WHAT DOES A FAMILY ADVOCATE DO?

Updated: Jun 13, 2025 - The Family Advocate is responsible for the preparation and submission of required reports and administrative forms, ensures children receive a varied, age-appropriate learning environment to promote school readiness. Duties include stepping in as a teacher aide, providing continuous supervision according to licensing regulations, and maintaining safety as a top priority. This position fosters active parent involvement and advocacy, conducts home visits, and participates in classroom activities, while maintaining communication with families and community members, and pursuing professional development through ongoing education and training.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Family Advocate

1. Family Advocate Duties

  • Team Collaboration: Convene, support, and collaborate with a team of local parents, subject experts, and other residents to deliver monthly events and activities held at the C.R.I.B.
  • Community Engagement: Recruit, welcome, and orient community residents, volunteers, and participants and ensure they are valued members of the C.R.I.B. team.
  • Facilitation: Engage groups of local community members of all ages comfortably, and guide them through the co-designed activities and programming at the C.R.I.B.
  • Advocacy & Outreach: Provide advocacy, outreach, and referrals to connect participants to service providers and other programs that have resources to offer.
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Promote cooperation between participants and engage the buy-in and commitment of community stakeholders in the activities of the FEC.
  • Data Management: Effectively utilize tracking and reporting mechanisms and accurately enter data and run reports in the C.R.I.B.’s Club Express website and other agency databases to obtain program-level data, compiling statistical or written reports for agency and external stakeholders.
  • Website Management: Manage the C.R.I.B. website to communicate with and engage members and manage enrollment and attendance at offerings and events.
  • Facility Management: Care for and attend to the physical space of the FEC program to ensure it is safe, welcoming, organized, and appealing to participants and community members.
  • Inventory & Procurement: Handle inventory and ordering/purchasing responsibilities to keep the site running and ensure needed food and supplies are stocked for offerings.
  • Financial Stewardship: Serve as the petty cash, Metrocard, and gift card custodian, ensuring these items are available and accounted for at all times, submitting receipts and back up information to GSS fiscal department as funds are depleted.
  • Multitasking: Work in a fast-paced environment on multiple projects occurring simultaneously.

2. Family Advocate Details

  • Outreach & Recruitment: Establish and maintain outreach and recruitment to ensure the assigned Head Start site is fully enrolled with eligible children, and monitor attendance to ensure children are actively involved in the program.
  • Parent Interviewing: Interview Parent(s) to compile mandated information and documentation for enrollment and services.
  • Child File Management: Establish each child's file including collecting, maintaining, updating, and disseminating information and documentation pertaining to the file, observing confidentiality at all times.
  • Community Resource Engagement: Establish contact with community resources that can enhance program services.
  • Family Case Management: Manage a caseload of families and assist them in getting needs met, establish ongoing goals that engage them in the child's learning and future growth.
  • Report Preparation: Accurately prepare and submit required reports and administrative forms on time.
  • Program Governance: Taking an active role in the implementation and maintenance of program governance at the site level.
  • Goal Setting: Assists families to identify and meet milestones of attainable goals.
  • Family Partnership Development: Works with the family to develop a Family Partnership Agreement.
  • Referral Process Management: Initiate, maintain, and follow up with the referral process in conjunction with the family, teachers, Family Service Specialists, and service support personnel.
  • IEP Participation: Attend Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting and actively participate in the IEP process.

3. Family Advocate Responsibilities

  • Report Preparation: Prepares and submits required reports and administrative forms.
  • Child Development Support: Provide children with a learning environment of varied activities that support each child's age-appropriate development and prepare them to be school-ready.
  • Teacher Aide Support: Steps into the role of teacher aide when teaching staff are not available.
  • Child Supervision: Provide continuous supervision for children as per licensing regulation.
  • Safety & Security: Work with the Head Start team at the site to ensure that the safety and security of the children is the first priority.
  • Parent Involvement: Facilitate and ensure parent involvement activities and trainings.
  • Parent Advocacy: Promote parent advocacy.
  • Home Visits: Make a minimum of one home visit or more within the established timeline.
  • Classroom Participation: Actively participate in the classroom environment with the parent volunteers.
  • Communication Management: Establish and maintain direct communication channels with the family, program, program staff, Family Service Specialist, administration, and community members.
  • Professional Development: Attend meetings and trainings, and continue on an educational path to meet the needs of the position and achieve professional growth.

4. Family Advocate Job Summary

  • Family Caseload Management: Maintains a caseload of highest needs families as identified through the family partnership process.
  • Family Recruitment & Enrollment: Recruits, selects, and enrolls families and maintains waitlists and enrollment levels as prescribed by Head Start Performance Standards.
  • Resource Distribution: Informs families and staff about resources available and assists with the distribution of items.
  • Crisis Intervention Support: Provides support and referrals for crisis intervention.
  • Fatherhood Involvement: Encourages and supports fatherhood involvement.
  • Enrollment Support: Supports families in the application and enrollment process to ensure full enrollment.
  • Transition Support: Provides support and resources to families transitioning in and out of the program.
  • Program Qualification Assistance: Works with families to qualify for, and enroll in, NCPK program through the Cumberland County Partnership for Children.
  • Parent Orientation Coordination: Provides support and coordination for parent orientations.
  • Resource & Referral Management: Provides resources and referrals to families as requested to support efforts and family partnership plans.
  • Nutrition & Health Follow-up: Ensures nutrition assessments and appropriate follow-up and/or referrals are completed.
  • Health Provider Relationship Support: Helps families establish an ongoing relationship with health and dental providers.
  • Health Tracking: Reviews ChildPlus Health Tracking Record for accuracy, making changes and submitting to a supervisor weekly.
  • Event Support: Supports and assists with program-wide events.

5. Family Advocate Accountabilities

  • Child Recruitment and Program Introduction: Responsible for recruiting eligible children and introducing families to all Head Start options and other agency programs.
  • Eligibility Assessment: Completes initial application and eligibility assessment for all children.
  • Needs Assessment: Identifies child and family needs for center-based families.
  • Goal Plan Development: Develops individual/family goal plans based on needs assessment and provides ongoing support and follow-up.
  • Referral Management: Provides referrals and follow-up to all agency programs and community agencies.
  • Advocacy & Access Support: Advocates for children and families to secure access to and assistance from appropriate sources.
  • Case Management: Provides case management for center-based families and facilitates case management meetings and conferences in conjunction with the health and education service areas.
  • Childcare and Transportation Support: Assists Region Manager with organizing childcare and transportation support to families for program events.
  • Classroom Coverage: Fill-in for daycare classroom staff to maintain room ratio and coverage.
  • Social Work Support: Providing direct social work support and advocacy to clients.
  • Client Intake and Assessment: Conducting intake and client interviews, assessing clients’ needs and goals, and ensuring clients are engaged in appropriate and meaningful service plans.
  • Service Provider Communication: Maintaining contact with service providers and advocating for clients at ACS and foster care agency conferences.
  • Client Advocacy: Advocating for clients at ACS and foster care agency conferences.
  • Team and Administrative Meetings: Participating in team meetings as well as administrative meetings within CFR.
Relevant Information
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