Family Engagement Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

Family Engagement Specialist

About NECC :

Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative is a nonprofit that supports parents and childcare providers by giving them the resources they need to give children the education they deserve. Our programs and services reach more than 500 childcare business owners in Nebraska, creating impact for children, families, and communities across the state.

What it’s like to work here :

NECC provides its employees with a casual work environment (no traditional dress code policies here!), excellent benefits, and all the technology and tools needed to do the mission-focused work that we do. We know that to best serve our mission, our employees need a healthy work-life balance. We provide work-from-home flexibility, 9 holidays off per year, a lengthy winter break, plus Summer Fridays. (Be sure to ask about Summer Fridays during your interview – they’re awesome!) Since we’re all about children here, we encourage creativity, learning, and fun in the workplace! We hold frequent employee events as well as multiple training and development opportunities throughout the year. Ultimately, NECC is a forward-thinking organization that hires mission-driven people who are dedicated to using their various talents to serve families and children in our community; we hope you’ll be one of them.

About the job :

We currently have an opening for a Family Engagement Specialist to join our Early Head Start (EHS) team. The Family Engagement Specialist assists in the recruitment, enrollment, and attendance tracking for child participants in the EHS program. They also assist participant families as needed to address crisis events that may impact the child’s participation in the program and / or relate to basic family needs.

Duties include :

• Engage with children and their family members in a manner sensitive to the experiences, needs, and strengths of low-income and diverse populations as well as individuals with disabilities.
• Engage in mutually respectful, positive, goal-oriented partnerships with families to promote positive child and family outcomes.
• Identify family strengths and areas of need by completing an initial family assessment and updating it as needed.
• Support families in planning for their safety, health, education, well-being, and life goals during the Family Partnership Agreement process.
• Collaborate with other staff members to recruit and enroll eligible children and families for the purpose of providing comprehensive services, while maintaining full enrollment and serving families most in need of services according to federal guidelines.
• Provide an interdisciplinary orientation for families regarding program opportunities and expectations.
• Maintain child attendance records; communicate with families and teaching staff about attendance; provide support for attendance challenges.
• Support families of children with disabilities and / or behavioral concerns by building relationships and communicating / advocating with teachers and administrative staff within the educational system and during the transition process.
• Plan and facilitate regularly scheduled family activities and family involvement events for the purpose of responding to families’ interests and / or needs. Activities may include individual, small group, and / or large group sharing of information regarding child development and self-sufficiency issues as identified by families.
• Provide guidance and direction with health and wellness concerns for clients, providing additional resources as needed to ensure they receive the appropriate services for their needs.
• Assist families in initiating and maintaining eligibility for childcare subsidy.
• Assist families with transition activities into and within the Early Head Start program and into chosen preschool programming.
• Document and track child and parent information in the program’s data management system, including but not limited to case notes, health data, enrollment data, and program information data to support family and program goals.
• Participate in reflective supervision, reflective practice, and peer-to-peer leaning groups.

About you :

We are looking for the following qualifications :

If you’d like to be part of something special, please apply!

Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discriminatory hiring practices. We are committed to the equal treatment of all employees and applicants and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity / expression, and sexual orientation), age, disability, veteran status, parental status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Equal Opportunity Employer