POSITION SUMMARY: 

The Family Advocate is a LPFCC employee housed by Archuleta County Department of Human Services (ACDHS) through an existing MOU.  LPFCC and ACDHS co-wrote the Colorado Community Response (CCR) grant to the Office of Early Childhood with the intent to reduce the need to provide child welfare services through the county and to promote healthy and stable families in Archuleta County.  The Family Advocate provides comprehensive voluntary services for a portion (goal of at least 23 families) of the annually contracted 63 families screened out of child protective services in Archuleta, La Plata and San Juan counties. The Family Advocate’s responsibilities include obtaining all required advocate training, contacting referred families, periodic home visits, conducting various assessments with families, working cooperatively with other agencies to link families to financial services and community resources that meet the parents’ expressed needs; providing direct services and timely data entry to track and record contacts in the SalesForce database.  Ability to have a flexible schedule is needed as occasional evenings and weekends are possible. Families are eligible to participate in the program for a maximum of twenty weeks, but are typically enrolled twelve to sixteen weeks. 

This Position Reports to:  CCR Supervisor/Coordinator 

SPECFIC JOB DUTIES:  

• Communicate effectively with all LPFCC employees and CCR Supervisor/Coordinator.  
• Communicate effectively with child welfare caseworkers, administrators, and Director at Archuleta County Human Services. 
• Receive and immediately conduct outreach to weekly referrals as they are assigned by the CCR Coordinator via the SalesForce CCR statewide database.  
• Contact and interview families for program enrollment and conduct all center, CCR and Financial Health Institute assessments as required. Offer case management including goal setting, resource and referral services, financial literacy activities, and follow-up contacts to assess goal attainment and need for further referrals or services.  
• Conduct home visits with clients, establish client rapport, set family-centered and strengths-based service plan, and provide direct services and follow-ups to assigned families.  

• Arrange community referrals for services to maintain a safe environment and enhance child and family wellbeing. Referral sources include those that meet the basic safety, social, emotional, and cognitive needs of individuals within the family and/or the family as a whole. Intensive follow-up required for any referrals provided with results entered into SalesForce. Participate with ACDHS staff to create a continuum of family support services. Work with other agencies and service providers as needed and appropriate. 
• Provide advocacy for family involved with other entities, based on family needs, including but not limited to welfare and public benefit agencies, landlords, social connections, employment, housing, and educational entities.  
• Organize services such as day care, transportation, financial assistance, health, legal, and provide information on available services.  
• Maintain accurate reports of services provided for all clients on a weekly basis through the SalesForce database.  

• Track all expenditures to comply with program budget. 
• Participate in state meetings and trainings, with the approval of supervisor, in order to increase competencies and to implement new and ongoing rules and regulations. 
• Ensure appropriate consents and confidentiality requirements are met and on file for program staff and participants. 
• Attend regularly scheduled family center all staff and team meetings. 
• Attend as appropriate, meetings of external organizations that may prove mutually beneficial to clients or to the family center. Use these meetings to educate key partners regarding CCR services and the referral process. 

• When necessary due to low referral numbers in Archuleta or unusually high referral numbers in La Plata, the Archuleta CCR Family Advocate will be assigned outreach and case management of families in the Bayfield area. This is intended to share the overall team goal of enrolling at least 63 families per year for all three counties. 
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

QUALIFICATIONS 

• Training and experience in one of the human service professions with highest regard for confidentiality requirements. 
• Preferred education: bachelor’s degree in human services area or experience in family growth and development and community resource and referral services. 
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills 
• Good verbal and written communication skills 
• Ability to work closely with people of diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds 

• Ability to establish a sense of partnership between families and the larger community 
• Computer literacy and willingness to continually expand technology skills 
• Must have a valid Colorado driver’s license, minimum auto liability insurance, and reliable personal transportation 
• Working knowledge of Archuleta County, its service infrastructure, and the community to be served 
• Must pass a background check 

This position and all positions of LPFCC are dependent on funding and the status of this position may change with funding resources. 

Please send resume and cover letter to [email protected]