Sarah Rocca

• Youth Development Officer
• Youth Participation and Development Coordinator

- Developed and implemented a range of youth initiatives and projects that have empowered young people to have a voice and actively participate in Council and Community life and decision making, using youth participation and community development approaches.

- Supported and Supervised staff within the Youth Participation and Development Team

- Coordinated and oversaw the planning and implementation of a number of school engagement initiatives.

- Developed, implemented and reviewed the 'Youth Ambassadors Program' that saw a group of young change makers discuss, debate and develop solutions to issues that were important to them.

- Coordinated the provision of the 'Youth Support Program' [support staff delivering individual support to young people, maintained appropriate statistical data, developed procedures to ensure a high standard of best practise and safety are always upheld to both staff and young people].

• Child and Youth Engagement Partner [Secondment within the Community Engagement Team]

- Developed a Child and Youth Engagement Framework to enable the active engagement of children and young people in civic participation and community life.

- Have provided internal and external advice in the use of a range of approaches in order to achieve high quality outcomes in child and youth engagement and community strengthening.

- Developed and Delivered a series of training sessions across the organisation that promotes and strengthens the use of the framework.

- Established and participated in a number of working groups within and external to Council to promote and implement inclusive engagement and partnership strategies to engage children and young people.

- Supervise student placements and Youth Program Officers in the service.

- Developed and delivered a leadership and advocacy program for young people with a disability in partnership with Whittlesea YMCA.

- Developed and delivered alongside YDAS the ‘Where To Next?’ Workshop [Pathway planning for young people with a disability].

- Developed and delivered ‘Transition Forum’ for families and carers of young people with a disability to explore pathway options for their young people after secondary education.

- Backfilled Wellbeing Portfolio [Mental Health and Respectful Relationships].

- Developed and delivered a ‘Young Parents Playgroup’ in Mernda [produced with consultation from MCH nurses within the area as well as Community Development Officers].

- Consulted, Wrote and Delivered a transition program for grade 6 students [worked with Laurimar Primary School and Mernda Primary School to engage their students in this program. Partnered with Relationships Australia and Headspace to deliver specific sessions].

- Event Organiser for ‘Fasttrack’ [assisted the youth services team deliver it’s first talent contest with the support from ‘Fasttrack’. Supported young people to be involved in event management at each of the events, and promoted to all schools within the municipality].

- Attend internal council meetings [Whittlesea Disability Network, Respite Consortium, Employment Working Group, Youth Services Staff Meetings].

- Attend external agency meetings [Whittlesea Youth Commitment, North West Regional Strategy Information Working Party].

- Involved with the working group for the Departmental Planning Day [working with others in the department to plan and coordinate the annual planning day].

- Planned and delivered two activities for “International Day For Persons With A Disability” [partnered with YMCA L.A. Stars and The Northern School for Autism].

- Planned and Delivered ‘Real Industry Job Interviews’ in partnership with HWLLEN.

- Developed partnership with Headspace Cragieburn to plan and deliver sessions to schools in the municipality [Lalor Secondary College, Thomastown Secondary College, Mernda Primary School and Laurimar Primary School].

. Youth Programs and Support Worker

- Facilitator for ‘Youth Voice’ [youth participation and leadership group].

- Event organiser for the annual ‘Youth Summit’ [supporting the Youth Voice group to liaise with their peers to investigate the issues affecting young people within the community and respond to those concerns].

- Youth Outreach Program Co-ordinator at the Avondale Heights Library and Learning Centre [develop and facilitate a weekly youth engagement program at the local library in Avondale Heights to young people who reside, study and recreate in the local area. Overseeing a program budget].

- Youth Drop In Program Facilitator at the Youth Centre in Wilson St Moonee Ponds [develop and facilitate a weekly drop in program for young people attending Ascot Vale Special School. Working within a strengths based framework, developing appropriate activities for young people with an intellectual disability to develop everyday life skills. Overseeing a program budget].

- Facilitator for the ‘Youth Foundations’ [working alongside the Youth Voice Committee, and in partnership with the three local Bendigo Banks; being able to provide young people in the community the opportunity to run youth led activities with small grants. Through my involvement in this program I had worked closely with a group of young people in Avondale Heights to develop, write and submit an application to Youth Foundations to hold an underage dance party for the young people in their local community]

- Drumbeat Facilitator [I have delivered this evidence based intervention program with at risk young people to explore issues such as; healthy relationships, identity, dealing with emotions, etc., to four different high schools within the municipality].

- Case Manager [Through the Individual Support Program I have been able to provide one on one support to vulnerable and at risk young people within the community. Such issues that had been identified were; mental health, anxiety, housing, substance use, education, etc].

. Volunteer Co-ordinator

- Volunteer Co-ordinator at the annual Youth Week events [Developing position descriptions for each of the roles, assisting in the recruitment process, developing an orientation kit, individually going through each role with the volunteer, supervising volunteers on the day of the event, organising a volunteer recognition night post event].

- L2P Volunteer Co-ordinator [recruiting volunteers for the program, matching the mentors with the learner drivers, organising match meetings, overseeing the day to day logistics of the program].

. Online Engagement Coordinator

- Coordinating online engagement through the youth services Facebook page and the Freeza page [posting information on services and programs offered to young people in the municipality as well as community engagement opportunities].

• Youth Support Worker[ Charcoal Lane- Social Enterprise]

- Individual Support to each participant in the program [address barriers to gaining employment; family conflict, mental health and drug and alcohol issues, low levels of education and homelessness].

- Assist each participant in a formal education setting [supporting each young person in class to understand and complete all required assessments].

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Assist in participants to engage with the local Indigenous community [providing each participant skills to develop their connection with local community by hosting a BBQ for the residence of the local housing estate in Fitzroy to celebrate NAIDOC week].

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Supporting each participant to complete the program and transition into mainstream employment [providing individual career planning guidance sessions toward the end of their course].

• Youth Connections Case Manager

- Working with young people in the community that have disengaged from education and employment [individually supporting young people to address the barriers that face them to re-engage back into education, employment and training. Supporting young people to address mental health issues, drug and alcohol issues, housing issues, anxiety issues, family conflict etc].

- Assisting young people to create links to community agencies [assisting young people in the youth connections program to access services that addresses significant barriers. I had worked closely with Berry St, to address housing issues, as well as CAMHS in Heidelberg to address significant mental health issues affecting young people. I had also developed a positive relationship with the social worker at the local Centrelink office to assist in providing these young people with financial support].

- Referral to specialised services [linking young people to group training companies and Job Services Australia to strengthen their engagement with education and training in their local municipality].

• Arise Worker [Bushfire Recovery Program]

- Providing Youth Mentoring and Leadership Programs for students at Whittlesea High School and Diamond Valley College affected by the 2009 Victorian Brushfires [assisting in the planning and delivery of a 3 day leadership camp for 70 students].

• Individually supporting VCAL students develop their knowledge and understanding of education, training and employment pathways.

• Maintained accurate documentation on all cases, ensuring compliance with regulations and confidentiality requirements.
• Conducted thorough assessments of clients'' situations, identifying issues, goals, and necessary interventions.
• Provided case management to newly arrived young people from refugee backgrounds who were at risk of homelessness.
• Working within a family centred approach and culturally responsive service delivery model.