Position Overview

The works as part of an interdisciplinary team alongside the Director of Family Services to ensure families are welcomed into the program and receive high quality support services according to the families’ strengths, interests, and needs. The FSS supports the Family Advocate Specialist (FAS) team in all aspects of programming including case management and family partnership agreements, childcare assistance, and other casework activities. The FSS is responsible for maintaining strong family and community partnerships, involving parents in all aspects of the program (including program governance), and ensures compliance with all Head Start requirements including health, dental, family services, and family engagement.

Responsibilities/Duties/Functions/Tasks

• Work under the supervision of the Director of Engagement and Enrollment to ensure consistency and compliance of all Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS), ND Agency Policies and Procedures, Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) requirements and Wisconsin Licensing requirements.
• Participate in the oversight of program policies, service delivery plan, and ongoing monitoring to ensure program quality and compliance.
• Work with the Director of Family Engagement and Enrollment to ensure program compliance through ongoing monitoring and file reviews.
• Work the Enrollment and Community Engagement Supervisor to coordinate year-round recruitment and enrollment efforts for all Next Door Programs.
• Function as a liaison between the community and center activities
• Ensure FAS are reliable and consistent use of Child Plus for entering data related to family services such as enrollment, attendance, class lists, transportation needs, and documentation of all family interactions, and health events.
• Monitors attendance. Works closely with FAS, Education Team, Enrollment and Retention Specialist, and Enrollment and Community Engagement Supervisor when attendance falls below the threshold prescribed by HSPPS and MPS.
• Work with the Director of Family Engagement and Enrollment to ensure parent committees are established, maintained, and meet monthly.
• Provides support to Policy Council/Parent Committee leaders to plan and implement monthly parent committees. Ensures FAS follows up regularly with Policy Council members to keep them engaged and involved in Policy Council.
• Ensure parents are represented in all aspects of the Head Start/Early Head Start programs.
• Facilitate regular staff meetings for all FAS staff.
• Collaborates with Director of Family Engage,ent and Enrollment in the supervision of staff.
• Collaborate with FAS team to determine case assignments.
• Remain up-to-date in knowledge as it relates to best practice in the field of services to children and families such as those served by the program.
• Reviews the child care authorization and EBT payments reports provided by the Enrollment Team.
• Other tasks as assigned

Professional Development

The Family Support Supervisor promotes a culture of professionalism, collaboration, and continuous improvement. They structure routine contexts for individual and group-based professional development for the family support team to work collaboratively to reflect on and examine practice, solve application challenges, manage conflict, and promote continuous learning and improvement in professional practice and family outcomes. Specifically;

• Collaborate with the Director of Family Engagement and Enrollment to support an onboarding process for the family support team.
• Ensure new FAS properly onboarded.
• Provides opportunities for embedded professional development for family support team to include video observations, coaching, and mentoring.
• Provide regular opportunities for the family support team to participate in reflective practice groups.
• With the support of the Director of Family Engagement and Enrollment, facilitates reflective supervision at least monthly with each direct report.
• Participate in reflective supervision with immediate supervisor.
• With the support of the Director of Engagement and Enrollment, ensures family support team members acquire 15 hours of continuing education annually.
• Attend meetings and training as required including earning 15 hours of continuing education.

Family Services Program Development

Collaborates with the Director of Family Engagement and Enrollment to coordinates the School’s family engagement experiences within the context of the family and community engagement outcomes outlined in the Parent Family Community Engagement Framework (PFCE) including implementation of the following core features and evidence-based practices:

• Collaborates with other program staff to design and implement annual family engagement activities.
• Ensures Family Partnership Agreements encompass needs identified from the Family Needs Assessment and Family Outcomes Survey.
• Ensure that Family Partnership Agreements and service plans support the parent/child relationship encourage parent involvement, support self-sufficiency, and plan for transition.
• Support parents in understanding their roles and contributions to securing a non-federal share match. Document any in-kind donations for families/family engagement events.
• Tracks and monitors family service data for accuracy and compliance.
• Reviews data from Comprehensive Services to insure children are current on health and dental requirements.

Interdisciplinary Work and Collaboration

Facilitates interdisciplinary work and collaboration among the family support and other program areas/staff, including:

• Supports partnership with the Education Department to ensure each family receives two interdisciplinary home visits and two parent teacher conferences.
• Facilitate and encourage positive collaboration and cooperation between the Head Start family support team, education staff and other ND programs and departments.
• Work with the Site Directors/Education Managers to design, implement and promote parent education, trainings and activities as required by Head Start Performance Standards.
• Provides opportunities for FAS and teaching staff to provide regular classroom level meetings.
• Participates in agency committees, and community organization to further the vison of being All In at Next Door.

Assessment

• Uses data from self-assessment, Program Information Report, program data, and community needs assessments to design services for families.
• With the support of the Director of Family Engagement and Enrollment, facilitates annual Family Interview and Satisfaction Surveys to identify program and family needs.
• Supports family support to use data to inform the work and services provided to families.
• Monitors data within Child Plus for accuracy and compliance.
• Ensures alignment and follow through with Family Partnership Agreements and Family Needs Assessment.

Home/School Connection

• Develop effective partnerships with parents by encouraging input into the educational program and the planning and implementation of periodic family events.
• Ensure family support conducts home visits for those families with high needs and poor attendance.
• Ensures families are sign up and active on Learning Genie.

Accountability and Performance Requirement

All staff members are accountable for knowing and performing the responsibilities associated with their individual position in an efficient and effective manner, understanding that each of us plays an integral role in the success of our mission. All staff will support the agency mission, vision, standards of conduct/code of ethics and strategic directions and support administrative decisions. This must demonstrated by maintaining a positive work environment, and by behaving and communicating in an appropriate manner with children, families, coworkers, supervisors and the public while achieving performance expectations.

• A Bachelor degree in the field of human service, social welfare, or social work and/or a certificate in Family Development Credential and relevant work experience.
• Must have strong communication skills, leadership abilities and able to support a mutually respectful work environment.
• Excellent computer skills including data base systems.
• The incumbent must have access to a personal vehicle to use on a daily basis, maintain a valid driver’s license and automobile insurance with liability limits of $300,000 (bodily injury) and $25,000 (property damage for each occurrence). Ability to work under tight deadlines and good writing required.

Special Position Requirements

• Family Support Supervisors are responsible for meeting all community and family engagement requirements of the Head Start Performance Standards and ensuring full funded enrollment is met and maintained.

Preferences

• 1-2 years’ experience as a supervisor preferred.
• Demonstrated experience working with and providing direct support to, low-income families and families from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
• Experience with early childhood/child development preferred.
• Knowledge and understanding of Head Start performance standards is preferred.

Work Requirements

• Other duties as assigned.

Safety and Health

Next Door is committed to providing a safe work environment and to fostering the well-being and health of its employees. An essential part of each employees’ job is the development of safe working practices and the observance of safety rules, including:

• Following safety warnings and directions at all times.
• Using personal safety devices when required.
• Reporting any unsafe conditions to supervisor.
• Following process for reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.
• Reporting unsupervised children, after ensuring child’s safety.

Physical Demands

• Primarily active work; occasionally lifting up, holding or moving up to 50 lbs.

Physical Activity

• Bending, stooping, kneeling, sitting on the floor, walking/transporting, handling, reaching, climbing, balancing, crouching, crawling, talking and speaking clearly, hearing conversation level, tasting, smelling and seeing; ability to interact daily with children outdoors in varied weather condition.

Work Environment

• Mainly classroom setting and travel to various sites for meetings.

Personal/Physiological

• Ability to make frequent, significant decisions to understand and react to the development process of children.
• Ability to respond quickly and competently to an emergency or crisis situation in order to keep children safe.