Position Summary
The Enrollment Specialist is responsible for helping Daystar Kids grow and maintain a strong enrollment pipeline by developing community referral relationships, supporting families through the enrollment process, assisting with applications and required documentation, tracking enrollment status, and helping families experience a smooth and welcoming transition into Daystar Kids.
This is a community-facing, family-facing, and detail-oriented role. The Enrollment Specialist will actively build relationships with pediatricians, hospitals, specialty practices, health centers, Medicaid-related partners, OPWDD-related partners, school districts, Early Intervention, care coordination organizations, and community-based organizations that serve children with complex medical and developmental needs.
The Enrollment Specialist reports to the Director of Enrollment and Program Operations and works within Daystar Kids’ enrollment system, written procedures, and family communication expectations. The role requires strong follow-through, professional judgment, confidentiality, and the ability to represent Daystar Kids positively in the community.
Essential Responsibilities
Community Outreach and Relationship Development
· Develop relationships in the community to support enrollment at Daystar Kids.
· Build and maintain relationships with referral partners, including pediatricians, Golisano Children’s Hospital and other hospital, pediatric, and early childhood partners, specialty practices, health centers, Medicaid-related partners, Medicaid managed care contacts, Medicaid care managers, OPWDD Front Door contacts, Care Coordination Organizations, school districts, Early Intervention partners, preschool special education partners, family-serving organizations, community-based organizations, faith and neighborhood networks, and other places where families of medically complex children may seek support.
· Attend community events, partner meetings, family resource events, and outreach opportunities to share information about Daystar Kids and identify families who may benefit from Daystar’s services.
· Maintain a community partner tracking system that includes contacts, outreach dates, follow-up needs, referral activity, and opportunities for continued engagement.
· Work with the Director of Enrollment and Program Operations to identify new referral partners and develop outreach strategies that support enrollment growth.
Enrollment Growth and Pipeline Development
· Help increase qualified referrals and completed enrollment applications.
· Identify new referral sources and community partners that may connect families to Daystar Kids.
· Track referral patterns, enrollment barriers, and family needs.
· Recommend outreach strategies that may improve enrollment, application completion, and family follow-through.
· Share observations with the Director of Enrollment and Program Operations about opportunities to grow enrollment, strengthen the waitlist, support Daystar Ready Now students, and identify future classroom growth opportunities.
Family Inquiry and Application Support
· Serve as an initial point of contact for families interested in Daystar Kids.
· Explain the enrollment process clearly and compassionately.
· Help families complete applications and gather required paperwork.
· Support families in understanding possible pathways into Daystar Kids, including OPWDD-related pathways, Medicaid-related funding, tuition-based options, Daystar Ready Now, and other appropriate options.
· Connect families to appropriate outside partners when additional help is needed.
Enrollment Tracking and Documentation
· Maintain accurate tracking of all assigned inquiries, referrals, waitlist students, students in process, tuition-based students, and Daystar Ready Now students.
· Update the enrollment tracking system regularly.
· Track missing documents, family follow-up, referral source, funding pathway, projected start date, barriers, and next steps.
· Ensure required enrollment documents are complete before moving files forward for review.
· Prepare weekly updates for the Director of Enrollment and Program Operations.
· Immediately elevate barriers, family concerns, documentation issues, or urgent enrollment questions to the Director of Enrollment and Program Operations.
Internal Coordination
· Work closely with the Director of Enrollment and Program Operations to move children through the enrollment pipeline.
· Coordinate with the Center Director only as directed or appropriate to understand classroom space, timing, transition needs, and program readiness.
· Coordinate with nursing, finance, family support, front desk, and other appropriate staff when information is needed for enrollment.
· Follow Daystar Kids’ internal communication pathways and role boundaries to support an organized family experience.
Role Boundaries
· The Enrollment Specialist does not supervise staff.
· The Enrollment Specialist does not make final enrollment, clinical, classroom placement, eligibility, funding, or admission decisions.
· The Enrollment Specialist may help families navigate steps and paperwork, but does not determine OPWDD eligibility, Medicaid eligibility, clinical eligibility, classroom placement, or final admission.
· The Director of Enrollment and Program Operations owns the enrollment system, written procedures, supervision, and reporting to the CEO. The Enrollment Specialist carries out the day-to-day work within the system, including outreach, family application support, referral follow-up, documentation tracking, and moving families through the enrollment pipeline.
Family Transition Support
· Support a warm and organized transition for families entering Daystar Kids.
· Help families understand what to expect before their child starts.
· Coordinate welcome communication, required paperwork, start date information, and family questions.
· Track family transition concerns and communicate them to the Director of Enrollment and Program Operations.
· Support a positive family experience from first contact through enrollment.
Data and Reporting
The Enrollment Specialist will maintain a weekly enrollment and outreach report for review with the Director of Enrollment and Program Operations. The report should include:
· New inquiries and new referrals
· Referral sources and families contacted
· Applications started and applications completed
· Waitlist status and students in process
· Tuition-based prospects and Daystar Ready Now students
· Missing documentation and funding pathway barriers
· Projected starts and partner follow-up
· Outreach activity and recommendations for increasing enrollment
The Enrollment Specialist supports accurate data collection so the Director of Enrollment and Program Operations can prepare CEO reports.
Confidentiality
· Maintain strict confidentiality regarding family information, child health and developmental information, enrollment status, funding information, medical documentation, internal operations, referral sources, and other sensitive organizational matters.
· Use sound judgment when communicating with families, referral partners, community partners, and internal staff.
First 90 Days
During the first 90 days, the Enrollment Specialist will:
· Learn Daystar Kids’ mission, services, enrollment process, family communication expectations, and funding pathways.
· Meet with the Director of Enrollment and Program Operations to develop a 90-day outreach plan.
· Complete a referral partner map with at least 25 priority contacts, including pediatricians, hospitals, specialty practices, Medicaid-related partners, school districts, Early Intervention, OPWDD-related contacts, community health centers, and community organizations.
· Establish a weekly outreach schedule.
· Review all current inquiries, waitlist families, in-process families, tuition-based prospects, and Daystar Ready Now students.
· Create or strengthen a tracking method for partner contacts, follow-up dates, referral activity, and next steps.
· Begin outreach to priority partners.
· Develop a weekly outreach and enrollment update for the Director of Enrollment and Program Operations.
· Identify the top five barriers families experience during application and enrollment.
· Recommend three improvements to the application or family follow-up process.
· Learn internal boundaries with the Center Director, nursing, finance, HR, front desk staff, and other teams.
First Six Months
During the first six months, the Enrollment Specialist will:
· Establish regular outreach rhythms with priority referral partners.
· Increase the number of qualified referrals.
· Improve application completion follow-up.
· Maintain accurate waitlist and pipeline tracking.
· Support a stronger family transition process.
· Identify opportunities for Daystar Kids to grow classroom enrollment or improve enrollment readiness.
· Provide consistent weekly updates to the Director of Enrollment and Program Operations.
· Attend community events and partner meetings that increase awareness of Daystar Kids.
First Year
During the first year, the Enrollment Specialist will:
· Help increase enrollment and referral volume.
· Build a reliable community referral network.
· Maintain accurate tracking for all prospective students.
· Improve the family experience from inquiry to enrollment.
· Support growth of Daystar Ready Now and tuition-based pathways.
· Strengthen relationships with Medicaid, OPWDD, school district, healthcare, and community partners.
· Provide data and recommendations that help Daystar Kids plan for classroom growth and future enrollment opportunities.
Key Performance Measures
The Enrollment Specialist’s work may be measured by:
· Number of new referral partners contacted each month
· Number of partner follow-ups completed each month
· Number of community events or partner meetings attended
· Number of new family inquiries and qualified referrals
· Number of applications started and applications completed
· Average time from inquiry to first family contact
· Average time from application start to completed file
· Number of students moved from waitlist to in process
· Number of Daystar Ready Now students tracked
· Number of tuition-based prospects supported
· Number of barriers identified and elevated
· Number of projected starts
· Conversion rate from inquiry to completed application
· Conversion rate from completed application to enrollment
Qualifications
· Associate degree preferred. Bachelor’s degree preferred in human services, healthcare, social work, education, public health, business, or a related field.
· Relevant experience may be considered in place of degree requirements.
· Minimum of two to three years of experience in enrollment, intake, admissions, community outreach, healthcare navigation, care coordination, family services, disability services, early childhood, or human services.
· Experience working with families of children with developmental disabilities, complex medical needs, or special healthcare needs preferred.
· Experience with Medicaid, OPWDD, school districts, Early Intervention, care coordination, or community health systems preferred.
· Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.
· Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
· Strong organization and follow-up skills.
· Ability to maintain accurate records and track multiple families, documents, and deadlines.
· Ability to communicate with families in a respectful, compassionate, and professional way.
· Ability to represent Daystar Kids positively in the community.
· Ability to maintain confidentiality and use sound judgment.
· Ability to travel locally during the workday. Mileage reimbursement will be provided in accordance with Daystar Kids policy.
Physical Demands and Work Environment
This is an in-person position based at Daystar Kids, with regular community outreach.
The employee is expected to dress for the day’s responsibilities, including family meetings, community visits, partner meetings, office work, and Daystar Kids events.
The employee must be able to regularly sit, stand, walk through the building, use a computer, communicate by phone and email, and participate in community meetings.
The employee may occasionally lift or move outreach materials, folders, supplies, or other light materials.
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to noisy.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.
Pay: $50,000.00 - $60,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k) 5% Match
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Can you show proof of vaccinations? Hep B, Varicella, MMR, Tdap, & Flu
Education:
Work Location: In person
