Activity Assistant, Children's Initiative (Per Diem, As Needed)

PROGRAM 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 our Approach:

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.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

The key role of this position is to provide engaging activities for children while parents attend workshops or community events. These activities aim to support children aged 0 to 5 in areas such as early childhood development, school readiness, health, and early literacy.

• Create engaging and age-appropriate activities for young children.
• Assist team members in providing information to parents and caregivers.
• Deliver information and resources to locations within targeted zip codes frequented by families with young children, such as early care and education facilities, community centers, churches, and neighborhoods.
• Help parents and caregivers identify gaps, barriers, or issues that may interfere with children’s healthy development and readiness to learn.
• Use evidence-based curriculum to prepare lesson plans and facilitate program sessions, emphasizing the long-term benefits for children in areas including physical well-being, motor development, positive social and emotional development, love for learning, early literacy, oral language development, cognitive development, and general knowledge.
• Provide outreach, engagement, and education activities on weekdays, evenings, and weekends as needed.
• Determine the needs of families to identify appropriate programs, services, and activities.
• Participate in required trainings, team meetings, and quarterly trainings as appropriate.
• Conduct outreach, engagement, and education activities through door-to-door visits, in-home sessions, information tables/booths, small and large group presentations, announcements, and one-on-one interactions with community members at informal gatherings (e.g., parks, schools, home-based daycares, parent meetings, faith-based events), as well as formal health/resource fairs.
• Attend Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County trainings, meetings, and events as required.
• Complete all other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Must possess a high school diploma or GED
• Experience in social services in community settings with families preferred

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Bilingual language capacity in Spanish/English and/or Vietnamese/English language highly preferred but not required.
• Ability to work with diverse workgroups and serve families with diverse economic, social, racial, and cultural backgrounds.
• Knowledge of local community resources.
• Ability to establish and maintain personal and programmatic boundaries while providing supportive services.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to relate to individuals who may not share basic commonalities, including value systems and behavioral norms.
• Maintaining a professional, confidential work environment.
• Knowledge of child development and behavior.
• Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and multitask.
• Effective teamwork skills both internally and externally.
• Flexibility, proactivity, adaptability, and the ability to work in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• Professionalism, trustworthiness, respectfulness towards others, and displaying a positive attitude.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Fast-paced, diverse, and dynamic environment.
• The service is sometimes physical, requiring setup for events that may involve transporting or lifting cumbersome materials, such as easels, flip charts, refreshments, brochures, chairs, tables, etc.; ability to lift up to 25 lbs.
• Must report to the service site regularly and reliably.
• Must be able to work a flexible schedule, including days, evenings, and weekends as appropriate.
• Able to travel between sites and attend offsite events throughout the county, as necessary.

OTHER QUALIFICATIONS:

• Criminal background check via livescan fingerprint.
• Must have TB test performed and submit results.
• Automobile, valid driver’s license and auto insurance per agency policy; or have access to reliable transportation.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Work will be conducted indoors and outdoors at off sites related to the agency within Santa Clara County.

HOURS AND OTHER CONDITIONS:

• Standard office hours are Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• This is a per diem (as needed), non-exempt position. Some evenings and weekends may be needed due to 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, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County 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 seeking employment are entitled to freedom from harassment and retaliation and reasonable accommodation for qualified disabilities.