Overview

Indigenous Child/Youth Services Worker -12 mth contract

FAMILY & CHILDREN SERV.
464 Isabella Street, Pembroke, ON K8A 5T9
$59,344–$85,798 a year – Contract

Job details

Here’s how the job details align with your profile.

Pay

  • $59,344–$85,798 a year

Job type

  • Contract

Shift and schedule

  • Weekends as needed

Location

464 Isabella Street, Pembroke, ON K8A 5T9

Full job description

INDIGENOUS CHILD AND YOUTH SERVICES WORKER

1.0 FTE, 12 Month Contract, Pembroke Office

Department:
Child Welfare

Accountability:
Restorative Practice Supervisor

Location:
Lodge at 464 Isabella Street, Pembroke, Ontario
Family & Children’s Services of Renfrew County is a multi-service agency committed to providing preventative, protective and socially inclusive services and programming that empower and strengthen everyone. We are focused on cultivating a team-oriented work environment where everyone thrives. Our goal is to develop and strengthen collaborative partnerships to increase availability, accessibility and quality of care to surrounding communities.
Our agency commitments include: moving forward Anti-Oppressive Practice, French Language Services and working alongside the Indigenous Communities.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES:
  • The Indigenous children/youth services worker will have lived experience and in-depth knowledge of the history, policies, culture and demographics of Canada’s Indigenous communities
  • The indigenous children/youth services worker position ensures that indigenous children in care are provided with culturally appropriate support services sufficient to ensure growth and connection to culture.
  • This unauthorized position will provide culturally responsive system navigation support for eligible children and youth. This position will help to resolve issues that impact children and youth’s outcomes, by strengthen relationships among societies, indigenous communities, school authorities, and community partners in order to improve the outcomes of eligible children and youth.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
  • The indigenous children and youth services worker provides services to all indigenous children and youth coming into the care of the agency, through enhancing the adjustment and cultural connection of the child in care.
  • The child and youth worker manages the child/youth file through consultation and collaboration with the child and youth’s family and community; in conjunction with coordinating case planning through collaboration with the authorized Child and Family Protection worker.
  • The position has regular face-to-face contact with the resource parent(s), provider(s) and child/youth with a view to assessing the strengths of family care and the development of the child/youth.
  • The Indigenous Child and Youth Services Worker will coordinate supports for children and youth receiving services as well as build informal and formal support networks and connections. They will collaborate with indigenous communities, educators, society workers, and other key partners.
  • The position will supervise access orders on the assigned caseload. The position is designed to support decision making within the child protection context and to ensure that child protection decisions are well informed regarding the progress and development of children in Interim Society Care.

DUTIES PERFORMED ON A REGULAR BASIS:
  • Maintains an assigned caseload of children in care and ensures consistent and regular face-to-face contact and support with the assigned child/youth and foster parent(s).
  • Ensures that case planning includes development and implementation of recordings and culturally significant plans for care according to Ministry Standards. For those children/youth in Extended Society Care, plans and recordings are submitted to the supervisor for review. For those youth in Interim Society Care, the assigned protection worker must also be engaged in order to ensure the alignment of the child/youth’s plan within the context of the biological family.
  • Maintains files as per agency standards including case notes, recordings, plans for care, etc.
  • Develops and facilitates culturally centered supports and groups for children/youth in care and community.
  • Establishes positive, collaborative working relationships and linkages among indigenous communities/schools/school boards/school authorities, and community service providers.
  • Provides system navigation support for eligible children and youth to access educational services and supports in a culturally responsive and timely manner.
  • Ensures face to face private contact with children and youth which satisfies the Agency’s ‘Best Practice’ requirements and all Ministry Standards.
  • Facilitates access to specialized external resources and services that are determined to be necessary to meet the individual child/youth’s needs. For children/youth in Interim Society Care, this is to be completed in consultation with the assigned protection worker.
  • Participates as a member of the Restorative Practices Team and receives case assignments from assigned management staff.
  • Ensures that children/youth have the opportunity to have contact with their biological family supervised as per court order. For those children/youth in Interim Society Care, this is responsibility is shared with the assigned protection worker.
  • Delivers and develops cultural appropriate children and youth programming with the community.
  • Establish connections for indigenous youth and children to cultural services.
  • Provide ancillary services as required.
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS:
  • Completion of ongoing case recordings and demonstrated compliance with childcare standards (Agency Best Practice and Ministry Standards) via ongoing reported audit.
  • Regular contact with resource parent provider(s) on both an in-house and in-home basis and in concert with the child in care (discharges are expected to be planned as per the plan for care).
  • The management of crisis provoked by children in care who exhibit behaviors, which threaten placement, safety, educational achievement, etc.
  • Attendance at regular supervision with clinical and policy review issues emanating from the child in care caseload.
  • Adherence to directives issued via internal and external audit.
  • Building community and connections for Indigenous children/youth and families.
DIFFICULTY OF EXECUTION:
  • The position links the child in care and the foster home with the agency’s intervention service and the Children’s Services Worker assumes prime responsibilities for delivery, monitoring, adjustment and child development.
  • Issues of separation from biological parents and uncertainty regarding future attachments present significant challenges for these positions as to varying levels of individual disturbance on the part of the children/youth admitted to the care of a Children’s Aid Society.
  • Strong linkages with foster parents are difficult to execute given the varying capacities of foster parents but are seen as an essential and proactive function of the job.
  • A primary objective of a childcare structure is reduced breakdown in foster care through increased supervision and increased access by foster parents to appropriate training supported by the assigned childcare position.
  • Challenges with the lack of cultural supports and gaps in services for the indigenous families and children/youth we work with.
OUTCOME MEASURES:
  • This Indigenous Children’s Services position ensures intensity of service to indigenous children in care with a view to the following:
    • Indigenous children/youth will be connected or maintain connections to their communities.
  • Child care audits achieve 100% adherence to standards based on segregation of caseload and caseload size. The audit response should be experienced not only in the quality of plan for care but also in the timeliness of all forms of documentation.
  • Admin service responsibilities should achieve 100% compliance based on the timeliness of childcare documentation.
  • To work within a culturally diverse framework through the use of circles and community connections.

SKILL REQUIREMENTS:
  • Ensure the program eligibility criteria are met.
  • Ability to identify systemic barriers to equity and anti-oppressive practices and apply this lens to your work with FCSRC.
  • Knowledge, experience, and understanding of the culture, history and current oppressions experienced by marginalized groups.
  • To have a First Nation, Metis or Inuit background with demonstrated cultural and trauma informed practice.
  • Ability to identify and or/articulate anti-colonial, anti-racist, anti-ablest, anti-cisgenders, anti-ageist, anti-classist. Anti-heterosexist policies and terminology, language.
  • Ability to demonstrate critical thinking and implement evidence-based research into practice.
  • Understanding of the CYFSA, Signs of Safety, Anti-Oppressive Practice and Strength-Based approach.
  • Act as a navigator for eligible indigenous children and youth within all systems and help to resolve issues that impact them (e.g. transitions between schools, suspensions, special education), and help eligible children and youth to receive services and supports to help them achieve better outcomes.
  • Build system capacity among society and educational staff on how to better meet the educational needs of eligible indigenous children and youth students.
  • Reflective of, and responsive to, the needs of eligible children and youth.
  • Building children and youth informal and formal support networks and connections.
  • Accountable to children, youth and their indigenous community.
  • Responsive to the social, linguistic and cultural diversity of eligible children and youth.
  • Culturally responsive to the needs of a diverse population of children and youth (e.g. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, and racialized children and youth).
  • Acknowledgement and understanding of intergenerational trauma and harm is imperative

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:
  • This position requires university training in the general arts – psychology or social work.
  • Have knowledge and linkages with the education sector to help resolve issues that may affect student learning.
  • Understand and have experience working with Indigenous communities and organizations and have experience engaging respectfully with Indigenous community members, including Indigenous Elders.
  • Lived experiences as an indigenous person and a strong knowledge and connection of First Nations, Metis and Inuit culture, traditions and practices
  • French Language skills are considered an asset.
  • Preference shall be given for persons of First Nations, Metis or Inuit heritage who meet the education requirement or who have alternative equivalent education and experience in the opinion of the local director.
  • First, Nations, Inuit and Metis people are strongly encouraged to apply and self-identify

WORKING CONDITIONS
  • Ability to travel and work out of different offices within Renfrew County.
  • Require flexible works hours including evenings and weekends

SALARY:
$59,344 – $85,798