Youth Workers, Adolescent Violence Reduction Project

Posted by on August 11, 2006

[emailed 8/3/06]

*NBW Adolescent Violence Reduction Partnership (AVRP) Youth Worker 2006*

Hours: Community service activities will be mostly during the after school hours and some weekends. Most work will probably occur during the afternoon and evening. Youth Workers will need to be available to either help in crises or to organize other interventions for their ten youth around the clock. This job requires a great deal of flexibility in terms of hours worked. 40 hours per week is the expected workload. It may be greater or lesser depending on conditions, but will average 40 hours per week

Reports to: Executive Director of NBW

Dates: July 15th, 2006 to June 30, 2007 May be longer if there is grant funding available.

Duties:
Undergo Adolescent Violence Reduction Partnership (AVRP) training at To Our Children?s Future With Health.
Undergo bike repair training and youthwork orientation at NBW
Create files on ten youth (mostly boys) assigned to NBW by the Department of Human Services, Philadelphia
Set up interviews with assigned youth and their families. Get to know the youth we will be serving as completely as possible.
Mentor these youth, meeting with each youth at least an assigned number of times per week for group and individual activities.

Work with NBW executive director to
1 Integrate AVRP youth into existing NBW activities, including
a. Youth leadership activities in NBW classes
b. Bicycle repair community service activities
c. Art
d. Neighborhood revitalization
e. Documenting youth experience through writing, photography and video
f. Fitness training

2 Create new activities based on the needs of the AVRP youth
3 Write up descriptions and procedures for these activities
Document activities, including but not limited to
1 Keeping attendance records
2 Keeping notes on progression of youth
3 Keeping detailed notes on situation of each youth
4 Use Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word for record keeping
5 Using NBW?s proprietary database

Write reports when required
Attend NBW staff meetings and liaise daily with other NBW staff regarding placement of AVRP youth in activities with other NBW programs
Participate in bike rides and fitness programs when relevant to AVRP programming
Other duties as needed by AVRP program

Qualifications:
Knowledge of inner city communities in which the youth we are serving live Philadelphia resident, preferably residing near the youth we are serving (West Philadelphia), but in any event must be able to easily travel to the youth?s homes, schools, and places of recreation.
Demonstrated ability to work with diverse groups of youth
Competent bicycle mechanic or undergoing training for this
Be able to ride twelve miles straight. Bicycling enthusiast preferred
Youth work and community relations experience desired
This is a job that can require more or less constant physical activity
Excellent personal communications skills and ability to use and e-mail
Computer skills (Word and Excel for PC)
Availability to work at extremely inconvenient hours when necessary
Complete faith in the ability of youth in difficult situations to rise above the hardships they have endured? and a great sense of humor
Must have high school diploma
Knowledge of goals and strategies of AVRP program

Compensation: Dependent on grant funding. Total compensation of salary and health plan will total $24,000. NBW has a limited health plan for people who have worked more than three months.

Please send resume and cover letter to Andy Dyson, Executive Director, Neighborhood Bike Works, 3916 Locust Walk Philadelphia PA 19104, or (preferably) e-mail to [email protected] Please use Microsoft Word attachments including your name and the position being applied for in the file name. Files entitled ?resume? may well be deleted, which can delay your application. Please do not use any kind of compression on the files. Candidates must be available to try out at NBW for a few days prior to class starting. Please check our web site for more information on NBW at <a href="http://www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org">http://www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org</a>

AVRP Description
What is AVRP? The Adolescent Violence Reduction Partnership (AVRP) is a program that is designed to provide intensive interventions among high risk youth ages 10-15. Funded through the Department of Human Services, AVRP will target these youth to prevent them from becoming perpetrators or victims of violence.

Who does AVRP Serve? Youth who:
? Have a prior arrest while under the age of 13
? Have been a victim of crime
? Have been arrested and who are determined by the District Attorney?s Office
? Have a family member or friend who has been murdered or killed
? Have a parent or sibling who is incarcerated or on parole or probation for violent offense
? Have a sibling who is Youth Violence Reduction Partnership (YVRP) youth participant
? Reside in a household with a documented history of child abuse and neglect
? Have a history of domestic violence in their family or household have been a victim of violence.

What is the General AVRP service model?
1) DHS identifies AVRP youth ? Once a young person qualifies for the AVRP they are assigned to the various ?service providers? (in this case TOCFWH) across the city.
2) Youth Worker Activities ? Upon assignment to the service provider, youth workers will be assigned 10 youth each. Their purpose will be to monitor AVRP youth in their homes, on the street, track school attendance and behaviors, and establish rapport and trust with the youth and their families. Youth workers will ultimately serve as a mentor to AVRP youth.
3) Center Based Activities ? Each youth will be assigned to a center based agency. The center based agency provides case management, violence prevention and anger management, parenting education, academic assistance, cultural/athletic enrichment activities and other needs-based youth services. Neighborhood Bike Works is one of the Center-Based Agencies.
4) Community Based Engagement ? AVRP staff (namely Program Director and Supervisors) will work with other community entities (non-profits, youth programs, faith-based organizations, governmental resources and residents) to help members of the community learn ways to contribute to neighborhood safety, work to establish safe corridor programs when needed and encourage the reporting of crimes and suspicious activities.

What is the To Our Children’s Future with Health AVRP Model? TOCFWH?s model falls within the General AVRP model, only with a particular emphasis on fusing the youth worker with the community based engagement. From July 2006 to July 2007, TOCFWH will be responsible for serving a total of 100 youth (50 youth per 6 months). Building on the strength of the collaborative projects that exist in the Haddington community, there will be five agencies that will house one youth worker each. This youth worker will be assigned 10 AVRP that they will be responsible for monitoring. These 10 youth will be required to attend programming at the ?center based sites? 5 days per week. In TOCFWH?s model, the five sites will provide a venue for the AVRP youth to be engaged community service projects.

What are TOCFWH sub-contracted sites responsible for?
? Housing one full-time youth worker to which 10 youth are assigned
? Providing weekly community service opportunities for AVRP youth assigned the site?s youth worker
? Providing access to computer and office space
? Handling payroll their youth worker

What is TOCFWH responsible for?
? Overseeing the activity of all youth workers
? Coordinating the entire data collection/process with youth workers
? Ensuring that all youth workers have received the necessary training needed to carry out their job responsibilities
? Coordinating the on-call system (among youth workers) in the case of emergency situations impacting the youth.
? Processing monthly invoice requests to sites
? Monitor and evaluate the progress of the AVRP program

When will it start?
? TOCFWH is expected to have two youth workers in place during July and the remaining three by September.
? The approximate start date is July 15
? In this beginning stage, youth workers probably won?t receive a full case load, because DHS is still trying to identify AVRP youth.