Outreach Worker

Grand St Settlement•Brooklyn, NY

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The outreach worker will work closely with families and Community School staff to support Community School Attendance Initiatives. The outreach worker will help support parents’ skills, parent-child relationships, family relationships, and parent-school communication to increase student attendance. The outreach worker is responsible for initiating and maintaining a regular, sustainable supportive relationship with high-risk families through home-based services. The outreach worker will ensure optimal academic, social, and emotional development of both parents and students. The outreach worker will work closely with the Community School Team (director, social worker, program coordinator, and tutor) to provide resources that will enhance the Community School. Staff members will need a working, reliable computer.

Requirements

High school diploma required
Two years or more experience in the field of youth development
Family outreach and home visit experience
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Excellent documentation skills
Ability to motivate others toward achieving goals
Ability to develop alliances with high-risk and difficult-to-engage youth and families
Knowledge of community resources and counseling practices with high-risk populations
Outstanding collaborative skills
Staff members will need a working, reliable computer.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree preferred
Bilingual in Spanish/ English is preferred.

Responsibilities

Create and maintain a thorough written record of assessments, attendance outreach efforts and all required documentation
Work collaboratively with community resources to establish timely and effective referral processes
Maintain ongoing open communication with school principal, parents, and school-based staff
Through home visits, engage families and develop relationships between school and families of students identified as the targeted population (At-risk and chronically absent students). (Minimum 3 home visits per week).
Partner with families to create family goal plans that increase student attendance and enhance parent and child well-being
Maintain written records of home visits, family goals, and all required documentation
Implement “Success Mentors” program to improve attendance initiatives. Success Mentors are the most successful strategy for combating chronic absence. Success Mentors are caring adults (or peers) who mentor chronically absent students to identify the barriers preventing them from attending school each day.
Assign “Success Mentors” to chronically absent students.
Help Success Mentors understand that any topic is worth discussing! The idea is not for a Success Mentor to have the answers, but for the mentee to talk about and explore ideas.
Implement attendance incentive programs. Hold award ceremonies for improved attendance, create an attendance-going culture, and manage incentive programs (ex., trips, gifts, shirts).
Work collaboratively with school and community to support school environment, bring in resources, and advocate for families when necessary
Refer participants to social worker for counseling to support with crisis intervention and safety planning
Participate in ongoing efforts to advocate for program needs via community coalition building and via administering feedback surveys and program assessments
Seek partnership opportunities and bring in at least 3 new partners a year to leverage resources to support programs
Work closely with social worker, tutor, and case manager to support targeted student needs
Attend all required department/ agency meetings and/or trainings
Perform other duties as assigned by the Community School Director and/ or Community School Assistant Director