Community Engagement Coordinator For Eastern Washington

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

POSITION PURPOSE
At the University of Washington School of Social Work, we commit ourselves to promoting social and economic justice for poor and oppressed populations and enhancing the quality of life for all. We strive to maximize human welfare through education, research, and public service. We embrace our position of leadership in the field of social work and join in partnership with others in society committed to solving human problems in the twenty-first century.

The UW and the School of Social Work promote diversity and inclusivity among our staff, faculty and students; we seek applicants for this position who are committed to these principles and whose experiences have prepared them to fulfill our commitment to inclusion and have given them the confidence to fully engage with audiences from a wide spectrum of backgrounds.

The Alliance for Professional Development, Training, and Caregiver Excellence (the Alliance) is a partnership between the UW School of Social Work; Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families; Eastern Washington University School of Social Work; UW Tacoma School of Social Work and Criminal Justice; and Partners for Our Children (P4C).

The vision of the Partnership is to join as one entity to support the readiness and continued learning of foster and relative caregivers and the child welfare workforce with the intention of achieving the best possible outcomes for Washington’s children and families.

The Alliance and the School of Social Work have an outstanding opportunity for a Community Engagement Coordinator for Eastern Washington (Regions 1 and 2). This position will be responsible for the development and implementation of support to caregivers (including Licensed foster parents and licensed and unlicensed kin caregivers) throughout the assigned area. They will lead CaRES efforts (remote and in-person) to build and sustain a network of community-based support groups or events on the eastern side of the state through the use of Mentors, staff, volunteers, and Connectors with current or previous experience parenting children placed in out of home care through DCYF, for a variety of key CaRES services. This position will not need to be present at all events, but rather serves to coordinate the contracted staff and volunteers who attend. In addition, this position connects with community partners, DCYF staff and various offices in order to increase participation in and awareness of the program. This is a remote position that requires evening and weekend work and some travel.


DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

70%

Providing opportunities for connections among caregivers in order to share respite services, solve problems, find community, and build a network of support.

Supporting existing community based support groups to meet caregivers' needs

Serving as CaRES lead to develop and sustain a network of in person and virtual support groups in local communities throughout the Eastern half of the state; facilitating support groups and events; coordinating training events and guest speakers; gathering survey and other data and using data to improve support group processes and outcomes; marketing and promoting groups and events; coordinating child care for support groups (as possible); developing and implementing specific support groups meeting the unique needs of identified providers; connecting groups to trainings, as necessary

Directing Connectors, Mentors, and volunteers who lead any events or ongoing groups. Ensuring that their services are culturally relevant and represent the values of belonging, respect and strength-based practices that reflect caregiver communities and the communities of relevance for the children in their care

Supporting the building and maintaining of resource guides for communities throughout the state to support caregivers and the children they serve including; used clothing stores; food banks; DCYF Licensing Division licensors by office; dependency and family court locations; Women, Infant and Child (WIC) offices; foster parent and foster child advocacy organizations; Kinship Navigators; early learning centers; Tribal resources for children and youth to access cultural events; connections and a variety of other resources

Approaching (or supervising the approach by others to) local businesses and organizations to support caregivers with donations to support caregivers and activities

Collaborating with Communications and Social Media staff to ensure effective marketing of all events and groups

Assisting in the coordination and facilitation of local foster parent recognition and appreciation events

Representing the Alliance and DCYF in a positive and strength-based manner

Supporting the development of licensed foster parent and kinship caregiver welcome packets.

25%

Entering, maintaining and reporting on data related to services provided throughout CaRES programs; supporting the production of monthly, quarterly and annual reports as assigned, with a focus on the position’s areas of specialty

Generating aggregate data to create dashboards and summaries for program analysis and program improvement

Developing and implementing standard operating procedures for all aspects of position’s CaRES support services; documenting these procedures and practices

Providing reports on observed trends, strengths and needs of program elements

Directing caregivers to resources that may help resolve issues between caregivers and DCYF

Providing support for other CaRES services as needed, including staffing for licensing support, initial license and first placement support, attendance at meetings, FIRST program services, as assigned

Collaborating with the entire CaRES team and Alliance Partnership to better meet the needs of the caregiver community

Creating programmatic materials for printing, distribution, social media, and website

Supporting caregivers to work with biological parents in a strength-based manner that actively supports family reunification

Participate in the staffing of the CaRES FIRST phone line, for caregivers undergoing an investigation

5%

Other duties as assigned

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Bachelor's degree in Social Work, Education or related field

Equivalent work experience may substitute for degree requirement.

At least two years of relevant work experience to include:

Experience supporting licensed foster parents and kinship providers

Experience building and maintaining volunteer based services and programs

Experience entering, managing and assessing data

Experience in presentation, public speaking, and training

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Working knowledge and experience working with programs that address child safety, permanency and well being and working with families that may have multiple stressors

Ability to approach direct service and program development from a strengths-based perspective and to view caregiver families and families of origin in a family-centered, strength-based manner

Demonstrated skills in building and maintaining relationships with internal and external stakeholders and community engagement within diverse communities

Ability to navigate, partner with, and positively interact with the state child welfare system

Demonstrated organizational, oral, written and interpersonal skills

Ability to develop trusting relationships

Ability to work a flexible schedule which includes evenings and weekends

Excellent listening, empathy, problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills

Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Teams, etc.), Powerpoint, etc.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience working in collaboration with DCYF Licensing Division and other DCYF leadership

Bilingual/Multilingual

Current or previous licensure as a foster parent and/or experience as a kinship care provider

Application Process: The application process may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment, you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.