Youth Engagement Specialist; Newark YEC

Youth Engagement Specialist (Newark YEC)

Covenant House New Jersey role summary and details are provided below. The following information reflects the responsibilities, qualifications, benefits, and scheduling information for this position.

• Provide unconditional positive regard to young people regardless of behavior, race, class, culture, country of origin, disability, self-identified gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, immigration status, language capacity or ability to complete case plan requirements.
• Provide Case Management services with the goal of developing positive relationships with young people through the utilization of the case management system, including:
• Welcome young people to the program, ensure they feel comfortable, safe and understand the program structure, opportunities for engagement and access to supplies that they might need.
• Build a supportive relationship with youth that encourages them to find their voice and connects them to opportunities, experiences and resources that enrich and enhance their lives.
• Conduct all required assessments and document in file and data systems
• Develop a Success Plan with each young person upon completion of assessment.
• Revise and update the Success Plan routinely and as necessary.
• Maintain a calendar of the young people’s work schedule, appointments, etc., in conjunction with their Success Plan to support their journey.
• Develop and maintain knowledge of and connection to community resources.
• Make appropriate referrals for services within CHNJ and to community agencies.
• Engage in positive transition planning with the young people.
• Monitor young people’s progress of self-identified goals and coach young people to plan, implement, and follow-through with tasks.
• Motivate young people to explore and improve wellness, education and employment, financial literacy and social navigation goals and any other areas that will impact their success plan.
• Monitor youth while taking medication and enter Medication Logs.
• Engage with youth in daily House Activities, including assisting in completing chores, dining, gym participation, transportation assistance, and ongoing movement throughout the day.
• Explore and participate with youth in outside activities, which can include trips, walks to parks, visiting college campuses and other experiences that expose and enrich a youth’s time with CHNJ.
• Provide crisis de-escalation and intervention as necessary according to training and best practices.
• Document Intake, Orientation, Success Plans, Assessments and Transitions into ETO and case files.
• Document regular daily progress notes in young people’s case records (HMIS and ETO).
• Document pertinent information in Youth Incident Report, Medication Logs and House Activity Logs.
• Prepare and present at case review meetings. Engage and meet with youth for their Success Planning meetings.
• Facilitate youth group activities which support the 5 resiliency objectives:
  Wellness, Social Navigation, Financial Literacy, Education and Employment, on a regular basis.
• Perform all duties assigned by the supervisor to meet the needs of young people while ensuring adherence to the daily program schedule.
• Attend and participate in daily community meetings for seamless coordination of youth services.
• Attend weekly supervision with supervisor and weekly meetings as assigned.
• Attend professional development training as assigned.
• Comply with all agency policies and procedures and Child Protection standards.
• Read and respond daily to all emails, calendar invites, voice mails and any other agency communication.
• Cover the front desk when required.
• Utilize agency resources for agency use only which include but are not limited to the vehicles, computers, telephones.
• Assist as needed with fundraising affairs and special events which may be conducted outside the employee’s normal work schedule.
• Attend to additional duties as assigned to meet the needs of young people and the program.

• Bachelor’s degree in psychology, sociology, social work or related field preferred.
• Preferred experience with young people ages 18-24 experiencing homelessness or human trafficking, or who have lived…