Indigenous Support Worker Full Time

Reporting to: Supervisor, Indigenous Services Team
Classification: Full Time Temporary 1 year contract external funding; 35 hours weekly; non-union
Type of Posting: Grant funding
Salary: $58,000 per annum
Starting Date: As soon as possible
Application deadline: Sunday June 22, 11:59pm. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
Application Procedure: Please apply through our Career portal section of our website: https://hccas.ca

MISSION
Guided by Catholic values and teachings, we serve and offer bilingual (English/French) service to children, youth and families within the Hamilton community to protect their safety and well-being, strengthen families and nurture lifelong relationships.
The Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton is pleased to receive a grant from a public foundation and is recruiting for an Indigenous Support Worker to work directly with the Indigenous children, youth and families. Qualified candidates must be of Indigenous/First National Metis Indigenous (FNMI) heritage and have the skills and knowledge needed to work with the Indigenous communities a as well as knowledge of inequities, how they are perpetuated, and the skills to address them, specific to the requirements of the job.
We are currently seeking an Indigenous Support Worker to join our team on a full-time temporary basis for a 1-year contract.

PURPOSE

The Indigenous Support Worker will perform their duties with a high degree of personal and professional integrity, while building collaborative relationships and partnerships with all individuals based on mutual respect.

The Indigenous Support Worker is responsible for ensuring all duties are carried out in alignment with the mission and vision of the Society with a commitment to truth and reconciliation and social justice.

The Indigenous Support Worker will assist Indigenous families connect with culturally appropriate supports and provide direct culturally appropriate services to support the child protection intervention with the understanding that Indigenous communities may provide more appropriate solutions to family healing. The position is aligned with the agency’s goal to reduce the number of Indigenous children and youth in care, through prevention and reunification work with families and communities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
JOB DUTIES:
1. Support of contact between parents and their children is provided in accordance with the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, Ministry standards, various protocols and assessments and the Society’s policies and procedures.
2. Connects families to culturally appropriate Indigenous services and participate in activities to encourage the connection of Indigenous families to Indigenous services.
3. Assists in the development of goals for families participating in internal and community services, specifically Family and Community Engagement/Therapeutic Contact and In-Home Support.
4. Assists families in securing necessary resources and funding, including connection to Bands and completing Jordan Principle funding requests.
5. Develops a plan to meet identified goals with the child, family, internal and external participants to develop culturally safe plans.
6. Intervenes in an effective manner to support relationship development and enhanced parenting skills through co-constructed culturally appropriate parenting strategies that build strong child, youth and family bonds.
7. Provides assistance and support to children and families to prevent admission to care and facilitate the reintegration of children into families to address the over-representation of Indigenous children and youth in care.
8. Assists in the development of a family plan that is wholistic in nature and provides connections to cultural safe programs and resources.
9. Works with parents and caregivers on following through with the family plan goals and provide information about child development and group programming to enhance parenting knowledge and skills.
10. Models and coach effective parenting skills and child management techniques from an Indigenous informed perspective
11. Provides crisis management support when required.
12. Assists caregivers with development of community support network to enhance safety and wellbeing.
13. Co-creates visiting schedules and arrange transportation for children as required.
14. Ensures that the physical access location is equipped with age and culturally appropriate toys, games, books, etc.
15. Establishes and maintain a professional and collaborative liaison with community service providers and stakeholders.
16. Liaises and works collaboratively with collaterals (i.e. schools, foster parents, OPRS) on issues related to visits and family contact.
17. Follows procedures as outlined in the Society’s Family Visiting Procedural Manual.
18. Completes all written assignments and requirements, such as regular case recordings, and any other written tasks that are required in accordance with standards and policies.
19. Plans and schedules duties in an organized manner, ensure priorities and deadlines are met.
20. Manages time and ensures availability for planned unit coverage responsibilities as directed by supervisor. and minimizes unplanned interruptions to planned coverage.
21. Completes mandatory training and participates in ongoing agency training.
22. Demonstrates leadership and a commitment to the principles of anti-oppressive practices and anti-racism based on justice, fairness, equity, respect of the beliefs and traditions of others.

QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS:
1. Social Service Worker Diploma or Youth Worker Diploma.
2. 3 years related or direct experience working in a Child Welfare program or Indigenous agency or indigenous community is preferred.
3. The role is limited to Indigenous/FNMI candidates with lived experience.
4. Knowledge and commitment to anti-oppressive/anti-racist philosophy, understanding/knowledge of the Truth and Reconciliation Commitments and advancing equity within child welfare
5. Demonstrated capacity and ability in the following areas:
a. familiarity and experience working with Indigenous Services in Hamilton
b. Work with Indigenous families in a culturally appropriate manner
c. Familiarity and understanding on Indigenous culture and traditions
d. Understanding of intergenerational impact of child welfare on Indigenous families and communities.
e. Clinical skills working with children and youth from an Indigenous lens. Work effectively and strategically in a multi-disciplinary team
f. Superior communication and presentation skills
g. Ability to work independently
h. Ability to liaise and connect with Indigenous services and community partners
i. Excellent crisis intervention skills
j. Demonstrated ability to work effectively with children, alternative caregivers, birth parents, and Indigenous community.
6. Effective interpersonal and communication skills to establish and maintain open, trusting and approachable relationships through outreach and engagement strategies.
7. Effective time management skills and completing administrative tasks within specified deadlines.
8. The work environment is a combination of office work and out of office work and includes:
a. Regular contact with children, families, alternative caregivers and community resources.
b. Local travel and driving personal automobile
c. Occasional overtime or scheduling of work that varies from normal office hours and the ability and willingness to work a flexible work schedule as needed.
d. Attends homes of service recipients, alternative care providers and other institutions as required.

Additional Requirements for this Position:
1. Computer literate with demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft office and proprietary child welfare systems and programs.
2. Demonstrates a commitment to, and work ethic in, leadership and role models behaviours that demonstrates the Mission and Vision of the Catholic Children’s Aid Society.
3. Able to affirm and integrate in the delivery of services the Society values which reflect the Agency’s Catholic faith, heritage, culture and traditions.
4. Bilingual French/English is an asset
5. Respectful and compassionate demeanor.
6. At the time of hire, documents required will include:
• Vulnerable Sector Police clearance
• Provincial Child Protection Record Check
• Valid Ontario Driver’s license and acceptable drivers abstract.
The Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton is committed to having a workforce that is reflective of the diversity of the city of Hamilton and strongly encourages applications from all qualified individuals, especially those who can provide different perspectives and contribute to a further diversification of ideas.
The Agency is inviting applications from qualified individuals who self-identify as being part of one or more of the under-represented equity groups. During the online applications process, applicants will have the opportunity to complete the online questionnaire to indicate if they self-identify as being part of an equity seeking group. Answering the questionnaire is voluntary. If the questionnaire is not completed by an applicant, they will not be considered as being from an equity seeking group.

Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton is committed to ensuring a unbiased selection process that values equity, diversity and inclusion and reflects the Hamilton Catholic community that we serve.
In order to minimize interviewer bias we have incorporated the following into our selection process:
1. We will have our interview panel score written assignments blind to eliminate bias
2. We will seek out recent examples on behavior-based questions during the interview process
3. We will review a candidate’s lived experience during the interview and when assessing staffing needs
4. We provide accommodations in accordance with AODA and the Ontario Human Rights Code
5. We will hold your application in strict and professional confidence
We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to building on inclusive process that respects the dignity and independence of people with disabilities. If you require a disability related accommodation in order to participate in the recruitment process, please inform Human Resources at the time when you are invited for an interview.