Friday, May 30, 2014

Blog Week 4 - National Organizations that Help Needy Families

Robin C. Miller                                                                                            EDUC – 6990
Blog – Week 4
I tried to narrow it down to three national organizations that I would love to apply to my community of practice but, there are five organizations that caught my eye…
1.      Bank of America Charitable Foundation Funding Opportunities – (http://about.bankofamerica.com/en-us/global-impact/charitable-foundation-funding.html#fbid=t7UHX2TGRWN)
“The Bank of America Charitable Foundation provides philanthropic support to address needs vital to the health of our communities through a focus on preserving neighborhoodseducating the workforce for 21st century jobs and addressing basic human services, such as hunger. In order to create greater impact, they leverage a powerful combination of local and national funding and volunteerism, both addressing the needs of the community and supporting the passion of our employees. These activities help create a ripple effect of positive change and economic stability in communities across the country” (Bank of America, 2014).
2.      Furniture Bank Association of North America – (http://www.furniturebanks.org/)
“Furniture banks are not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organizations whose mission is to provide free furniture to families struggling with poverty and other severe life challenges. These families are financially unable to furnish their own homes to even a minimal standard. Furniture banks collect donations of gently used furniture, and provide the furniture for free to families in need via referrals from other social service agencies, churches, schools, employers, etc.” (Furniture Bank of North America, 2014).
3.      Dress For Success : Going Places, Going Strong - (http://www.dressforsuccess.org/whatwedo.aspx)
“The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life” (Dress for Success: Going Places, Going Strong, 2014).
4.      National Coalition for the Homeless – (http://www.nationalhomeless.org/want_to_help/)
“The National Coalition for the Homeless is a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others committed to a single mission: To prevent and end homelessness while ensuring the immediate needs of those experiencing homelessness are met and their civil rights protected” (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2014).
5.      Feeding America – (http://feedingamerica.org/)
Feeding America is the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Our mission is to feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger.

I focused on these five sites because they all had something different to offer families and children in need. One focused on the community as a whole, another focused on hunger, while others focused on food, clothing, shelter, and home furnishings all in which, families need for basic survival and ability to live a stable life. These programs not only, offer material items but they also, offer motivation, understanding, and a path for families to have another chance at life, success, and happiness.
Here are two job opportunities that I am currently interested in…
Job Summary – A Family Advocate is needed for the Early Head Start program to conduct home visiting with pregnant women and families with young children ages 0 – 3 to provide health education, connect them to needed health care and other community resources and promote child development. The Family Advocate maintains relationships with identified clients and provides support via weekly home visits. Attends community meetings and trainings; organizes parent meetings. Keeps accurate written records; uses organization database. We seek motivated individuals, knowledgeable about community resources, with good computer skills and the ability to work well with people, good organizational skills.
Requirements - Valid driver's license and clean driving record. High school diploma required.
2.      Parent Advocate: Tabor Northern Community Partners – (http://www.miracleworkers.com/jobs/-/J3F1PB670Y8KKQ9HKN5?siteid=0020R0111&Job_DID=J3F1PB670Y8KKQ9HKN5)
Job Summary - The Parent Advocate offers emotional support, shares experiences, and helps parents and caregivers understand the system. Parent Advocates will have successfully reunified with their children and/or youth or successfully stabilized their family and maintained safe case closure for a minimum of one year and recognize that they have benefited from their experience with the Child Welfare System. As an alternative, Parent Advocates will have positively utilized prevention services to keep their family from entering the formal child welfare system.
Requirements –
·         High School Diploma or equivalent.
·         Two (2) years or more experience working in environment involving children, youth and families.
·         Work experience in social service, education, health care or related field is a plus.
·         Knowledge of child, youth and family service systems and community preferred.
·         Ability to provide accurate and timely reports and recommendations.
·         Ability to work with diverse populations.
·         Strong oral and written communications skills in English.
·         Willingness to participate in on-going learning to update skills and acquired knowledge.
·         Ability to work a flexible schedule to meet the needs of children, youth, and families and to cover emergencies.
·         Must have a valid driver’s license and own reliable vehicle with current registration and insurance. Transport children, youth, and family members as required.
·         Must be free from any communicable/infectious diseases.
·         Provide a valid PA child abuse clearance, FBI check and Criminal Background Check.
References
Bank of America. (2014). Bank of america charitable foundation funding opportunities.     Retrieved from http://about.bankofamerica.com/en-us/global-impact/charitable         foundation-funding.html
Dress for Success: Going Places, Going Strong. (2014). What we do . Retrieved from            http://www.dressforsuccess.org/whatwedo.aspx
Feeding America. (2014). About us. Retrieved from http://feedingamerica.org/how-we-fight         hunger/about-us.aspx
Furniture Bank of North America. (2014). No child or adult sleeping on the floor. Retrieved          from http://www.furniturebanks.org/
National Coalition for the Homeless. (2014). About us. Retrieved from            http://www.nationalhomeless.org/about_us/index.html




Sunday, May 18, 2014



I just wanted to share this wordle of Communities of Practice that I found on google.

Friday, May 16, 2014

EDUC 6990- Exploring Roles in the ECE Community

Robin C. Miller                                                                                                  EDUC- 6990
Blog – Week 2
The following are three local of state organizations or community of practice that appeals to me and why?
1.      PhilaBundance – Driving Hunger from Our Communities (www.Philabundance.org)
PhilaBundance is a program that helps provide food to the needy. It requires volunteers to help properly distribute the food. This program particularly appeals to me because I assist with a volunteer group at my job that is a part of PhilaBundance. Every Wednesday and Friday I help deliver food to needy families in my area.
2.      Project HOME- Is a program that helps to “empower adults, children, and families to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, to alleviate the underlying causes of poverty, and to enable all of us to attain our fullest potential as individuals and as members of the broader society” (www.projecthome.org). This program appeals to me especially because their mission is similar to my overall mission of helping families build the confidence and motivation they need by aiding them with the basic living needs.
3.      The Salvation Army- Is an International Christian based program whose mission is not only, to meet the human needs without any form of discrimination but to also, “feed, clothe, comfort, care, and to rebuild broken home and broken lives.” (www.salvationarmyusa.org) this program appeals to me because it helps motivate me to excel in my want to help needy families and children. Their overall mission is very inspirational.

A few job opportunities that interest me are…
1.      CUA Outcome Specialist – Wordsworth Academy
Description- 
o   The Outcome Specialist is responsible for facilitating safe case closure and achieving permanency for the children and youth on their caseload through partnering with CUA Case Managers to achieve objectives identified on the Single Case Plan.
o   They are part of a larger Case Management Team working to achieve safety, permanency, and well-being for children and families.
Requirements- 
o   Must have a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work or related field including but not limited to sociology, psychology, counseling, criminal justice, education, divinity, or public health administration.
o   Candidates with a degree in an unrelated field require a minimum of three years’ experience working in child, youth, and family serving systems and approved waiver from the Department of Human Services.
o   Two years’ experience working in child and family serving preferred.

2.      Case Manager-Family Focus- North East Treatment Center
Description-
o   Coordination of interagency meeting and necessary psychological or psychiatric evaluations for all clients.
o   Coordinate access to medical and/or other treatment  services as needed by family members
o   Responsible for client/family outreach in all matters surrounding the coordination of services
o   Responsible to assist families in accessing community support and resources
o   Responsible to advocate on behalf of client needs
o   Responsible to assure ongoing communication and integration of services among all service providers and support systems involved with the child and family
o   Responsible to implement clinical strategies as developed with team
Requirements
o   Bachelor’s Degree in a mental health or related human services field
o    At least two years of case management experience working with youth
o   Must demonstrate a genuine respect for children , adolescents, and their families
o   Be sensitive to the needs of children and adolescents particularly those that relate to family dynamics, and the educational and community structures.
o   Demonstrate an understanding of cultural competence

3.      Strengthening Families Specialist – Words Worth Academy
Description
o   The Strengthening Families Specialist (SFS) is responsible for promoting the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s “Strengthening Families™, a Protective Factors Framework" throughout the CUA service region.
o   They are part of the CUA Community Team, and actively support the community through the development of family protective factors to support the safety, permanency and well-being of children, youth and families
Requirements
o   Bachelor’s in Social Work or related field, including, but not limited to, sociology, psychology, counseling, criminal justice, education, divinity or public health administration.  
o   Candidates with a degree in an unrelated field require a minimum of three years’ experience working in child, youth, and family serving systems and an approved waiver from the Department of Human Services.
o   PA Criminal Background Check, Federal Bureau of Investigation Clearance, PA Child Abuse Clearance, Wordsworth medical verification.
o   At least two years’ experience working in a community-based human services program

These three positions interest me because they all help aide and assist families and their children. They also help focus on the family as a whole and the well-being of each member. I am going to apply for all three positions and see if I am blessed enough to get hired for at least one. 
Sites: