Home Base Educator

Core Competencies

• Supports and speaks in positive terms about Blueprints mission and others in the organization.
• Takes initiative to do more than is required or expected in the job.
• Demonstrates genuine enthusiasm for learning new skills and assuming new/changing roles.
• Takes full accountability for meeting commitments and achieving expected results.
• Accepts challenges and uses creative approaches to assess and solve problems.

Effective Practices

• Demonstrates respect for others by sharing information objectively and non-judgmentally and adjusting verbal and written communication strategies for different audiences, guarding against abuse of power and sexual misconduct and using appropriate language.
• Effectively communicates with others by using available technologies (e.g. fax, voice-mail, computers).
• Ensures that own communication is easily understood by speaking and writing clearly and using standard grammar and spelling.
• Makes prudent use of resources by monitoring consumption, minimizing waste, and offering suggestions for improving agency efficiency (e.g. travel expenses, office supplies).
• Effectively carries out job responsibilities by familiarizing self with pertinent program plans and policies, and overall agency goals and working cooperatively as part of a program team.
• Provides a culturally competent and flexible approach when working with those from various cultures by acknowledging, accepting and accommodating differences.

Essential Functions

• Regular and reliable attendance is essential.
• Recruit and enroll eligible children and families for the Early Learning programs to meet and maintain full enrollment to ensure compliance with funding requirements.
• Works in collaboration with the ERSEA and Home Base team (Specialists, Service Navigators, and Home Base Educators) to ensure all family services processes align.
• Provide weekly home visits for families using the Parents As Teachers Curriculum.
• Offer opportunities for families to connect with one another through group socializations & community outings.
• Stay up-to-date and well-informed about Blueprints, other community programs and resources to enhance and support goal attainment for participants.
• Link families to community resources and programs to achieve their individual goals.
• Support the delivery of comprehensive services for families of children prenatal to age five.
• Foster parent & family engagement in home visits, group socializations, and community outings.
• Encourage & support parent participation in home base parent committees and policy council.
• Conduct screenings and ongoing assessment in partnership with families to support the developmental growth and school readiness of young children and the individual goals of the parent & family.
• Foster meaningful, reciprocal relationships between parents and children in a manner that is both culturally receptive and responsive.
• Provide opportunities for parents to learn about expectant parenting and prenatal health, the developing role of young parents (for adolescent parents), and/or about their roles as new mothers and fathers.
• Engage with parents as equal partners in learning about their child while acknowledging parents' premier role as their child's first teacher.
• Share information with parents about activities and everyday interactions with children that promote school readiness as outlined by the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework.
• Maximize outcomes for families through the implementation of research-based models & practices including Blueprints Whole Family Approach & Family Centered Coaching; the Head Start PFCE Framework (Parent, Family, & Community Engagement) and the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework.
• Maintain Parents As Teachers (prenatal - age 5) parent educator certification.
• Implement the Federal Head Start Program Performance Standards and other applicable regulations.
• Participate in required meetings and training opportunities which may involve out-of-town travel.
• Responsible for obtaining and forwarding documentation for Non-Federal Share/In-Kind to Blueprints administration.

Computer Skills Needed

• Intermediate Internet
• Intermediate Email
• Intermediate Word

Skills, Abilities And Experience

• Experience related to the home base program model of service delivery preferred.
• May require a non-traditional work schedule.
• Operate agency vehicle when required.

Educational Requirements

Associates or Bachelor's Degree preferred from an accredited college or university in Human Services or related field or a minimum of a CDA in home visiting or comparable credential with a minimum of two years of previous supervised work experience with young children and/or parents.