Community Worker, Children's Initiative (Luther Burbank)

OVERVIEW:

The Children's Initiative (CI) builds on the Franklin-McKinley Children's Initiative, originating in 2009, aiming to overcome systemic barriers and resource deficiencies in creating a comprehensive support system from early childhood to career readiness. The model emphasizes Footsteps: Creating Pathways to Self-Sufficiency - prioritizing the well-being of children and families, the initiative focuses on fostering positive change within families to enhance their engagement and stability, crucial for sustained involvement.

• Focus on Children and Families: Acknowledging parents' love for their children, the initiative emphasizes providing opportunities for positive change within families, which enhances their engagement. Family stability is fundamental for sustained involvement in the initiative.

• Trauma-Informed Care: Recognizing the impact of childhood trauma on individuals in poverty, the initiative adopts a trauma-informed approach. By addressing the emotional needs of children and families, it promotes quicker social and emotional stabilization, leading to more secure and lasting economic recovery.

• Family Ownership of Goals: Families identify their needs and priorities, with support provided throughout their journey to self-sufficiency. The approach focuses on partnership and guidance rather than traditional case management, a strategy proven critical for success.

• Community-Centered Solution: A supportive community environment, facilitated by accessible spaces and friendly staff, serves as a "second home" for families. This fosters trust, belonging, and the formation of strong social networks, essential for families to overcome poverty.

• Coordinated and Integrated Approach: Recognizing poverty as a multidimensional issue, the initiative advocates for a coordinated and integrated approach within the organization and with external partners. Seamless access to services, facilitated by service guides, promotoras, and peer accompaniment teams, enhances families' success rates by eliminating barriers to accessing essential support.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Under the Children's Initiative model, staff members will utilize a trauma-informed approach to facilitate knowledge sharing, continuous program improvement, and client-centered service delivery within each community resource center. They will create a welcoming environment that serves as a seamless hub for families in the neighborhood, leveraging agency and partner resources effectively to support families and ensuring compliance with all grant requirements.

Community Workers play a vital role in this initiative, responsible for developing and implementing programs for families and young children. Their duties include conducting community outreach, organizing events, and delivering direct services such as enrichment activities and evidence-based parenting workshops, and diaper distribution. Additionally, they connect clients to internal and external resources, foster community partnerships for leadership development and self-sufficiency, develop lesson plans, input data into databases, provide resources, conduct literacy skill-building activities, and participate in ongoing professional development.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Community Partnership: Collaborate with various organizations, agencies, and community groups (e.g., faith-based, schools) to provide services to families in the neighborhood, with a focus on eliminating barriers to accessing resources related to health and wellness, food, financial literacy, digital literacy, essential supplies, and information on the importance of early childhood development, as well as other needs identified by community members.

• Culturally Appropriate Programming: Develop culturally, linguistically, and developmentally appropriate program materials for community dissemination.

• Class Facilitation: Deliver and facilitate classes using diverse curriculums as required by contracts.

• Diaper Distribution and data collection for distribution

• Family Support: Assist parents and caregivers using a trauma-informed approach to identify goals and provide a warm handoff to services offered by internal and external partners.

• Data Collection: Collect and enter program data into databases to evaluate outcomes for families.

• Outreach and Education Events: Conduct outreach events and educational activities during weekdays, evenings, and weekends as needed.

• Community Engagement: Engage in various outreach methods, including door-to-door visits, in-home meetings, community presentations, and participation in formal health/resource fairs.

• Collaboration with Schools: Serve as the central point of connection between schools and various support programs in the community. This includes coordinating family engagement processes, building relationships with local community services, and serving as an information conduit for best practices through close partnerships with the school district.

• Training and Meetings: Participate in required trainings, team meetings, and quarterly training sessions.

• Activity Calendar Development: Create a calendar of scheduled outreach, engagement, and education activities.

• Volunteer Recruitment and Mentoring: Recruit and mentor service learners/volunteers, providing opportunities for leadership development.

• Agency Participation: Attend Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County trainings, meetings, and events as required.

Additional Duties: Complete all other assigned duties as needed, with responsibilities varying based on the site.

QUALIFICATIONS:

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of a Bachelor's degree in education, psychology/sociology, or any relevant degree in social sciences; or equivalent combination of education and experience to perform essential duties and responsibilities.

• Experience in social services in community settings with families preferred and experience working previously with other early learning curriculum is a plus.

• At least one year of experience working with an early childhood program (i.e., classroom aide, teacher's assistant, daycare worker), and/or at least one year of experience working with young children or parents and/or with community-based organizations.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Ability to work with diverse workgroups and serve families with diverse economic, social, racial, and cultural backgrounds.

• Ability to understand family dynamics and adjust to families' needs accordingly.

• Committed to cultural humility/awareness and respect for families' rights.

• Have the ability to communicate clearly with extensive audiences and engage with families and extended community members.

• Serve effectively as a leader and member of a team internally and externally.

• Basic knowledge and understanding of early childhood development.

• Ability to establish and maintain personal and programmatic boundaries while providing supportive services.

• Appropriate literacy level and writing abilities to conduct the observational skills to complete the required paperwork on family participation, write informal home session reports after each visit, and complete child and parent evaluations.

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to relate to individuals who may not share basic commonality, including value systems and behavior norms.

• Maintain a professional, confidential work environment.

• Knowledge of budget implementation and planning.

• Be flexible, proactive, adaptable, and able to work in a fast-paced, changing environment.

• Be professional, trustworthy, respectful of others, and display a positive attitude.

• Knowledge about local community resources.

• Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and multitask.

• Ability to travel between sites and to attend offsite events throughout the county, as appropriate.

• Knowledge of modern methods and practices, including filing systems, business, correspondence, presentations, and report writing.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Fast-paced, diverse, and dynamic environment.

• The work is sometimes physical, requiring setting up for events which may require transporting or lifting cumbersome materials (i.e., easels, flip charts, refreshments, brochures, chairs, tables); ability to lift up to 25 lbs.

• Must be able to report to the service site on a regular and reliable basis.

OTHER QUALIFICATIONS:

• Criminal background check via livescan fingerprint.

• Must have TB test performed and submit results.

• Provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination and booster status.

• Automobile, valid driver's license and auto insurance per agency policy; or have access to reliable transportation.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Able to travel between sites and to offsite events throughout the county, as appropriate.

• Works inside & outside, including motor vehicle travel between sites.

HOURS AND OTHER CONDITIONS:

• Standard office hours are Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• This is a full-time, non-exempt position. Rare evenings and weekends may be needed for program needs.

This position description intends to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. It is not intended to include all duties and responsibilities. The order in which duties and responsibilities are listed is not significant. Because of a need to remain responsive to the needs of our clients and our Agency's operations, responsibilities may be modified at any time.

Catholic Charities is a non-profit, non-discriminatory service organization and employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation or disability. Persons receiving services in our programs are entitled to freedom from harassment and retaliation and reasonable accommodation for qualified disabilities.