Family Support Specialist - 12

GROUP: Classified SALARY: Support Staff Salary Schedule [A]FLSA STATUS: Non-Exempt WORKDAYS PER FISCAL YEAR: 243 [12-Month] HOLIDAYS: 17 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ SUMMARY: The Family Support Specialist position maintains an outreach recruitment and enrollment process throughout 12 months. The specialist works with the site team to encourage/plan for parent participation in a child's education; and works with families to support them in recognizing and building upon their family strengths and improving the conditions and quality of their family's life. This position also assists in achieving optimal health for Early Childhood Education (ECE) children and families.

ABOUT CHIEF LESCHI SCHOOLS: Formerly known as the Puyallup Tribal School, Chief Leschi Schools was founded in 1976 to address the high dropout rate of the youth of the Puyallup tribe. It is the largest of seven tribal schools in the state of Washington and one of approximately 200+ tribal schools in the United States. It is also one of the largest tribal schools to be funded by the Bureau of Indian Education.

COVID-19 Vaccine - The Puyallup Tribe of Indians Tribal Council on August 26, 2021 confirmed their directive legally requiring all Chief Leschi Schools employees to be fully vaccinated. Your vaccine status will be verified at New Employee Orientation. Please reach out to the HR Office at HR@leschischools.org mailto:HR@leschischools.org for information on medical accommodations.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following:Supervises lunch and/or rest time in classrooms while the teacher or paraeducator is at lunchOrganizes and conducts an ongoing recruitment effort to ensure full enrollment in the ECE center; organizes and conducts enrollment activities, interviews parents to determine program eligibility, verifies income and obtains necessary parent permission for ECE activitiesOrganizes and conducts parent orientations to ECE, including orienting parents to their rights and responsibilities in the program, in collaboration with site staffAssists families in recognizing their strengths, setting goals and planning how to meet their goals through the development of a Family Partnership Plan; works in partnership with families to overcome barriers, meet their stated goals and achieve self-sufficiency; provides Family Support services for at least three hours during the program year for each familyProvides support to families experiencing a crisis and refers them to emergency assistance and crisis intervention providers, as appropriateProvides transportation for home visits, meetings and transportation of parent/families as neededPromotes parent, staff and community partnerships in the ECE program through various methods such as parent meetings, newsletters, parent trainings, home visits, and volunteer opportunities; encourages parents to participate in the decisions concerning the education of their children; and supports families involved in site leadership activitiesWorks with families and site team to ensure smooth transitions to before- and after-school care and between ECE and kindergartenreferrals; assists in determining health care insurance status of families; and assists with the referral to and navigation through the Managed Care/Healthy Options health systemAssists center staff in identifying health concerns of children, providing referral to health treatment as appropriate; identifies children at nutritional risk, working with teacher, family and health care provider as indicated in the PSESD Nutrition ProtocolCompletes health screenings of vision, hearing and growth; assists parents with referral to community providersReviews immunization records and helps with the identification of immunization status, assisting parents to obtain any needed immunizations, to complete the Annual State Immunization ReportGains knowledge and skills by participating in in-service trainings, staff meetings, and other training opportunities throughout the yearProvides health and nutrition education to children and families; records contacts with families at least monthly until all required health records and treatment is completed; organizes and provides a system of tracking all health records; maintains accurate records of adult contact hours and provides accurate health statistics for program activity reports; provides the documentation for EPSDT reimbursementsAssembles, organizes, and maintains records and files related to health componentParticipates with site staff in quarterly staffing of children and familiesAssists families to identify and access health/nutrition providers and resources; develops and maintains an updated community health/nutrition resource listMaintains first aid kit supplies and provides first aid as needed to ill or injured children; maintains personal first aid and CPR certificationOrganizes and conducts annual CLS kindergarten enrollment for ECE studentsPerforms other related duties as assigned This list is meant to be representative, not exhaustive. Some incumbents may not perform all the duties listed while in other cases related duties may also be assigned. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONSEDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:AA DegreeTwo years of successful, relevant documented work experience with adults/parents and young childrenValid Washington State Driver's LicenseValid first aid/CPR card and a Washington State Food Worker card PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONSPrevious experience as a Family Support Specialist/Health AssistantPrevious experience working with low-income families with young childrenPrevious experience providing comprehensive services to familiesKnowledge of Pierce County community resources and experience working in collaboration with other agenciesKnowledge of Native language and community culture CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:Successful criminal background clearanceSuccessful and/or clear drug screeningMust be fully vaccinated from COVID-19 before hire date KNOWLEDGE OF:Knowledge of child development and effective parenting techniques related to present researched best practices.Working in a school, especially a tribal school or education settingDetailed minded with the capability to prioritize multiple tasks at the same time ABILITY TO:Must be willing to become familiar with the Native community and community support agencies. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others, including Native students and families while demonstrating positive role model characteristics.Demonstrate and practice a thorough understanding of confidentiality.Must be flexible and adaptable to meet the needs of the students and families in the program. Ability to utilize technology and familiarity with organizational software to effectively create necessary documents essential to program.Ability to organize facts and present them in a clear, concise, and logical manner, both orally and in written form.Ability to work independently and to exercise sound judgment.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP: Building Administrator or designee PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and stand for long periods of time. The employee must frequently reach with hands and arms and is regularly required to talk or hear; stand and/or walk; bend, stoop, twist, squat, and kneel; and use hands to finger, handle, feel and perform fine motor manipulations.

The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Anything over the weight limits should be done as a two-person lift or with a mechanical lift. WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.While performing the duties of this job, the employee regularly works indoors, occasionally working near visual displays. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Chief Leschi Schools is an Equal Opportunity /M/F/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability Employer, except as provided under the Indian Preference Act