Family Support Advocate

Worcester Community Action Council Inc Southbridge, MA $18.00 to $19.00 per hour

About us:

Founded in 1965 as part of the War on Poverty, Worcester Community Action Council (WCAC) is one of 1,000 community action agencies across the U.S. and 23 in Massachusetts created to address disparities throughout the nation.

Our values of advancing equitable access, elevating all voices and partnering with people are embedded in the role we play as the federally designated anti-poverty agency for Central and South-Central Massachusetts. WCAC embodies service to the community through our Mission: Helping people move to economic self-sufficiency through programs, partnerships, and advocacy.

Our vision is to break the cycle of poverty one neighbor at a time. Through safety-net services and asset building solutions, WCAC creates economic mobility opportunities for tens of thousands of people annually through programs such as energy assistance, early education and care, financial empowerment, positive youth development, and career pathways.

WCAC is committed to being a responsible and inclusive partner through strong collaboration and a shared client perspective. We are committed to advocating for policies that create equitable access to education, health, social, and economic systems. We are committed to a workplace culture with a shared passion for our mission that promotes teamwork, respect, and the opportunity to make a difference.

Job Description:

The Family Support Advocate provides program participants with home visits, advocacy, support, assistance, and education to help them achieve optimal health, development, family stability, and function in their communities in accordance with a participant generated family goal plan. This person will co-facilitate groups and events when needed and trained to do so.

Qualifications:

Minimum High School Diploma or HiSET equivalency. Associate’s degree preferred.
Experience working with infants, toddlers, adolescents, and young families.
Experience working with adolescents in one-on-one and group settings.
Experience working with diverse populations.
Ability to demonstrate empathy and advocacy for participants.
Demonstrated ability to establish supportive, non-judgmental relationships with others.
Expressed desire and motivation to provide home visiting services to infants, toddlers, adolescents, and families.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to speak Spanish, preferred.
$2,000 sign on bonus for qualified applicants

Other Requirements:

Ability to successfully complete a CORI and SORI reviews biannually.
Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation.
Physical requirement, ability to climb stairs and lift up to 40lbs.
Flexible schedule to accommodate program and family’s needs.
Complete all required Children’s Trust (CT) and agency orientation and training.
Covid Vaccination

Duties and Responsibilities:

Maintain caseload up to twenty participants, with a maximum case weight of thirty points.
Work with each participant family to coordinate services, report observations, and seek instruction and guidance specific to each family’s needs.
Educate participant families about the importance of early and continuous prenatal care and positive habits to enhance pregnancy outcome and the stages of pregnancy.
Educate families on infant, toddler and adolescent development, family health and nutrition as well as self-sufficiency and safety.
Assist parents and family members in learning effective interaction and parenting skills with infants and toddlers through positive role modeling and providing current information on relevant topics for the parents.
Support young parents in their social, environmental and health needs by identifying services, community resources and informal networks.
Assist participant families to identify their individualized goals and objectives and how to plan for successful achievement of their plan. Help them to identify barriers and solutions to overcome the barriers through self- sufficiency or available services or programs.
Support parents as they learn to parent through daily living.
Assist participant families to learn parental coping strategies, and to expect realistic accomplishments of their child based on their child’s developmental stage.
Make the necessary referrals to appropriate services, with participants’ consent, such as Early Intervention, when ASQ scores are low.
Assist with preparation, facilitation, and co-facilitation of group sessions. Provide child care for participant group sessions as assigned.
Coordinate transportation for participants to attend group programs and events if pre-approved.
Participate in case conferences and coordination, bi-weekly team meetings, and individual weekly supervision.
Identify new referral sources and recruit new participants for program through community outreach and collaboration with other human service providers.
Provide referral assistance for families contacting the program who do not meet the criteria for Healthy Families of Southern Worcester County. This includes providing referrals to other Healthy Families programs as well as to appropriate program and agency affiliations.
Maintain and track participant program contacts by completing required forms and entering accurate data into the PDS (Participant Data System) computer tracking system within CT timeframes, and from a strength-based perspective.
Promote cultural awareness and diversity practices within the program and the agency.
Respect and maintain confidentiality of all participant information.
Other duties may be assigned by the Director of Healthy Families Southern Worcester County or the Chief Operating Officer

Send cover letter and resume specifying position via email to hr@wcac.net.

Worcester Community Action Council, Inc. is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity to all qualified employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, physical or mental disability, pregnancy or pregnancy related condition, sexual orientation, gender identification, genetic information, membership in the uniformed services or any other classification which is protected under state or federal law.