description

Do you want to use your skills and talents to make a lasting difference in the world? At Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet we are mission-driven, focused on positive results for people and believe that people should be treated with dignity and respect. If you feel the same way we encourage you to join us in making a difference!

Catholic Charities’ Head Start program is NAEYC Accredited as well as a Gold Circle Quality and a US Model Head Start Program.

If you desire a better work/life balance and can work in a fast paced environment with excellent growth potential, we would like to hear from you.

Our Head Start Facility has operation hours of 7am - 5:30pm

General Responsibilities

1. This is an internship. The Family Advocate Intern assists the Site Supervisor and other staff in planning, developing, implementing and coordinating the Head Start Performance Standards as related to Health and Nutrition Services, Family and Community Partnerships, Program Design and Management.
2. It is required for family service workers to conduct home visits with a Family Advocate.
3. It is the expectation that programmatic recruitment takes place throughout the community as specified and designated during the week.

Essential Functions

1. Assists Site Supervisor in accepting and processing of applications, and assist family in obtaining necessary medical requirements to be enrolled into the program.
2. Cooperatively works with interdisciplinary team members, parents, and other specialists to evaluate and develop treatment and/or intervention plans for children and/or families.
3. Implements parent training in conjunction with the Manager of Family and Community Engagement.
4. Responsible for providing opportunities for Parent Involvement activities.
5. Works with families to help them determine family action plans, assess needs, and educating families of available community resources to meet those needs.
6. Conduct intake process to enroll eligible families in the program.
7. n the presence of a Family Advocate (FA), conducts periodic visits to homes of children in order to encourage building of relationships with families and to implement required follow-up services.
8. Accompanied by a Family Advocate, escorts/translates or acquires the needed assistance in translating/advocates and/or represents families who may be unable to act on their own behalf in obtaining services or benefits for programs to which they may be entitled.
9. Compiles with all necessary measures to ensure full enrollment within thirty (30) days of program year start.
10. Follows established referral procedures, documents and follows up on all referrals made.
11. Participates in center meetings, agency meetings, parent committee meetings, and case coordination as required.
12. Participates in community outreach activities that involve networking with community agencies for informational and recruitment purposes.
13. Monitors families progress in working towards the established Family Action plan as outlined in the Family Partnership Agreement.
14. Reports any problems with families, crisis or emergency situations, including incidents of suspected abuse or neglect immediately to the Site Supervisor.
15. Completes monthly reports by maintaining accurate family tracking system and documentation as requested related to family needs, absences, and other information as required by program’s funding source. Utilizes procedures for confidentiality in the record keeping system, and when obtaining information from other agencies.
16. Maintains all forms required in file system, including case notes, referral forms, attendance information, information releases related to health or disabling conditions, health information, and any other information required to be in client’s file.
17. Summarizes significant information in the family contact notes.
18. Follows up with children returned by the bus or children (walkers) who are not being picked up at the end of each school session through the use of a warning system and documentation of such.
19. Inputs and maintains data in the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information Systems (PROMIS) Child and Family Tracking System and Ready Rosie Data Base.
20. Coordinate transportation information between Client, Transportation Coordinator, and Site Supervisor.

Requirements

1. In the process of acquiring a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree is required for this position with a preference in the areas of Social Work, Physiology, Human Services, Applied Behavioral Science, or related field. Master’s degree is preferred. All degrees must come from a regionally accredited education institution, which has U.S. Department of Education approval.
2. Knowledge of local community, resources, child development, and preferred Head Start experience.
3. Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office applications including Outlook, Word, and Teams.
4. Passage of complete background clearance, physical and Tuberculosis (TB) Test.
5. Reliable means of transportation and proof of liability insurance is required.