Community Liaison (Community-Based Program)

Lincoln Families is a workplace that is committed to strengths-based, culturally responsive, attachment-centered, and trauma-informed care.

POSITION: Community Liaison (Alameda County)

PROGRAM: School Engagement Program (SEP)

SALARY: $56k

TEXT ‘SEP9547' to (510) 901-5627

The Lincoln Families School Engagement Program (SEP) helps chronically truant youth and their families address barriers to attending schools and support consistent attendance and engagement in the learning process. SEP is a prevention program for youth who have increased absences but are not yet identified as chronically truant or involved in the Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) or Parent Truancy Court (PTC) system. SEP meets youth and families where they are at, whether it be in the home, school, or community. Staff deliver services to youth and families in a variety of ways:

• Family Coaching – Providing intensive case management and collaborating with families to reconnect them to their communities, and develop skills and resources for self-sufficiency;
• Youth Counseling – Working with students to increase motivation, promote a healthy lifestyle and establish trust with the school system for achievement and success;
• Resource Navigation – Linking youth and families to self-identified supports for reducing stressors and addressing issues impacting attendance as well as working with schools to improve their outreach to families.

Our Why: Chronic truancy is a crisis impacting children in the Bay Area, throughout California, and across the county. Studies consistently show that elementary school students who miss school are more likely to struggle academically, which leads ultimately to higher drop-out rates. While there are numerous risk factors associated with absenteeism, school truancy is not an isolated problem or merely a behavioral issue. Rather, it is the result of underlying problems associated with poverty and, systemic inequities, such as homelessness and the physical and mental health of the caregiver.

POSITION SUMMARY: Reporting to the Program Manager, the Community Liaison in the School Engagement Program (SEP) will work collaboratively with the team and youth’s family to develop a comprehensive individualized plan that provides goals to assist and support the youth and family in increasing school attendance by addressing issues that have resulted in significant truancy. The Community Liaison is committed to creating a culturally competent, strengths based, family focused plan that meets the needs of the youth and family.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Provide case management, mental health services, and crisis intervention to assist youth with chronically truant behavior
• Provide behavioral supports to engage the youth and family in developing an individualized plan, implementing the plan and evaluating progress
• Create linkage and coordinate resources relevant to the needs of the youth and family
• Evaluate youth’s social, recreational, and life-skills functioning and caregiver needs
• Implement plan of care developed by Treatment Team
• Help youth develop and utilize their strengths, interests, and skills
• Design interventions relevant to social, recreational, and life-skills development
• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with community resources
• Develop rapport and maintain good professional relationships with youth, family, and other significant people in the youth’s familial and social network

POSITION REQUIREMENTS: Expresses a passion for working with families that are system involved. Interest and enthusiasm for ensuring services are culturally responsive. Values diversity and expresses such in contact with youth, families and colleagues. Demonstrated awareness of, sensitivity to and competence in dealing with cultural and socioeconomic diversity of client population. Practices ongoing cultural self-assessment to explore the ways they may be prejudiced, biased or ignorant towards others of a different culture. Ability, experience, and interest to provide services in natural settings (including home, community or school). Ability to learn and develop skills in evidence-based practices, and follow a strength based perspective that can be applied in treatment plans and in work.

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION:

• Bachelor's Degree from an accredited university or college in psychology, sociology, social work, or counseling
• Documented mental health experience with children, including experience in clinical interventions, setting limits, and crisis intervention
• Spanish/English bilingual highly preferred, but not required.
• Experience providing community-based collaborative services to youth and their families, including understanding of issues of truancy
• Experience with trauma-focused care preferred
• Must meet eligibility requirements to bill for Medi-Cal services

WHY JOIN LINCOLN FAMILIES:

• Salary: $56k
  • Bilingual Skills: Up to an additional $5k annually(contingent upon results of language proficiency test)
• Time Off: 4 weeks of vacation, 18 sick days and 11 holidays (including 2 flex holiday); Vacation and sick time begin accruing from day one of employment.
• Benefits: medical, dental and vision with 90-95% employer subsidy for employee premiums; we also offer 50% for dependents. Additional Benefits include flexible spending accounts (FSA), life insurance, disability insurance, commuter benefits, retirement & pension plans.
• Equity at Lincoln Families: we currently have an Employee Equity Council, a Management Equity Team and staff-run Affinity Groups.
• Wellness: Lincoln Families encourages and supports wellness for all employees so that staff are able to sustain themselves in this work and better serve our families. Staff create self-care plans and receive funding they can use each year towards those plans. Employees also have 1-3 hours of paid time per week for wellness activities.
• Professional Development/Training: Each year, employees can be reimbursed for expenses related professional licensing and other fees, as well as for professional development opportunities. Employees who have been at Lincoln Families for one year are also eligible to participate in advanced training series.
• Student Loan Forgiveness: We are a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit approved site. By working with Lincoln Families, staff are eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Top Bay Area Workplace five years running... 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025!