Family Access And Placement Specialist

About The Community Group (TCG)

The Community Group (TCG) is a private non-profit organization, based in Lawrence, MA whose mission is to create, manage, and nurture high-quality programs focused on education and related services that support families. TCG was founded in 1970 as the Community Day Care Center of Lawrence, a preschool with an enrollment of 20 children, since inception we have grown to an agency that manages: a successful charter public school, education and care programs dedicated to the healthy development of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children, a robust out-of-school time enrichment program, resources that facilitate access to early education and care for families, including a Child Care Resource and Referral program, and a training and workforce development program to help shape the next generation of educators.

About the Program Support Team

The Program Support Team provides administrative, enrollment, placement, and family support services to children and families across the agency. The team consists of staff who work collaboratively to connect families with available programs, support access to services, and ensure a smooth and responsive experience for families. This team plays a critical role in strengthening coordination across programs and helping families access the care and resources they need.

Role Summary

The Family Access and Placement Specialist is a cross-program recruitment, placement, and family-routing position responsible for connecting eligible families with available child care opportunities across the agency. Maintains agency-wide visibility of vacancies; and is actively current on EEC policies on supportive, income eligible and voucher contracts. This position is FLSA Non-Exempt and reports to the Program Enrollment Manager.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Vacancy, Recruitment, and Placement Coordination

• Maintain and reconcile the agency-wide vacancy tracker for open, anticipated, and pending seats of contracted slots by program site/provider, age group, funding source, start date and placement status with the appropriate internal teams.

• Search and match eligible families utilizing the state waitlist according to the Department of Early Education and Care guidelines; document outcomes, and coordinate placement handoffs to the appropriate Enrollment Specialist within the same business day whenever possible.

• Activate targeted recruitment when waitlist searches do not produce enough viable matches, coordinate approved outreach with internal and community partners, and maintain an accurate recruitment pipeline.

• Facilitate weekly recruitment meetings with Enrollment Specialists to identify future vacancies.

Benefit Offer, Family Access, and Routing

• Manage and document the full Benefit Offer lifecycle, including issuance and family communication through response deadlines, acceptance, decline, no response, pending authorization and full enrollment; while maintaining the benefit offer tracker and vacancy status daily.

• Ensure each offer is connected to the correct program/site, vacancy, deadline and assigned Enrollment Specialist.

• Follow and report benefit offers outcome, next action, escalate expiring deadlines, stalled accepted offers, repeated no-response trends, and offers errors promptly.

• Coordinate with the Administrative Assistant/front desk and program teams to route walk-ins, callers, referrals, recruited families inquiries to the appropriate

• Partner with the Administrative Assistant/front desk, program teams, and community partners to route walk-ins, callers, referrals, and recruited families to the correct pathway the first time.

• Guide families with adequate technology access to the ELV and MyChildCareMA parent portal; complete FAA-assisted applications only when appropriate and ensure required questions.

Data Integrity, Systems, and Operations

• Prevent duplicate or conflicting household records by reviewing parent and child identifiers across MyChicCareMA, CCFA, ELV, and internal trackers, before creating or changing a case; resolve permitted discrepancies and escalate cases requiring EEC action.

• Support approved CCFA non-waitlist household updates, continuity of care, sibling access, and renewal workflows in accordance with current EEC guidance and internal procedures.

• Review CCFA dashboard and the designated CCR&R Sharepoint repository for uploaded vouchers; identify items requiring action, and coordinate follow-up with the appropriate Enrollment Specialist or manager.

• Maintain complete, timely case notes that state the action taken, information reviewed, contact method, out-come, next step, and responsible staff member.

Additional responsibilities

• Provide backup to other Enrollment Specialists when needed; and perform other duties as assigned.

• Maintain strict confidentiality according to agency and state policies.

• Assist with main line phone calls and transfer to appropriate extension.

• Assist in the creation of a positive atmosphere that boosts the self-esteem and general self-concept of all members.

• Attend regularly scheduled staff meetings.