Job Title: Students in Temporary Housing (STH) Family Worker

Organization: Division of School Climate and Wellness

Office: Office of Community Schools (OCS), Students in Temporary Housing (STH)

Position Locations

Citywide

Position Summary

The New York City school system is the largest in the country, composed of approximately 1.1 million students and 75,000+ teachers in over 1,800 schools. Each year there are over 100,000 students who are homeless or live in temporary housing, including shelter, foster care, and domestic violence safe housing. Research indicates that students in temporary housing face unique academic challenges and are more likely to be chronically absent than their housed peers.

The Office of Community Schools (OCS) works with schools and communities to advance equity by embracing a “whole child, whole community” approach – looking holistically at students, families, and communities to ascertain assets and needs and decide together which services and supports should be employed. The OCS Students in Temporary Housing (STH) team leads citywide efforts to provide whole child based supports to students and families affected by homelessness.

The STH Family Assistant primarily works in a Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelter or shelters located near their designated school. Family Assistants identify and facilitate supports for students and families living in shelter, particularly those related to strong school attendance and accessing to school-based services and supports. These include free or reduced-cost transportation, school enrollment and transfer guidance, early learning programs, and so forth.

The Family Assistant collaborates with DHS shelter staff and DOE central and school staff, and works directly with a dedicated STH Regional Manager who provides on-boarding, training, technical assistance and escalation support. Family Assistants will also interact with other DOE offices and City agency partners, including the DOE Office of Pupil Transportation, DOE Borough/Central Offices, and other City agencies.

The STH Family Assistant is an integral part of a district-based team that facilitates and monitors services provided in shelters and schools, and ensures consistent adherence to Department of Education (DOE) polices as well as federal laws and regulations regarding Students in Temporary Housing. This includes compliance with the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and Chancellor’s Regulation A-780. Performs related work.

Reports to:

STH Regional Manager in the Office of Community Schools

Key Relationships

STH Regional Manager, shelter staff, including shelter directors and case managers, school leadership, community-based organization (CBO) partners, school health, mental health and attendance team members, and the Office of Pupil Transportation staff.

General Duties AND Responsibilities

• Greets and engages all families and students in shelter, which includes but is not limited to, conducting intake and move-out interviews, sharing essential information about educational rights and resources, maintaining intake and move out logs, utilizing ATS, and ensuring ongoing communication with families to ensure delivery of support.
• Assists families and students in shelter with student transportation, school placement, school registration, mid-year school transfers, housing status documentation and other related issues. This includes, but is not limited to, contacting school officials and DOE central offices, assisting families and students to complete all necessary documents needed for enrollment and transportation, and coordinating with schools and the Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) in arranging transportation for students.
• Distribute, manages, and track all MetroCards issued to parents for the purpose of accompanying their children to school.
• Serves as a liaison between school and shelter staff to support students and families in temporary housing. Works with school administrators, guidance counselors, attendance teachers, community coordinators and school directors to facilitate referrals to school and shelter based supports, including but not limited to public benefits, attendance improvement interventions, and academic supports.

• Conducts shelter, hotel or school site visits as needed to support student attendance, to share information about available services and supports, and ensure that necessities (e.g., school materials, transportation and supplementary educational services) are readily available.
• In collaboration with other STH staff, monitors and supports the attendance of students in shelter, and works with school-based staff to provide attendance interventions, including but not limited to utilizing attendance data in ATS.
• Facilitates training and presentations on available resources to families living in shelters.
• Assists in recruiting families in shelter for activities intended for them, and facilitates extended day activities.
• Performs other duties as needed to fulfill the goals of the STH program.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

High school diploma

Preferred Criteria

• Ability to build relationships with school aged youth, families, educators, and communities from a wide range of cultural, social, and economic backgrounds.
• Knowledge of McKinney Vento regulations and their application to homeless youth.
• Familiarity with community-based programs and related youth development programs serving homeless students and families.
• Experience working in shelter-based settings.
• Bilingual or multiple language skills.
• A strong focus on results and a customer service orientation.
• Willingness to travel within and between boroughs as needed.

Anticipated Work Schedule

Monday-Friday, seven (7) hour workday, exact schedule to be determined

Salary

Base salary as per Collective Bargaining Agreement; increased level(s) available based on college credits

Application