Community Education Worker

Position Title:        Community Education Worker

Reports To:            Early Childhood Program Manager 

Classification:       Full-time, 1.0 FTE

FLSA Status:           Non- Exempt 

Location:                Portland, OR

Compensation:     $25 per hour

ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND

Latino Network’s mission is: Leading with love, we cultivate our staff and community as a powerful force for radical social change. We do this through Latino community-driven programs, advocacy, and service. Our work springs from the core belief in Latino community self-determination, that is, the ability of community members to participate meaningfully in the decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their families. We actively partner across a variety of city, county, state, and community organizations to deliver training and support, a wide range of services, as well as influence policy.

BENEFITS & PERKS

Latino Network provides a generous benefits package that includes:

• Health Plans including Medical, Dental, Vision, and Alternative Care
• FSA - Flexible Spending Account for Medical & Dependent Care expenses
• 401k Plan with Match 
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employer sponsored Life, AD&D, and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Paid Leave (Vacation, Sick, Sabbatical)
• Professional development opportunities
• Self - Care perks
• Team and family events

POSITION SUMMARY

Community Education Workers will provide families with culturally specific home visits, parent-child groups, holistic wraparound services, and parent and community leadership development opportunities. The Community Education Worker (CEW) Program began as a community-driven initiative to train community members as CEWs who partner with parents and caregivers of babies and young children from low income communities of color to remove structural and social barriers facing families. Community Education Workers will actively promote and build family stability, including access to a variety of resources and services which economically empower families such as housing, WIC, Head Start etc., parent and caregiver skills for navigating the educational, social services and health systems, and for advocating for their children’s needs, healthy prenatal and early childhood development in all developmental domains, enrollment in preschool services and kindergarten, parent and caregiver knowledge about early literacy, brain development and attachment, and support for access to culturally responsive and culturally-centered services to address these developmental delays through screening and follow-up referrals.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide families with one-on-one visits, parent- child groups, classes, and events, and providing developmental screenings for children prenatal through five.
• Conduct ASQ screenings for children infant through five years old.
• Participating in curriculum development for the CEW certification/Changemakers Training.
• Co-facilitate one or more CEW certification classes
• Participate in Steering Team meetings monthly
• Coordinate and facilitate culturally specific and culturally centered parent-child class series in collaboration with the team. Sessions should cover all required curriculum topics identified by the CEW Supervisors Team and/or Steering Team.
• Support the coordination of the parent leadership initiative, and cultivating community-based parent leadership opportunities for parents.
• Conduct parent-child activities that build Kindergarten readiness
• Participate in systems change work, community organizing and other efforts that pertain to education, equity, and public health
• Identify and assist with addressing barriers to primary health care including dental and mental health care.
• Connect families to social services and health services
• Support families to attend school activities designed to facilitate positive relationships, successful transitions, and strong parent/staff collaborations.
• Support early Kindergarten registration for children who will be five by September 1st by providing outreach to communities in the spring and summer. CEWs will be able to help families to bridge cultural and linguistic barriers in order to participate in school kickoffs prior to the start of school or to bring families individually to connect them to the school for enrollment.
• Meets deadlines for mileage and program expense reimbursements and timesheets
• Meets deadlines to collect qualitative and quantitative data for monthly reports and quarterly progress reports. 
• Comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and existing confidentiality laws.

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Experience working in the Latino community is desirable. This position requires knowledge of and experience working with families in the Latino community. 
• Experience doing organizing/outreach/advocacy in the community
• Strong desire to promote educational equity in the community
• Certified Community Health Worker or ability to demonstrate competency in CHW skills
• Ability to work well independently and within a team
• Ability to be flexible and creative in the work environment
• Willingness and ability to conduct visits to community members in their homes
• Ability to coordinate multiple priorities
• Good follow-through
• Good oral and written communication skills
• Basic computer skills, experience navigating zoom, google system, and other frequently used computer programs
• Ability to set limits in order to care for self and not promote dependency
• Ability to tolerate and thrive in a fluid situation where plans change based on new information
• Respect for diversity; desire and ability to work cross-culturally
• Ability to demonstrate a combination of the following characteristics: patience, open-mindedness; high level of responsibility; non-judgmentalness; willingness to grow, change and learn; courage; motivation; empathy; compassion; flexibility; persistence; creativity
• Possess methods and strategy for coping with vicarious trauma, and if in recovery, have at least two years of active recovery
• Access to reliable transportation
• Ability to work a flexible schedule including some nights and weekends

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of this job. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential duties of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties. The employee must regularly lift and /or move up to 25 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; talk or hear and taste or smell. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. 

TO APPLY

If you, or anyone you know, are interested in joining us in supporting our mission to positively transform the lives of Latino Youth families and communities, please submit your application, resume, and cover letter at:  Careers 

Successful completion of initial and ongoing employment screens, including but not limited to criminal background and vehicle record as required. Latino Network is an equal opportunity employer. We value and support diversity and inclusion to create a culture of dignity and respect.