Youth & Family Worker

Position Summary

This role serves an important support for youth and families who find themselves navigating the child welfare system. This role is part of the larger permanency team. The role encompasses adoption, child specific recruitment, and Successful Transitions to Adulthood (STAY). This role is a good fit for someone who has excellent communication skills, enjoys outreach and community engagement, organizational skills to manage caseload, coordinate with outside providers, support clients and meet deadlines.

Our Agency

At EVOLVE Family Services, we fight to build a world where everyone has nurturing, permanent, and supportive familial relationships. We accomplish this by connecting youth with adults, by giving adults the tools to succeed, and by giving youth a voice in a system that has been developed from a place of oppression. We serve youth and families across Minnesota and western Wisconsin, often within and alongside the child welfare system. We serve all, regardless of race, religion, age, economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or marital status. EVOLVE is an antiracist, anti-oppressive agency, and expects our workforce to hold one another accountable for continued growth. Please see our standards of antiracism and anti-oppression HERE.

Core Competencies

Social Awareness: Empathetically internalize the perspectives of others from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Understands social and ethical norms for behavior and recognizes the pulse and vibes of the community. Recognizes power dynamics and underlying societal influences on behaviors.

Emotional Maturity: Demonstrates effective interpersonal skills. Utilizes non-threatening methods to address sensitive issues and inappropriate behavior or performance. Accurately assesses personal feelings, strengths, and limitations and how they impact relationships.

Communication: Listens and expresses self effectively and in a manner that reflects a true understanding of the audience. Seeks first to understand others' point of view and remains calm in challenging situations. Listens to understand meanings; communicates effectively orally and in writing.

Self-Management: Ability to regulate one’s behaviors, thoughts, and emotions in a productive way. Uses mastery of self-control to manage one’s time, workflow, and communication. Desires to produce, and effectively delivers on assigned priorities. Takes direction and moves forward in execution.

Essential Functions

• Follow government and agency requirements to assess families’ appropriateness for adoption and foster care licensure.
• Discuss the licensing process and requirements with adults who are seeking to be adoptive placement.
• Facilitate discussion and education around identity, transracial complexities, and trauma-informed care.
• Gather information on families’ personal history, relationships, experience, traditions, health, trauma experiences, support network, and strengths to complete a comprehensive home study assessment.
• Facilitate monthly home visits across the state of MN with clients to deliver program services, review progress of placements and to support families in accordance with state and grant requirements.
• Conduct licensing investigations when licensing violations occur within licensed foster homes.
• Support youth directly through monthly in-person meetings (serving the entire state of MN), Lifebook work, and supportive services.
• Gather information on the youth’s personal history, relationships, experience, traditions, health, trauma experiences, support network, and strengths to complete a comprehensive youth assessment.
• Utilize, teach, and model age-appropriate interventions with youth.
• Prepare and facilitate Independent Living Skills 10-week group sessions with youth, both in-person and virtually.
• In collaboration with youth, develop Independent Living Skills plans.
• Provide consultation, assessment, and resource referral for families and children.
• Participate in agency and program events, outreach and tabling.

These are intended to describe the general nature and level of work for this role. It is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for this job. Additional functions within the same scope are expected.

Licensure / Credentials

This position must be able to pass a background check and FBI clearance check. This role requires a bachelor’s degree in social work or related field, with licensure as applicable. This position requires valid driver’s license, auto insurance, acceptable driving record and access to reliable transportation.

Work Environment

This hybrid role is for a Minnesota or Wisconsin based employee who can be in-office 2-3 times a week in Oak Park Heights, MN. The EVOLVE workspaces are semi-private, and open air with partitions separating workspaces. The EVOLVE office is a pet-friendly workplace. All employees are provided with a laptop to work from home, provided the employee maintains high-speed internet and cell phone service. Your home workspace must be conducive to performing your role. Whether at home, or at the office, this role requires sitting for extended periods of time at a desk, while utilizing a computer to complete work. The hours of this role typically fall between 9:00a-5:00p with evening hours required approximately twice per week to meet with clients. This role occasionally has weekend hours for training or outreach.

Pay: $46,000.00 - $52,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 403(b) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Mileage reimbursement
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Referral program
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Stillwater, MN 55082

Salary : $46,000 - $52,000