Family and Health Coordinator

Description

At Easterseals of Chicagoland and Greater Rockford, we are committed to two – often interconnecting - pillars of work……early learning and disability. Through these pillars, we transform the lives of early learners and individuals of all abilities through access to expert educational, family, and community support. As an affiliate of America’s largest nonprofit healthcare organization, we have proudly served the communities and families of Chicagoland and Greater Rockford since 1936.

For more information about our organization, please visit us online at www.eastersealschicago.org.

The Family and Health Coordinator provides content area support and oversight in the areas of ERSEA (Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance), PFCE (Parent, Family, and Community Engagement), Health and Nutrition, Inclusion, and Social Emotional to the Easterseals Head Start/Early Head Start/Preschool for All/Prevention Initiative programs. The Family and Health Coordinator provides ongoing supervision to assigned Family and Health Advocates in one or more assigned geographic areas.

This position is headquartered at Easterseals Chicago Location at 1939 W 13th Street, Chicago, IL 60608

MAJOR FUNCTIONS/ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Planning and Program Services:

• Develop and maintain professional relationships, and work with the Family and Health Advocates, other Easterseals staff, partner site directors and staff, and the community to ensure consistent, high-quality parent engagement, family support, health and nutrition, inclusion, and social-emotional services at all assigned HS/EHS/PFA/PI programs.
• Work with Easterseals staff, site directors and staff, and the community to ensure that programs recruit and enroll HS/EHS/PFA/PI children, including children with disabilities, to meet their funded enrollment numbers and to keep an active waiting list.
• Provide support to assigned Family and Health Advocate supervisees at sites on a regular basis, including assisting with building collaborative relationships with the Education/Inclusion/Mental Health team, Program Operations team, and site directors and staff, in order to provide integrated services to families.
• Ensure that staff understand and follow a strengths-based, family-centered approach, recognizing and supporting the parent as the child’s first teacher.
• Ensure through ongoing individualized supervision, support, and ongoing monitoring that FHAs are fulfilling their position responsibilities, including building trusting relationships with families; providing ongoing support through at least one significant monthly contact with each family; family assessment and goal-setting; referrals and services, follow-up, and advocacy to meet family needs and interests; implementation of parent engagement curriculum; twice-yearly visits to each family in the family home or a community setting.
• Work with Easterseals and site staff to promote parent engagement, including through parent participation on the site Parent Committees and the agency Policy Council.
• Ensure the provision of case management and referral for social services to HS/EHS/PFA/PI families in cooperation with other social services, health and mental health agencies, and providers through community partnership agreements.
• Participate in program planning and implementation of all service areas as part of an integrated leadership team.
• Participate in the self-assessment process, community assessment, and strategic planning.
• Participate in the monthly analysis of monitoring data with the leadership team, provide recommendations, and ensure that data is utilized to guide planning.
• Participate in the achievement of program goals, school readiness goals, and promotion of a culture of safety.

Record Keeping, Reporting, and Communication:

• Implement systems and monitor individual supervisees’ work to ensure that all necessary information, including waiting list, enrollment, health information, Family Partnership Agreement strengths and needs assessments and goals, referrals, follow-up and case notes, is entered into Child Plus and child/family files in a timely manner.
• Prepare monthly reports.
• Facilitate and/or participate in regularly scheduled content area, team, work groups/committees and other meetings.
• Complete annual PIR as part of the leadership team.
• Travel to Easterseals and partner sites regularly.

Ongoing Monitoring and Self-Assessment:

• Implement monitoring systems and follow-up for ERSEA, PFCE, and Health/Nutrition.
• Complete site verification reports for all site visits, and review those submitted by supervisees.
• Participate in site team meetings and in the planning, implementation, and follow-up for site support plans and performance improvement plans.
• Participate in the ongoing self-assessment of the program.

Human Resources:

• Implement reflective and relationship-based practices.
• Meet with each supervisee monthly for reflective supervision.
• Provide ongoing technical support to the Family and Health Advocates, including observations and feedback, performance evaluations, and professional development plans.
• Provide individual training follow-up to supervisees as needed.
• Ensure compliance of team members with policies and enforce disciplinary action as needed.
• All other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Education/Certification:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in social work, human services, family services, counseling, or a related field; or, bachelor’s degree in another field with a Gateways Level 5 Family Specialist Credential
• Masters preferred
• At least 12 credit hours in ECE/CD preferred

Experience Required:

• At least 1 year of supervisory, coaching, or mentoring experience
• 3 years of direct service experience
• 2 years of experience in Head Start/Early Head Start
• 1 year of home visiting experience preferred

Required Knowledge:

• Head Start Program Performance Standards
• MS Office 365, Teams

Vehicle/Transportation Requirements:

• Valid driver’s license.
• Auto insurance.
• Reliable vehicle.

Skills/Abilities:

• Able to establish rapport and build trusting relationships with families and staff.
• Demonstrates a non-judgmental, compassionate, and culturally sensitive approach to working with families.
• Demonstrates a communication style that is open, adaptable, reflective, engaging, honest, and culturally sensitive.
• Ability to conduct family visits in home and/or community settings; schedule flexibility including evenings, to meet family needs.
• Willing and able to engage in reflective learning practices and to utilize constructive feedback.
• Able to work well with all levels of the organization, partner sites, other agencies and funding source personnel.
• Demonstrates the ability to conceptualize and articulate program outcomes.
• Able to manage multiple projects.
• Well organized, highly detail-oriented, and accuracy driven.
• Excellent interpersonal and supervisory skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

ADA: Easterseals will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disability Act of 1990. Unless exempted by the Americans with Disabilities Act, all persons hired for this position are required to possess the ability to perform the physical tasks necessary to treat clients, i.e., bending, floor-sitting, etc., as well as to have the ability to lift up to 50 pounds frequently.

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