Fast Facts

Join Shine Early Learning as a Family Advocate to support Head Start families in Milwaukee, WI, helping to foster strong partnerships that promote child development and family well-being.

Responsibilities: Engage and empower Head Start families through individualized support, manage enrollment processes, promote school readiness, and build community partnerships to enhance family access to resources.

Skills: Strong communication skills in Spanish and English, experience in family advocacy, and ability to work with diverse, low-income communities.

Qualifications: Associate or bachelor’s degree in a related field preferred, or equivalent experience; Family Services Certificate within 18 months preferred; valid driver’s license and reliable transportation required.

Location: Milwaukee, WI

Compensation: $21 / Hourly

Are you passionate about supporting families and making a meaningful difference in early childhood development? Shine Early Learning is seeking a dedicatedFamily Advocateto engage and empower Head Start families, fostering strong partnerships that promote children’s school readiness and family wellbeing. Join us in creating nurturing communities where every family feels valued and supported.

Your Role:

The Family Advocate partners with Head Start families to promote children’s healthy development and school readiness. Using family engagement principles, the Family Advocate supports families as their child’s primary educators, encourages positive parent-child interactions, and enhances overall family wellbeing. This role provides targeted support to vulnerable families and those with children who have chronic health conditions or special needs. The Family Advocate also fosters a sense of belonging and community among families to strengthen their mutual support and shared aspirations.

**This position is based in Milwaukee, WI**

What You’ll Do:

• Engage families through individualized, in-home, and group experiences that foster school readiness by promoting consistent routines, positive guidance, enriched home environments, and literacy activities.
• Manage responsibilities across ERSEA, record keeping, reporting, ongoing monitoring, planning, implementing, and maintaining a safe, healthy learning environment.
• Support children’s well-being and encourage family involvement in the Head Start program.
• Participate in outreach, recruitment, and attendance follow-up to motivate family engagement.
• Assist families with application completion and collection of necessary documents.
• Support families in submitting health-related information.
• Maintain funded enrollment levels, collaborate with FSC/ERSEA Lead to fill vacancies, and analyze enrollment data for planning.
• Set attendance goals for families with attendance below 80%.
• Enter data accurately related to family engagement, enrollment, and attendance.
• Build and maintain relationships with community partners to enhance family access to resources and training.

What You Bring:

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in social work, human services, family services, counseling, or a related field preferred, OR AA or BA in another field with a commitment to complete Family Services Certificate/Credential within 18 months of hire. We will also consider candidates with a high school diploma and 3 years of experience working in the community with families and a completed Family Development Certificate or Credential.
• Fluency in Spanish (speaking, reading, and writing) is required to effectively communicate with non-English speaking clients/families.
• Experience, training, and skill assisting the parents of young children to advocate for their families required; experience working in low-income diverse communities preferred.
• Physical exam and background checks are required for this position.
• Travel is required locally or long-distance up to 10% of the time for work-related meetings and functions; must have reliable personal transportation as travel from site to site is required.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and reliable transportation.

When/Where/How Much:

When: Fall 2025

Where: Milwaukee, WI

How Much: $21.27/hourly

Interested in next steps? Apply today or if you have questions, please reach out to Micaela O'Rourke, [email protected], who is managing the search for this role.

We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating a diverse and healthy workplace.