Provincial Youth Outreach Worker

Agency: Black Action Defense Committee (BADC)

Posted: February 21st, 2025

Youth Outreach Worker

Permanent Full-Time 35 hours per week)

(Starting ASAP)

This position provides a range of outreach services to individuals, families and groups to enhance or maintain youth functioning in the community. This position carries responsibility for prevention, early intervention, program development and community outreach services with youth and families under the auspices of the provincial Youth Outreach Worker Program.

Highlights of Your Role
- To maintain, through appropriate communication and coordination, a collective working relationship with other professionals both within and outside of the organization to facilitate partnerships with community groups and inform the Youth Outreach Worker Supervisor of emerging issues, service gaps and matters of interest and/or concern.
- To reach out to and engage at-risk youth, in accordance with the Stages of Change model, which promote assets, competencies and resiliency.
- To carry out brokerage/ advocacy/resourcing functions that ensure youth have access to programs, services and opportunities needed for healthy development
- Engaging youth to identify issues, needs, goals, aspirations, skills, abilities, and services needed as well as barriers to accessing these services.
- Providing youth with general information, contacts, referrals services and support as needed to facilitate access to programs, services, and opportunities i.e., recreation, housing, employment, education, health, including substance abuse, social abuse, social and emotional issues, etc.
- To work collaboratively with youth, parents, Health Promotion officers, schools, police and youth service providers to develop effective service delivery plans that ensure that youth have access to programs, services and opportunities needed for healthy development.
- To facilitate connections between youth and their neighbourhood and promote

awareness of the positive role of youth in the community.
- To implement and maintain strength based and evidence based professional standards of practice within the program, and to that program service standards are in accordance with the Stages of Change model, a Positive Youth Development Framework and relevant legislation i.e., Child and Family Services Act.
- To engage in regular supervision with the Supervisor for the YOWs).
- Other duties as assigned

In collaboration with YOW Supervisor and team:

- To build and understanding of the needs, issues, goals, aspirations, skills and abilities of youth by developing a composite picture of neighbourhood demographics, and building on existing maps of services, programs and community assets available in the local neighbourhood.
- To facilitate partnerships with community agencies, businesses, government and informal community groups to offer programs using arts, culture, civic engagement, and recreation.
- To conduct further environmental scans of neighbourhoods to identify and understand emerging issues, service gaps and opportunities for action to build on community capacity.
- To provide services within an understanding of the context of oppression, poverty and diversity etc.
- To identify staff development/training needs and to participate in staff development/training programs as required.
- To provide other services and carry out other duties as assigned as part of the provincial Youth Outreach Worker program.
- To engage parents where possible through existing parent groups, faith communities etc., and provide education, information on issues related to parenting, etc. and services available.
- To maintain service statistics and recording of all services as required.
- To prepare program reviews as required and ensure that documentation and service statistics on the TREAT database system are completed in a timely manner.
- To actively participate in required Youth Outreach Program team meetings.
- Actively contributes to the Agency’s Strategic Plan by participating in initiatives and committees to support the overall Plan.
- Takes all reasonable and necessary precautions to protect his or her own health and safety and that of co-workers by complying and demonstrating knowledge of the policies, procedures and safe practices established by BADC

Highlights of What You Bring:
Minimum Child and Youth Worker Diploma or equivalent and 2 years of directly related experience.
- Experience supporting disadvantaged and Black communities

Lived or personal work experience in the Toronto West community an asset
- Knowledge of and sensitivity to the life experiences and needs of the youth community combined with previous community development experience.
- Knowledge and skill in delivering group programs and workshops.
- Demonstrates a commitment to inclusiveness, diversity and anti-oppressive practices.
- Demonstrated leadership skills
- Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment.
- Knowledge of stages of theory and spe