Family Support Advocate
- Center for Early Relationship Support Programs - Healthy Families
- Waltham, MA, USA
- $22.00-$23.00
- Hourly
- Full Time
Family Support Advocate Job Description
Reporting to the Healthy Families Supervisor, the Family Support Advocate is responsible for providing non-judgmental coaching, education, advocacy, service planning, and referrals for first-time pregnant and parenting families 23 and younger in the Healthy Families program.
Job Responsibilities:
- Conduct regular home visits with up to 15 families in the service area, building and maintaining relationships with family members and directly assisting the family prenatally, through pregnancy, delivery, and up through to the child's 3rd birthday or 3 years from enrollment.
- Provide coaching and resources on a range of topics, including infant and child development, immunizations, positive nurturing routines, family planning, nutrition, breastfeeding, home safety and stress management
- Work closely with the Healthy Families team, conduct family assessments, develop and implement individualized family goal plans based on the families' goals
- Facilitate appropriate use of primary care and other services, track immunizations and referrals made
- Encourage family members and co-parents to participate in family support services, social activities, parent education and health promotion activities
- Work with Healthy Families team to plan social activities and incentive programs for program participants, and assist in other partnership projects as needed
- Attend meetings of the Healthy Families team, and attend scheduled staff development and training programs
- For families who have completed the intensive home visiting stage, help insure continued linkage to primary care and family support services, and outreach to families in need of follow-up
- Collect data, document all encounters, and assist in the generation of reports summarizing Healthy Families activities in accordance with all Healthy Families America standards.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree and or significant experience (3+ years) working with families and children
- Valid Drivers License and reliable means of transportation required
- Ability to establish trusting relationships, accepting of individual differences
- Willing and able to work with culturally diverse populations
- Open to reflective practice; capacity for self-reflection in relation to others
- Ability to work well in a team
- Knowledge of infant, child, and adolescent development
- Must be familiar with Outlook, web-based databases and proficient in Microsoft Office Suites as needed to fulfill the requirements of the job
- Fluency in Spanish preferred
The Benefits:
- Full-time position working out of our Waltham Office and within Central Middlesex community.
- Mileage Reimbursement for home/community visits
- Generous Paid Time Off policy including 22 vacation days per year, 2 personal days per year, 15 Sick days per year w/ carryover, Federal and some religious holidays
- Immediate eligibility for insurance and benefits, including: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability, & Voluntary Insurance options, Retirement Planning w/ Match, Pet Insurance, Flexible Spending Account, Employee Assistance Wellness Benefits and more!
About JF&CS
For more than 150 years, Jewish Family & Children's Service has been helping individuals and families build a strong foundation for resilience and well-being. We intentionally serve and employ people of ALL faiths, backgrounds, cultures, and abilities.
We have a strong culture of professional development, work-life balance, and promotion from within.
JF&CS is an equal opportunity employer who serves and employs people of all cultures and faith traditions and highly values diversity, equity and inclusion. Employment opportunities are available to all without regard for race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability.