Black Health Mobile Child and Youth Worker

HAMILTON URBAN CORE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE

Strong Core Healthier Lives

Job Type: Temporary Full-Time (18 Month Contract)

Position Type: In Person

Hiring Range: $50,552.25 - $60,905.50  

Position Description

The Black Health Mobile Child and Youth Worker is responsible for providing culturally responsive, trauma-informed, healing-centred, and strengths-based mental health, wellness, and social supports to Black children, youth, and their families through a mobile and community-based model of care.

Working within an interdisciplinary team, the Black Health Mobile Child and Youth Worker brings services directly to children, youth, and families in the environments where they live, learn, and connect, including homes, schools, community organizations, faith-based settings, community events, and other accessible community locations. The role is designed to reduce barriers to care, improve early access to mental health and social supports, and reach Black children and youth who may not otherwise access traditional clinic-based services.

Grounded in anti-Black racism, anti-oppressive, culturally safe, and health equity frameworks, the position supports children and youth experiencing social, emotional, behavioural, mental health, substance use, family, and systemic challenges. The incumbent provides assessment, brief supportive counselling, psychoeducation, crisis intervention, case management, system navigation, group programming, health promotion, and referrals within their scope of practice.

The Black Health Mobile Child and Youth Worker promotes positive Black identity, resilience, belonging, self-determination, and overall physical and mental health and well-being while addressing the social determinants of health that influence outcomes for Black children, youth, and families.

Accountability:

The Black Health Mobile Child and Youth Worker reports to the Manager, Community Health Promotion, with overall accountability to the Executive Director.

Key Responsibilities:

• Deliver accessible, low-barrier child and youth services through a mobile and community-based model of care.
• Meet children, youth, and families in locations that are safe, accessible, and comfortable for them, including homes, schools, community organizations, recreation facilities, faith-based settings, and other community locations.
• Conduct proactive outreach to Black children, youth, and families who may experience barriers to accessing traditional health and social services.
• Establish regular outreach opportunities in neighborhoods and community settings with significant Black child and youth populations.
• Provide flexible, responsive services based on the needs of children, youth, families, and communities.
• Support community-based screening, early identification, intervention, referral, and follow-up.
• Work collaboratively with community partners to establish appropriate referral pathways to the mobile service.
• Promote awareness and utilization of available Black health, mental health, primary care, and community supports.
• Build trusting and therapeutic relationships with Black children, youth, and families through culturally affirming, person-centred, and strengths-based practice.
• Complete comprehensive strengths-based and psychosocial assessments to identify individual, family, developmental, cultural, and social needs.
• Develop individualized and collaborative care plans that promote wellness, resilience, self-determination, positive identity, and healthy development.
• Provide brief supportive counselling and evidence-informed interventions within scope of practice.
• Utilize approaches such as Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy-informed strategies, emotional regulation strategies, and other evidence-informed approaches appropriate to the incumbent's education, training, and scope of practice.
• Provide psychoeducation to children, youth, and caregivers regarding mental health, substance use, stress, trauma, healthy relationships, coping, and wellness.
• Support children and youth experiencing anxiety, low mood, trauma, grief and loss, substance use, family conflict, behavioural concerns, school disengagement, bullying, discrimination, housing instability, social isolation, and other complex needs.
• Recognize when a child's or youth's needs exceed the scope of the position and facilitate timely referral to appropriate regulated mental health professionals or specialized services.
• Identify emerging mental health, behavioural, substance use, and psychosocial concerns and facilitate early intervention.
• Provide crisis intervention, de-escalation, stabilization, and safety planning within scope of practice.
• Identify potential risks to the safety and well-being of children and youth and follow organizational protocols and applicable legislation.
• Facilitate timely connections to crisis, emergency, specialized mental health, addiction, and other services when required.
• Provide follow-up following crisis situations and support continuity of care.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary providers to ensure children and youth with more complex mental health needs receive appropriate clinical assessment and treatment.
• Engage parents, caregivers, and families as partners in care while respecting the evolving autonomy, confidentiality, and developmental needs of children and youth.
• Provide caregivers with education, resources, coaching, and strategies to support child and youth mental health and well-being.
• Facilitate family-centred interventions and collaborative goal setting where appropriate.
• Support families experiencing complex social circumstances that may affect the health and well-being of their children.
• Strengthen protective factors, family relationships, social connections, and natural support networks.
• Provide case management and coordinate services across healthcare, mental health, education, child welfare, youth justice, housing, recreation, settlement, and community sectors.
• Assist children, youth, and families in navigating complex health and social service systems.
• Identify barriers to accessing care and work collaboratively with families and service providers to address them.
• Facilitate warm handoffs to internal and external services.
• Follow up on referrals to support successful connection to services and continuity of care.
• Participate in collaborative care planning, interdisciplinary case conferences, and case consultations.
• Advocate for children, youth, and families experiencing systemic barriers to services.
• Develop and deliver culturally responsive health promotion, prevention, and early-intervention initiatives for Black children, youth, and families.
• Facilitate psychoeducational groups, workshops, youth groups, and community-based wellness activities.
• Develop programming related to mental wellness, positive Black identity, resilience, healthy relationships, emotional regulation, substance use prevention, leadership, life skills, and other identified community priorities.
• Participate in community events, schools, youth programs, health fairs, and outreach activities.
• Engage Black youth in identifying priorities and co-designing programs and services that respond to their needs.
• Support youth leadership, mentorship, peer engagement, and community participation.
• Develop culturally appropriate educational resources for children, youth, parents, caregivers, and community partners.
• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with schools, healthcare providers, children's mental health agencies, community organizations, faith-based organizations, Black-serving organizations, and other community partners.
• Work with community partners to identify gaps in services and opportunities for collaborative programming.
• Support community organizations in strengthening their capacity to recognize and respond to the mental health and wellness needs of Black children and youth.
• Represent the organization at relevant community tables, networks, committees, and collaborative initiatives as required.
• Deliver all services through an anti-Black racism, anti-oppressive, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive lens.
• Recognize the impacts of anti-Black racism, discrimination, poverty, migration experiences, intergenerational trauma, and systemic inequities on child, youth, and family health.
• Support children and youth in developing positive racial and cultural identity, belonging, confidence, resilience, and self-advocacy.
• Advocate for equitable treatment of Black children, youth, and families within healthcare, education, child welfare, justice, and other systems.
• Promote culturally safe environments where children, youth, and families feel respected, valued, heard, and empowered.
• Contribute to organizational initiatives that advance health equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging.
• Maintain timely, accurate, objective, and confidential client documentation in accordance with organizational standards and applicable legislation.
• Document assessments, interventions, care plans, referrals, follow-up, and client outcomes.
• Participate in interdisciplinary meetings, case conferences, clinical consultations, and program planning.
• Collect program and service utilization data and contribute to monitoring program outcomes.
• Participate in program evaluation, quality improvement, and service development initiatives.
• Identify emerging community needs, trends, barriers, and service gaps and communicate these to program leadership.
• Maintain confidentiality and comply with privacy legislation, organizational policies, and professional and ethical standards.
• Participate in ongoing professional development, supervision, reflective practice, and mandatory organizational training.

Performance Expectations

TBD

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Child and Youth Care, Child and Youth Studies, Social Work, Psychology, Behavioural Sciences, Human Services, Community Health, Health Sciences, Sociology, or another related health or social sciences discipline.
• Registration with an appropriate regulatory college is considered an asset where applicable.
• Additional education or training in child and youth mental health, counselling, trauma-informed practice, crisis intervention, substance use, or related areas is considered an asset.
• Minimum of two (2) years of relevant experience working with children, youth, and families within community health, mental health, education, child welfare, youth services, or community-based settings.
• Demonstrated experience working with Black children, youth, families, and communities.
• Experience providing brief supportive counselling, psychoeducation, crisis intervention, case management, and system navigation.
• Experience conducting community outreach and providing services outside traditional clinical settings.
• Experience supporting children and youth experiencing mental health concerns, trauma, substance use, family conflict, poverty, housing instability, school disengagement, discrimination, or other complex needs.
• Experience developing and facilitating youth groups, workshops, and psychoeducational programming.
• Experience working collaboratively within interdisciplinary teams and with community partners.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated understanding of anti-Black racism and its impact on child, youth, family, and community health outcomes.
• Strong knowledge of trauma-informed, healing-centred, culturally responsive, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive practice.
• Strong understanding of child and adolescent development
• Knowledge of child and youth mental health, substance use, trauma, family systems, and youth development.
• Understanding of the social determinants of health, health equity, and structural barriers affecting Black communities.
• Ability to provide brief supportive counselling and evidence-informed interventions within scope of practice
• Strong youth engagement and therapeutic relationship-building skills.
• Excellent crisis intervention, de-escalation, safety planning, conflict resolution, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong advocacy, case management, and system-navigation abilities.
• Ability to establish trusting relationships in community-based and non-traditional service environments.
• Strong group facilitation and health promotion skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational, documentation, and time-management abilities.
• Ability to work independently in community settings while functioning effectively as part of an interdisciplinary team.
• Demonstrated sound judgment, professional boundaries, cultural humility, and commitment to confidentiality.

Working Conditions

• This is a mobile and community-based position requiring regular travel throughout the community.
• Services may be provided in homes, schools, community organizations, faith-based settings, community events, clinic locations, and other outreach environments.
• The position requires the ability to work independently in community settings while maintaining regular communication with the interdisciplinary team.
• Flexible hours are required, including evenings and weekends, to meet the needs of children, youth, and families.
• A valid Ontario driver's license and access to reliable transportation are required.

Benefits:

• Company events
• Company pension
• Employee assistance program
• On-site parking

Hamilton Urban Core is committed to equity in employment.

While we appreciate every application only those selected for an interview will be contacted.