Parent Educator

SUMMARY:
The Parent Educator develops and maintains supportive, strength-based, culturally sensitive relationships with infants, toddlers and their families. The Parent Educator is responsible for ensuring that Early Head Start (EHS) participants receive comprehensive Early Head Start services to ensure the optimal development of mothers, their newborn babies and toddlers by helping them to establish healthy parent-child relationships. The Parent Educator ensures compliance with the Head Start Program Performance Standards for EHS. The Parent Educator ensures culpability and understands that effective data collecting practices are integral to the goal of achieving successful outcomes.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Maintains an assigned caseload minimum of 10 or maximum of 12 0-3 year old children and parents.
• Must complete weekly recruiting events to maintain the required enrollment number of participants to retain for the program. 
• Provides weekly virtual visits to parents and children utilizing parents as teachers home based best practices.
• Be flexible and work with families at their convenience. 
• Works jointly with parents to develop and implement weekly home visit plans based on each child’s assessment and identified family needs.
• Maintains and preserves confidential client files.
• Observes, assesses and documents each child’s health, skills, behavior, growth and development.
• Integrates a collaborative approach with fellow Parent Educators to ensure continuity of services.
• Provides children and parents with individual and group socialization experiences.
• Serves as an advocate for Head Start families and as a liaison between families, the program and the larger community.
• Serves as a case manager for families to connect them to critical resources like health care appointments, food, housing, counseling, job training and more.  
• Serves as a financial coach to assist families with understanding and participating in basic money management, budgeting, savings, credit and debt reduction activities. 
• Serves as a career development coach to assist adults in navigating career pathways and overcoming barriers to employment.   
• Integrates other components, (i.e. health, nutrition, mental health, parental involvement and disabilities) into the home visit.
• Assists in identifying children with special needs and makes the necessary referrals.
• Provides crisis intervention including, but not limited to, mandated reporting.
• Encourages participation in the Head Start Parent Committee meetings as well as parent group and socialization meetings, and other events or trainings.
• Ensures that all instructions and parent education comply with DAP, best practices, curriculum instructions and the program design.
• Assists families in developing/updating a Family Success Plan and creating a plan for the accomplishment of their goals in a timely manner.
• Assist with community outreach efforts targeting local hospitals, clinics and community service organizations.
• Participate in conferences, workshops, and other trainings as required by the program.
• Make concerted efforts to create and generating new solutions that are impactful. 
• Take an active approach to improving their skills and enhancing their knowledge in the field of early education and studies related to home based programs. 
• Assist program mothers in transitioning into EHS childcare programs or other infant childcare programs.
• Participates in regular reflective supervision and staff meetings as required by the program.
•  Maintain and document all services in the family files and ensures up to date program files for each family in the caseload.
• Enter participant information and other required program information into the Child Plus system in a timely manner.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

 
SKILLS:

• Must demonstrate a philosophical and value base consistent with the purpose and goals of Clover.
• Must have knowledge of early childhood education and developmental milestones.
• Ability to assess student needs and perform accordingly.
• Ability to respond effectively to changes and challenges and make effective adjustments where and when necessary.
• Demonstrate an ability to create actionable strategies based on the work.
• Ability to be a highly engaged employee and put forth 110% of effort every day in alignment with the goals of the program and agency.  
• Ability and skills to advocate on behalf of program participants and exhibit a belief system that program participants have the capacity to grow and change.
• Ability to provide intentional and individualized care to families that support the program’s Whole Family Approach design.
• Ability to work with staff, program participants, their families and the community at large.
• Demonstrate computer literacy/proficiency and innovative electronic skills to apply quality virtual services. 
• Possess a demonstrated understanding of the dynamics of poverty, oppression, sexism, racism and ageism and other forms of societal and individual prejudice that confront our staff, volunteers, program participants and community at-large.
• Possess a proven ability to work effectively and respectfully with a broad range of people from diverse cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.
• Possess skill in engaging and motivating program participants to increase their self-sufficiency and work towards resolution of the challenges they face.
• Must demonstrate a philosophy and value base consistent with the purpose and goals of Clover, utilizing a strengths and empowerment perspective and working towards increasing the capacities of program participants and their families.
• Respect the integrity of each program participant, their right to privacy and confidentiality and their right to participate to their maximum capacity in determining their participation in our programs, including the formation of a case or service plan.
• Must have knowledge of principles and practices of infant and toddler child development and family practice.
• Knowledge of community resources and the capacity to develop community cooperation to ensure that pregnant women receive comprehensive services.
• Must have knowledgeable about Head Start and Early Head Start Performance Standards.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

• Must be able to function in a flexible work environment that will include different locations and may require working from home.
• Must be able to operate a variety of equipment such as computer, printer, fax machine, copier, calculator, telephone, audio-visual equipment, etc.
• Must be able to sit, stand, walk, reach, bend and lift up to 10 pounds.
• Must be able to communicate in Standard English both orally and in writing.
• Must be able to give and receive information electronically.
• Must be able to communicate successfully and pleasantly with school and central office personnel, students, and families.
• Must be able to work cooperatively with others.
• Must be able to respond positively to supervision and accept suggestions for improvement.
• Must be able to understand and interpret written and verbal instructions.
• Must keep accurate and up to date records.
• Must comply with state and district regulations, policies and procedures.
• Must have reliable transportation.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS & EXPERIENCES:

• Must have an Associate’s Degree in Social Work, Early Childhood Education, Child Development or related field required or Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, Early Childhood Education, Child Development or related field preferred; must have at least 3 years’ experience working in early childhood/family support, or home visiting programs required.