Prevention Specialist I-II

City of Santa Fe Springs; Bishop (CA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Santa Fe Springs seeks a Prevention Specialist II to plan and deliver comprehensive education and outreach across a range of community health topics. You will work with a team, ensure trauma-informed service delivery, and foster respectful engagement with diverse populations.

Responsibilities include developing prevention activities in child health, disaster preparedness, WIC program, outdoor programs, and youth services, while maintaining records, scheduling, reporting, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Education, Health Education, Human Services-related field, Marketing or related field.
• Path B requires an Associate's Degree and 1 year of general education programming experience.
• Path C requires a high school diploma and 2 years of public information/educational programming experience.

Responsibilities

• Plan and implement prevention education services across multiple venues.
• Develop and present outreach to diverse community groups including schools, libraries, and community centers.
• Maintain data entry, reporting, and records in a timely manner.

Skills

Communication

Youth engagement

Group facilitation

Public speaking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Education/Health Education/related field

Associate's degree in Education/related field

High school diploma + 2 years related experience

Tools

MS Word

Excel

Publisher

Job description

Description

Under general supervision from the Health and Human Services Deputy Director of Public Health and Prevention or designee, the Prevention Specialist plans and implements a wide range of educational services and outreach activities. The Prevention Specialist works as part of a team that is leading change and empowering healthy communities, ensuring that service delivery is both trauma-informed and respectful of culture.

Examples of Duties

Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Reviews research articles, identifies best practices and evidence-based curriculums or interventions with designated target groups, and synthesizes information to design effective presentations
• Conducts presentations to community groups and the general public at a variety of venues throughout the county including but not limited to schools, libraries, the county jail, and client homes, with efforts to present equal services to southeastern Inyo as well
• Develops and maintains effective relationships with members of collaborating agencies working towards mutual goals
• Completes data entry and general office duties
• Provides on-going assessment and management of client needs, collecting and organizing evaluation materials in order to promote community benefits from services or to help assess the critical needs of a community or target population
• Complete all data entry and reporting in a thorough and timely manner as prescribed by regulation, and/or Supervisor
• Schedules classes and outreaches to optimize client availability, including flexible scheduling to allow for night and weekend services
• Essential duties include but are not limited to developing and implementing prevention education services and other prevention strategies in a wide range of venues, as well as across multiple disciplines
• Prevention Specialists may be primarily assigned one or more of the following activities and will work as part of the team to provide support in all areas:

Child Health

• Provides health education to low-income children and adolescents
• Provides food preparation demonstrations
• Promotes healthy dietary habits through participation in community promotions, educational displays and other outlets including social media and other media resources
• Facilitate coalitions, and other related activities as identified and assigned

Disaster Preparedness Activities

• Assist in the development and implementation of public health disaster preparedness work plans, and provides input into the mid-year and year-end reports
• Review research articles and synthesize information to assist local hospitals in the development of written hospital emergency plans, and works with the public health staff and partners in the planning of healthcare and community response to public health emergencies
• Organizes, sets agendas, and convene meetings of the Healthcare Coalition and other collaborative groups
• Participates in the planning and implementation of table-top drills, functional exercises, and disaster preparedness curriculum
• Tracks and reports project deliverables and expenditures, and monitors implementation of training and exercise programs

First 5

• Provides direct support to families with children zero to five in topics of child development, literacy, and positive parenting through home visits, parenting classes, and workshops
• Utilizes evidence-based curriculum to provide parenting supports
• Provides community presentations and attends community collaborative meetings to connect with providers and resources
• Implements community-wide literacy programs in partnership with medical clinics and local nonprofits
• Connects children and families to resources through case management and referrals, including offering developmental screenings for children to connect to early intervention services, and provides coaching and education in early childhood learning environments
• Acts as the Child Abuse Prevention Council Coordinator, plans and facilitates meetings, takes minutes, and coordinates resources

Home Visiting

• Providing home-based visitation and case management services
• Home-based services include, but are not limited to parenting education and support, implementation of evidence-based tools and strategies, and other education/activities as identified and/or assigned
• Connects children and families to resources through case management and referrals

Mentoring

• Recruits and trains adult mentors to match with children and youth in the community and/or schools
• Conducts outreach to children/youth referred to program and their caregivers to gain permission for participation, to identify areas of interest and need, and to maintain on-going supportive relationships
• Provides on-going support to mentors and their mentees as needed
• Works with partnering agencies including, but not limited to schools, Behavioral Health, and Probation to provide outdoor activities for youth with risk factors

Oral Health

• Coordinates with schools and providers to facilitate referrals for services and provides oral care education and training to children and families
• Develops guidance to assist key partner programs to incorporate oral health messages, education, referrals, toolkits, etc.
• Identifies assets and resources that will help to address the oral health needs of the community with an emphasis on underserved areas and vulnerable population groups within the jurisdiction, and identify, maintain, and expand partnerships with dental providers and schools to implement, administer, and sustain school dental programs in targeted sites

Outdoor Program

• Coordinates Outdoor Program activities for children ages eight and up
• Leads outings
• Consults the weather and conditions before each outing
• Writes up a trip plan before each outing with emergency plan and contacts listed
• Coordinates with outside vendors providing any outings, such as kayak trips or camps
• Prepares equipment and staffing for each outing
• Collaborates with partnering agencies, including but not limited to schools, Behavioral Health, and Probation
• Receives training on backcountry risk management and first aid
• Trains other staff on Outdoor Program-related topics
• Communicates with families and children to invite them on outings and make sure all paperwork is signed
• Follows up on any risk concerns; and follows up on all referrals

Reentry Program

• The Re-entry team delivers comprehensive case management services to the Re-entry caseload both within the community and at Inyo County Jail
• This entails offering suitable referrals and establishing connections with community resources, implementing evidence-based interventions through both individual and group sessions, and ensuring the maintenance of thorough and timely documentation
• The aim of re-entry services is to prevent and reduce recidivism of at-risk individuals involved in the justice system that meet program criteria

Tobacco And Substance Use

• Synthesize information to design effective presentations
• Leads youth coalition meetings with high school students throughout the county
• Provides education to high school and middle school youth on tobacco and substance use prevention topics
• Lead group discussions and interactions regarding the prevention of and intervention with addiction issues, including tobacco, drugs, alcohol and other emerging substances
• Promote healthy activities as an alternative to substance use including outdoor activities
• Conduct presentations to community groups and the general public, and assist with developing and promoting tobacco education and policy initiatives

Women, Infants, And Children (WIC) Program

• Provides direct service to women, infants, and children through age five in the (WIC) Program
• Provides resources and referrals
• Determines eligibility for WIC services
• Promotes breastfeeding
• Provides breastfeeding support and referrals
• Completes WIC appointments with participants in person, by video call, and over the phone
• Conducts nutrition risk assessments and nutrition education while navigating the WIC WISE Internet-based system
• Assists WIC participants with participant-centered education and setting nutrition and health goals for their family
• Writes care plans with participants, and issues WIC benefits and provides information on WIC foods

Youth Services

• Promotes positive youth development
• Engages youth in community service projects
• Engages youth in educating younger peers
• Leads group discussions with youth regarding the prevention of addiction issues
• Promotes positive activities for youth, and assists with developing and promoting education campaigns and initiatives

The Prevention Specialist II is distinguished from the entry level I position, as it is a journey level classification demonstrating the training and experience needed to perform job duties with independence and minimal supervision.

Qualifications & Special Requirements

Education and Experience

Prevention Specialist I-

• A Bachelor's degree in Education, Health Education, Human Services-related field, Marketing or other directly related field

Path A:

• A Bachelor's degree in Education, Health Education, Human Services-related field, Marketing or other directly related field

Path B:

• An Associate's Degree in Education, Health Education, Human Services, Marketing or other directly related field AND
• One year of experience providing general education programming

Path C:

• A high school graduate or equivalent AND
• 2 years of full-time experience in creating (or providing support in the creation) and implementing written and verbal public information/educational programming which targets either specific populations or the community at large. Providing written and verbal public information/educational programming must be identified as a primary role for the position(s) identified by applicant as meeting the experiential requirement.

Prevention Specialist II-

• One full-time year of experience working in the Prevention Specialist I classification

Path A:

• One full-time year of experience working in the Prevention Specialist I classification

Path B:

• Must meet the education/experience requirements of a Prevention Specialist I AND
• An additional year of full-time experience providing prevention/community education as outlined above in Path C of the Prevention Specialist I classification
• Bi-lingual preferred

Knowledge Of:

• Child development, the addiction process and the impact of addiction on a person’s life functioning and the community they live in; prevention strategies
• Rapport building techniques
• Effective youth engagement skills
• Appropriate support techniques for volunteers working with at-risk youth
• Effective problem solving and group facilitation skills
• Appropriate professional interpersonal skills
• Correct English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation
• MS Word, Excel, and Publisher; use of media as a communication tool.

Ability To:

• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
• Be comfortable dealing with difficult topics under a variety of circumstances, and with a wide range of community members
• Deliver information to a variety of audiences in a wide range of settings including but not limited to county offices, schools, libraries, community centers, the juvenile center, the jail, and client homes
• Work as part of a prevention team, including adult and youth volunteers
• Speak to both large and small groups
• Interact with at-risk youth
• Continually seek knowledge of new prevention topics and strategies, integrating this knowledge into classes, presentations, and systems
• Read and synthesize information
• Structure the work day and prioritize tasks towards program goals
• Exercise appropriate independent judgment
• Use supervision appropriately
• Keep accurate, clear, and timely records, reports, and evaluations
• Travel routinely within the county and periodically within the state
• Work flexible hours including evening and weekends as program needs require
• Consistent attendance is an essential function of the position
• Must have ability to sit for prolonged periods of time, stand, twist, lift, and carry up to 25 pounds
• Climb and descend stairs
• Frequent telephone use

Special Requirements:

• You may be required to drive a motor vehicle in the course of employment and must possess a valid operator’s license issued by the State Department of Motor Vehicles.
• Must successfully complete a pre-employment background investigation
• Must successfully pass pre-employment fingerprint scan
• Position may be required to serve as a Disaster Service Worker during a County emergency

Work Location

The County of Inyo has work sites located throughout the Owens Valley (Independence, Bishop, Lone Pine, Big Pine, and Olancha) and the Death Valley area (Death Valley, Tecopa and Shoshone). All Inyo County positions are considered Countywide. Positions are assigned to a work site based upon the needs of the County. Positions may be temporarily or permanently reassigned to another work site as deemed necessary by the Department Head and/or County Administration.

Monthly salaries are paid over 26 pay periods annually

We offer a complete benefits package to full-time employees including health care, dental, vision, retirement, deferred compensation plans, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, short-term disability, holidays, vacation, and sick leave.

Part-time employees who work 20-29 hours per week, receive benefits on a pro-rated basis.

PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM (CalPERS)

Classic Employees (existing CalPERS member) 2% at 55 - Inyo County pays the employee contribution rate of 7% of base salary toward retirement.

PEPRA Employees (new CalPERS members hired after January 1, 2013) 2% at 62. - Employees will be required to pay the full employee portion toward retirement.

To learn more details, visit our benefits page.