Caregiver Engagement Specialist
- Posted
- 18 days ago
- Employment type
- Full Time
- Location
- Los Angeles
- Closing date
About this organization
Friends LA seeks to impact generational change by providing meaningful long-term support to children and their parents with salaried, professional mentors--12+ years, no matter what. Our innovative model is leading the charge in changing our LA County child welfare system into a child wellbeing system. We provide more than 150 of our community’s young children with holistic support through 1:1 weekly professional mentorship and preventative services, from the time youth are in kindergarten through high school completion. By providing intentional activities to foster healthy academic development, meet basic needs, and help to remove barriers to engaging in critical long-term services for the entire family, our 12-year, relationship-based model empowers families to achieve improved well-being that breaks generational cycles of poverty and trauma.
About this job
The Caregiver Engagement Specialist is responsible for assessing risk factors, improving overall protective factors for each family, and collecting outcome data. Responsibilities include: providing the primary source of support and encouragement, tracking the participants’ progress toward education and employment goals, resource referral and periodic trainings, crisis intervention, and collecting outcome data. The Caregiver Engagement Specialist works directly with parents to monitor program partnership and inspire personal success.
Roles & responsibilities
Primary Responsibilities:
A. Direct Services
Co-develop individual goal plans for parents to provoke self-discovery and personal growth; engage in goal setting and meaningful action.
Coach parents by encouraging self-responsibility, promoting alignment between their personal values and actions and generating innovative solutions.
Complement the work of the Program Director and Friends by serving as a bridge to support services in a variety of life domains that include, but are not limited to, mental health, workforce development, housing, and public benefits.
Assess each family’s needs and growth over time as well as provide follow-up support.
Coach parents to progress in their life skill development and achieve goals by providing support, crisis intervention, guidance, and resource referral.
Collaborate and strategize with participants on effectively partnering with outside support systems and agencies.
Support participants in managing their finances to ensure they are maximizing their resources.
Maintain efficient, confidential and organized records; provide timely and appropriate case notes in ETO.
Collect, record and administer participant self-assessments and all other participant data for outcomes progress and grant data reporting.
Collaborate and participate in team meetings with program staff.
Work with families and other staff collaboratively through family goal planning sessions and provide support to mentors when appropriate.
B. Program Support
Work closely with the Program Director to ensure outcomes are achieved.
Model and coach the client family in multiple forms of parenting and communication skills, anger management, and problem solving.
Plan, coordinate, and lead parent support groups/activities.
Be willing to work flexible hours and be available in crisis situations
Develop and maintain accurate client records and participate in the development of needs/strengths assessment.
Collaborate with the Program Director in planning, training, retention, and providing support to families and Friends
C. Other Duties as assigned
All Friends L.A. employees are mandated reporters and are legally required to ensure a report is made when abuse is observed or suspected.
Participate in Friends of the Children training to have a baseline of the content, skills, and language used throughout program for participants and staff.
Serve as role model and mentor for families to ensure that they have resources necessary to perform reach their family goals.
Know and understand the needs and issues of the families served. Meet with each Friend one-on-one each month, and review Roadmaps and Transition Plans for each child and family on a monthly basis.
Communicate effectively and appropriately in all directions regarding organizational issues, concerns, policies, and procedures. Raise and resolve issues appropriately.
Solicit and obtain feedback from parents on monthly basis. Document and maintain all feedback, and include in quarterly reports.
Participate in regular conference calls with Program leads in the network, and otherwise communicate with personnel at the National office and other chapters about the program. Research, develop, implement, and sustain best practice programming to serve current and future needs of the organization as required.
Support Program Director in the child identification and selection process; including developing and sustaining a robust, formalized process, and training.
Utilize program data to help develop, implement, and sustain enrichment activities and program excellence.
Be relentlessly committed to ensuring that youth and families reach their long-term outcomes.
Communicate regularly and effectively with Program Director about key aspects of the program, including status of families, recommendations for improvement of the program.
Develop trusting, supportive relationships with families, and guardians of the children we serve.
Responsible for the quality, integrity, and timely entry of program data.
Ensure compliance with and accountability to organization’s policies, procedures, and practices as outlined in the Employee Manual and Friends Handbook. Contribute to the development of any of these as required. Help move the organization to one of increased accountability and zero tolerance.
Collaborate with and benefit from National team resources.
Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Education and Experience Required:
Master’s degree; Licensed Preferred.
Seven to ten years’ experience working with child-related programs.
Ability to research, analyze data, design/develop, propose, implement, and sustain evaluation methods currently utilized.
Knowledge of child development and child issues, particularly those most relevant to our program youth.
Awareness of community resources, and the ability to cultivate and sustain relationships with these resources.
Enthusiasm for helping to plan and manage the anticipated growth of Friends LA, and commitment to developing personal skills and knowledge as appropriate to that growth.
To apply
Please apply through our Hiring Thing portal: https://friendsofthechildren-national.hiringthing.com/job/557903/caregiver-engagement-specialist-metro-south-los-angeles