Outreach Worker

Grand Street Settlement; New York (NY); On-site; USD 36,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Grand Street Settlement in New York seeks an Outreach Worker to support the Community Schools Initiative in East New York, Brooklyn. You will work with families and school staff to strengthen parent-school communication and improve student attendance, with a focus on home-based outreach and building trust with high-risk families.

Responsibilities include creating written records, coordinating with community resources, and partnering with families to develop goal plans.

Qualifications

• High school diploma required; Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent documentation skills.
• Ability to motivate others toward achieving goals.
• Ability to develop alliances with high-risk and difficult-to-engage youth and families.
• Knowledge of community resources and counseling practices with high-risk populations.
• Outstanding collaborative skills.
• Bilingual in Spanish/ English is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain a thorough written record of assessments, attendance outreach efforts and all required documentation.
• Work collaboratively with community resources to establish timely and effective referral processes.
• Maintain ongoing open communication with school principal, parents, and school-based staff.
• Through home visits, engage families and develop relationships between school and families of students identified as the targeted population (Minimum 3 home visits per week).
• Partner with families to create family goal plans that increase student attendance and enhance parent and child well-being.
• Maintain written records of home visits, family goals, and all required documentation.
• Implement “Success Mentors” program to improve attendance initiatives.
• Assign “Success Mentors” to chronically absent students.
• Implement attendance incentive programs and manage related activities.
• Work collaboratively with school and community to support school environment and advocate for families.
• Refer participants to social worker for counseling and safety planning.
• Participate in ongoing efforts to advocate for program needs via community coalition building and surveys.
• Seek partnership opportunities and bring in at least 3 new partners a year.
• Work with social worker, tutor, and case manager to support targeted student needs.
• Attend all required department/agency meetings and trainings.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Written & verbal communication

Documentation skills

Motivate others

Building alliances

Community resources knowledge

Collaboration

Bilingual Spanish/English

Education

High school diploma

Bachelor’s degree preferred

Two years or more experience in youth development

Job description

TITLE: Outreach Worker

DEPARTMENT: Youth and Community Development Services

LOCATION: East New York, Brooklyn

PROGRAM: Community Schools Initiative

REPORTS TO: Community School Director

SALARY: Full-time, $36,000-$39,000. Compensation based on job experience. This position is performance-based and is also contingent on funding availability

DATE: September 2026 – June 2027

Schedule: Mon-Fri, some Saturdays. Scheduling may vary due to the needs of the program.

JOB SUMMARY: The outreach worker will work closely with families and Community School staff to support Community School Attendance Initiatives. The outreach worker will help support parents’ skills, parent-child relationships, family relationships, and parent-school communication to increase student attendance. The outreach worker is responsible for initiating and maintaining a regular, sustainable supportive relationship with high-risk families through home-based services. The outreach worker will ensure optimal academic, social, and emotional development of both parents and students. The outreach worker will work closely with the Community School Team (director, social worker, program coordinator, and tutor) to provide resources that will enhance the Community School. Staff members will need a working, reliable computer.

Education, Experience, And Skill Requirement

• High school diploma required; Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Two years or more experience in the field of youth development
• Family outreach and home visit experience
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent documentation skills
• Ability to motivate others toward achieving goals
• Ability to develop alliances with high-risk and difficult-to-engage youth and families
• Knowledge of community resources and counseling practices with high-risk populations
• Outstanding collaborative skills
• Bilingual in Spanish/ English is preferred.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Create and maintain a thorough written record of assessments, attendance outreach efforts and all required documentation
• Work collaboratively with community resources to establish timely and effective referral processes
• Maintain ongoing open communication with school principal, parents, and school-based staff
• Through home visits, engage families and develop relationships between school and families of students identified as the targeted population (At-risk and chronically absent students). (Minimum 3 home visits per week).
• Partner with families to create family goal plans that increase student attendance and enhance parent and child well-being
• Maintain written records of home visits, family goals, and all required documentation
• Implement “Success Mentors” program to improve attendance initiatives. Success Mentors are the most successful strategy for combating chronic absence. Success Mentors are caring adults (or peers) who mentor chronically absent students to identify the barriers preventing them from attending school each day.
• Assign “Success Mentors” to chronically absent students. Help Success Mentors understand that any topic is worth discussing! The idea is not for a Success Mentor to have the answers, but for the mentee to talk about and explore ideas.
• Implement attendance incentive programs. Hold award ceremonies for improved attendance, create an attendance-going culture, and manage incentive programs (ex., trips, gifts, shirts).
• Work collaboratively with school and community to support school environment, bring in resources, and advocate for families when necessary
• Refer participants to social worker for counseling to support with crisis intervention and safety planning
• Participate in ongoing efforts to advocate for program needs via community coalition building and via administering feedback surveys and program assessments
• Seek partnership opportunities and bring in at least 3 new partners a year to leverage resources to support programs
• Work closely with social worker, tutor, and case manager to support targeted student needs
• Attend all required department/ agency meetings and/or trainings
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Community School Director and/ or Community School Assistant Director

Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)