Childcare Provider

The Opportunity

Essie Justice Group (Essie) is building grassroots power to dismantle the US incarceration system, the most egregious creator of racial and gender injustice of our time. We are a loving and powerful community of women with incarcerated loved ones. Our community includes cisgender women, transgender women, formerly incarcerated women, gender nonconforming (GNC) people, elders, and young people.

After eleven years of building an active membership across California and beyond, Essie is deepening its base-building and leadership development strategies with the 1 in 4 women with incarcerated loved ones to propel bold decarceration agendas across the nation. We seek to transform the criminal legal system and create a Black feminist future rooted in care, equity, community safety, and liberation.

As part of this vision, we are seeking compassionate, dependable, and values-aligned childcare providers to support our members by ensuring their children are cared for in safe, nurturing, and engaging environments during program sessions. This role is vital to reducing barriers to participation and allowing women to be fully present in their healing and advocacy journeys. Childcare providers are essential partners in our work to upend systems of control and confinement by making space for the leadership and self-determination of Black women and gender nonconforming people.

Beginning in March, we will launch a 9-week cohort of women with incarcerated loved ones in Sacramento. This role is not remote. Each cohort will meet once a week in the evening, supported by a dedicated childcare team, so participants can engage fully in the program.

• 2+ years of relevant experience working with youth or in childcare related fields.
• Enthusiasm for maintaining 1-on-1 relationships with young people of varying ages.
• Experience with setting up and facilitating stimulating environments for children and young people, including snack preparation.
• Ability to follow risk management protocol to ensure the physical and emotional safety and well-being of all childcare participants.
• Demonstrated ability and comfort facilitating age-appropriate group discussions about the justice system.
• Proficiency with tracking attendance and documenting daily childcare activities
• Must be able and willing to travel to all cohort sessions and any additional meetings as necessary.
• Must have your own phone and be willing to coordinate with the Childcare Coordinator should there be a need to miss a childcare session.
• Upon hire show proof of valid CPR/ First Aid certification
• Available to work in Sacramento

• A strong commitment to the mission, goals, and philosophy of Essie Justice Group.
• Deeply committed to fostering youth empowerment and self-efficacy.
• Ability to consistently and sustainably hold space for children, youth, and caregivers through difficult situations with compassion and empathy.
• Exceptional follow-through and commitment to creating high quality childcare environments.
• Anticipates needs of all children and other colleagues sharing the childcare space and takes initiative to address them.
• Outcome oriented, critical and creative thinker.
• Positive approach, can-do attitude, and a sense of humor.

Please submit your resume through our hiring portal (). Your resume tells us what you can do; your cover letter should tell us who you are and why you want to work with Essie.

Essie Justice Group provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all staff members. Employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and skills. Essie does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, immigration status, socioeconomic status, ancestry, age, size, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, familial status, veteran status, disability, AIDS/HIV status, medical condition, prior conviction, arrest history, traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Essie values and specifically seeks applicants who are people with incarcerated loved ones; formerly incarcerated people; people of color; women; queer, transgender, gender expansive and gender fluid people.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, performance assessment, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Essie Justice Group is a non profit organization of women with incarcerated loved ones taking on the rampant injustices created by mass incarceration. Our award-winning Healing to Advocacy Model brings women together to heal, build collective power, and drive social change. Essie is Great Place to Work-Certified™ and a recognized leader in Black feminist institution building.

Learn more iejusticegroup.org.