Community Resource Specialist
City of Mankato
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Job summary
City of Mankato is seeking a Community Resource Specialist to bridge Public Safety with individuals and families in need. You will provide proactive outreach, resource navigation, and referrals to connect people with housing, health, and support services.
The role collaborates with multiple city departments and community partners to reduce barriers and improve access to essential resources, including victim services and crisis support.
Qualifications
- Associate’s degree in a field related to the job duties.
- Two years of outreach/advocacy, code enforcement, public safety, or community development experience.
- Equivalent combination of education, training, and experience may be substituted.
Responsibilities
- Victim and Family Outreach: follow-up, resource coordination, and support for victims and families affected by crisis.
- Homelessness and Housing Outreach: proactive outreach and engagement for homelessness or housing instability; assist with shelter, housing benefits, transportation, employment, and basic-needs resources.
- Mental Health, Substance Use, and Crisis Resource Coordination: outreach, referrals, and resource navigation for mental health or crisis cases; support de-escalation and service connections.
- Community Outreach and Engagement: liaison between Public Safety and residents, businesses, schools, and organizations; participate in community events and education.
- Case Coordination and Follow-Up: receive referrals, coordinate outreach and services, and reduce repeated crises.
- Program Evaluation, Training, and Administration: document contacts and outcomes; provide reports and conduct training and information sharing.
Skills
Education
Job description
The 2026 starting rate of pay is $28.74 - $31.54 per hour with advancement to $40.29 per hour.
The 2026 starting rate of pay is $28.74 - $31.54 per hour with advancement to $40.29 per hour.
STA3 FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
Yes
Public Safety Commander
- Must possess an Associate’s degree in a field related to the job duties. Degrees may be in Human Services, Psychology, Social Work, Education, Criminal Justice, or related field.
- Candidates must possess two (2) years of outreach/advocacy work, code enforcement, public safety or community development experience.
- Any satisfactory equivalent combination of education, training, and experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the job proficiently may be substituted for the above requirements.
Under the direct supervision of the Public Safety Commander, the Community Resource Specialist is a civilian public safety professional who serves as a bridge between the Department of Public Safety, individuals and families in need, community organizations, and local and regional service providers. The position provides proactive outreach, resource navigation, referral coordination, follow-up, and community engagement for individuals impacted by crime, homelessness or housing instability, mental health concerns, substance use, family or personal crisis, and other circumstances that may contribute to repeated interaction with public safety services. The Community Resource Specialist works collaboratively with Police, Fire, Community Development – Housing, other City departments, Blue Earth County, victim advocacy organizations, behavioral health providers, housing and homelessness service providers, schools, nonprofit organizations, and other community partners to connect individuals with appropriate services and reduce barriers to receiving assistance.
Our employees are committed to working in an environment that fosters the core values of the City of Mankato – positive attitude, accountability, respect, teamwork, and integrity. We care about making a positive difference in the lives of others. Our work is challenging and has purpose. We listen and engage with each other and our community. We are empowered and trusted to make good decisions that align with the public service principles and core values. Our organization is committed to investing and developing each other. We will recognize and celebrate our collective achievements and individual accomplishments.
- Provides proactive follow-up, resource coordination, and support for victims of crime, vulnerable adults, youth, and families affected by crisis or traumatic events.
- Connects individuals with appropriate victim advocacy, legal, housing, behavioral health, financial, and other community resources.
- Coordinates with victim service providers, county agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other partners to improve access to services and identify gaps in available resources.
- Conducts proactive outreach and ongoing engagement with individuals experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
- Assists individuals with navigating shelter, housing benefits, transportation, employment, food, healthcare, and other basic-needs resources.
- Collaborate with City departments, Blue Earth County, housing providers, shelters, nonprofit organizations, and other community partners to promote housing stability and reduce repeated public safety contacts.
- Provides outreach, referrals, and resource navigation for individuals experiencing mental health, substance-use, behavioral-health, or other personal crises.
- Supports Public Safety personnel during and following appropriate calls for service by assisting with de-escalation, service connections, and follow-up.
- Coordinates with crisis teams, treatment providers, recovery organizations, and other community partners and supports diversion or alternative-response efforts when appropriate.
- Serves as a primary liaison between Public Safety and residents, neighborhood associations, businesses, schools, community organizations, and other stakeholders.
- Coordinates and participates in community engagement, education, crime-prevention, and relationship-building activities, including Night to Unite/National Night Out.
- Identifies community concerns and opportunities to strengthen trust, communication, accessibility, and relationships between Public Safety and the community.
- Receives referrals from Public Safety and other City staff and coordinates appropriate outreach, services, and follow-up.
- Works collaboratively with individuals and service providers to address barriers, coordinate services, and reduce repeated crisis or public safety contacts.
- Recognizes circumstances requiring immediate referral to sworn law enforcement, emergency medical services, licensed mental-health professionals, adult or child protection, or other appropriate authorities.
- Develops and maintains partnerships with agencies providing victim services, housing, homelessness, behavioral health, substance-use, youth, senior, and other human services.
- Maintains current knowledge of community and regional resources and participates in multidisciplinary teams and collaborative community initiatives.
- Identifies service gaps, partnership opportunities, and potential improvements to community-resource and outreach programs.
- Maintains appropriate, thorough, accurate, timely and professional documentation of contacts, referrals, outreach activities, service connections, outcomes, and other program measures to evaluate effectiveness and identify community trends.
- Provides reports and recommendations regarding service needs, recurring issues, program outcomes, and opportunities for improvement.
- Provides community education and resource information and supports City staff with training and information regarding available community services.
- Maintains records and performs duties in accordance with applicable confidentiality, data-practices, and City requirements.
- Performs physical and mental demands and work environment requirements for this position.
- Attendance during regularly scheduled work hours and outside regular hours as necessary.
- Effective and respectful communication and interactions with other employees, supervisors, individuals from other organizations, and community customers.
- Performs other related work as assigned or apparent.
The above is a general listing of job duties. Essential and non-essential functions may vary by individual position. Reasonable accommodations may be available for both essential and non-essential job duties.
- Internally – Police Commanders and Sergeants, Other Police Officers, Community Service Officers, Reserve Officers, Records and Fire Personnel, Public works staff - Streets, Parks, Infrastructure, Central Garage, Information Technology, Human Resources, Public Information, and Community Development, City Manager’s office.
- Externally – Residents; victims and families; neighborhood associations; businesses; schools and educational institutions; Blue Earth County Human Services; victim advocacy organizations; shelters and housing providers; healthcare and behavioral-health providers; substance-use treatment and recovery organizations; nonprofit and faith-based organizations; community coalitions; neighboring law enforcement agencies; county and state agencies; and other community and regional service providers.
- None
- Must possess a valid driver's license and be able to drive in the State of Minnesota.
- Must successfully complete a psychological evaluation from a licensed psychologist, background investigation, physical examination, drug test, and fingerprinting.
- Must comply with organizational and departmental policies.
- Must comply with data practices policies and standards relative to not public data. Any access to not public data should be strictly limited to accessing the data that are necessary to fulfill the employment responsibility. While data are being accessed, incumbent should take reasonable measures to ensure the not public data are not accessed by individuals without a work reason. Once the work reason to access the data is reasonably finished the not public data must be properly stored according to city policy and the Minnesota Statutes.
- Safety Sensitive Notice. This is a safety sensitive position which requires cannabis pre-employment drug testing. Safety sensitive position means a job in which an impairment caused by drug, alcohol, or cannabis usage would threaten the health and safety of any person.
Hours of Work
General working hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and evening, weekend, holidays, and outside of regular hours as necessary.
The City of Mankato provides a comprehensive, balanced, and competitive benefits package as part of your total compensation. The City's benefits programs address both the immediate needs that you and your family may have, such as medical coverage or flexible spending accounts, and your long-term needs, such as retirement savings. The following outline of City-offered benefits serves as an overview and does not provide all provisions, limitations, and exclusions. If there is a contradiction between this and the official plan documents, the plan documents will prevail.
Vacation Accruals, Utilization, And Payouts Vary Within Each Collective Bargaining Agreement And/or Employee Handbook. The Following Is The General Overview Of The Vacation Benefit
- Vacation hours may be accrued to a maximum of 50 days or 400 hours.
- Hours are accrued incrementally each pay period.
- Vacation hours may be taken in 30-minute increments.
- Unused balance carries over year to year.
0 - 5 years - 10 days
6 - 10 years - 15 days
11 - 14 years - 17 days
15 -20 years - 20 days
21 years - 21 days
22 years - 22 days
23 years - 23 days
24 years - 24 days
25 years - 25 days
26 years - 26 days
27 years - 27 days
28 years - 28 days
29 years - 29 days
30+ years - 30 days
Employees earn 8 hours of sick leave per month.
All regular full-time employees of the City, except those who are governed by a union contract or different holiday policy, receive the following paid holidays:
- New Year's Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Presidents Day
- Memorial Day
- Juneteenth
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Veterans Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Friday After Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
- Floating Holiday
- Health insurance plans to choose from: $5,000 HDHP with an HSA, $3,400 HDHP with an HSA, $500 CMM, $100 CMM/Traditional Plan
- Single Coverage
- The City will contribute 95% of the premium for the IRS Minimum Embedded Deductible Plan.
- The City will contribute 100% of the premium for the alternative High-Deductible plan.
- For all other single coverage plan options, the City will contribute at the same premium rate as the IRS minimum embedded deductible plan.
- Dependent Coverage (Employee + Spouse, Employee + Children, or Family)
- The City will contribute 90% of the premium of each High-Deductible Plan option. All other plan options the City will contribute at the same premium rate as the IRS minimum embedded deductible plan.
- Employee Responsibility
- Employees are responsible for paying the remaining percentage of premiums, which will be deducted through payroll, on a bi-weekly basis.
- City contributions for union members will follow negotiated contract language.
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