THE SELECTED CANDIDATE WILL BE OFFERED A SALARY OF $65,415.00.

The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) protects and promotes the safety and well-being of New York City’s children and families by providing child welfare, juvenile justice, and early care services. In child welfare, ACS contracts with private nonprofit organizations to support and stabilize families at risk of a crisis through preventive services and provides foster care services for children not able to safely remain at home. Each year, the agency’s Division of Child Protection responds to more than 50,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. In juvenile justice, ACS manages and funds services including detention and placement, intensive community-based alternatives for youth, and support services for families. ACS is also a key part of NYCs early childhood and education continuum, providing childcare assistance to thousands of child welfare involved and low-income children so they can access safe, affordable, quality care.

The Children’s Center located in Manhattan is a specially designed facility for children entering the foster care system. Opened in November 2000, this state-of-the-art center is where children first arrive once they are taken into ACS care and before they are placed with a foster family, kin, released home following court, or other foster care setting. The Children’s Center houses an intake center, preplacement services, placement services, and Emergency Children’s Services (ECS) investigative units; and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Nicholas Scoppetta Children’s Center (NSCC), holds the values of growth, education and personal development for the children and youth that the program serves. The NSCC is seeking an Educational Specialist to provide educational advocacy, academic stability and support to children/youth who reside at the NSCC covering all educational levels from pre-kindergarten through college level.

Education Specialist tasks include but are not limited to:
- Ensure that all school aged youth entering the Children’s Center are enrolled in school by checking data bases such as ATS to obtain their school information. For Youth not enrolled, NYC DOE is to be contacted and the specialist will follow the process to facilitate enrollment. Also, facilitate the request to the DOE for school transfers and Alternative to High School enrollment.
- Serve as the principal community liaison with NYC DOE and serve as the educational lead for children in care at the NSCC, maintain contact with DOE staff, community providers, and child-welfare involved families.
- Provide individual engagement using trauma-informed care with youth at the Children Center.
- Conduct daily visits to the youth’s PODs to determine that youth have left the building for school and engage youth who have not left for school to determine the reason.
- Provide encouragement and counseling to youth who are refusing to attend and who have a pattern of truancy.
- Serve as main point of contact for information contained in the NYC DOE ATS, and SESIS data bases to support all units at the NSCC who provide direct care and coordination for treatment and service needs.
- Initiate and monitor committee on special education and pre-school education process.
- Respond to IEP requests and advocate for service provision in coordination with the child’s family, case planner and treatment team.
- Coordinate DOE bussing requests.
- Maintain and distribute the NSCC educational spreadsheets which tracks school enrollment and school attendance refusals for all NSCC children and youth. Update daily spreadsheets to reflect all new intake youth and youth who have left pre-placement.
- Attend the NSCC multi-disciplinary POD meetings offering educational updates as needed.
- Inform the intake, childcare and transportation staff of child/youth educational program and academic functioning.
- Provide educational material to youth onsite to promote academic success.
- Facilitate and participate in education-based programs at the Children’s Center when scheduled.
- Coordinate with DOE tutor to ensure that students are assigned to receive tutoring services.


TO APPLY:

APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY USING ONE OF THE OPTIONS BELOW:

For current city employees, go to Employee Self Service (ESS), Recruiting Activities, Careers and search for Job ID# 614772
For all other applicants go to www.nyc.gov/careers and search for Job ID# 614772. Click on the "Apply" button.

If you do not have access to a computer, most public libraries have computers available for use.

Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Section 424-A of the New York Social Services Law requires an authorized agency to inquire whether a
candidate for employment with child-caring responsibilities has been the subject of a child abuse and
maltreatment report.

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to the duties described above; or
2. High school graduation or equivalent and six years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to the duties as described above; or
3. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least one year of experience as described in "1" above.

The preferred candidate should possess the following: - Excellent written and verbal communication skills. - Excellent analytical, organizational and interpersonal skills. - Proficient knowledge in the use of NYC DOE ATS, SESIS, NYS Connections Database, Microsoft Word, Excel and Access. - Experience, education or demonstrated interest in working with special populations of children and youth. - Knowledge of New York City, New York State, and Federal Child Welfare and education policies and procedures. - Strong coordination and planning skills in order to facilitate communication between ACS and the NYC DOE. - Proficiency with creating and maintaining documentation, that can be utilized to create data reports. - Quick learner, self-motivated, and enthusiastic. - Works well within a team environment with minimal supervision.

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.