Career Center

The Minnesota Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study team is seeking a social worker or recruiter/ community outreach specialist (Researcher Professional 2) to support the HBCD study. The study team is led by the Principal Investigators Drs. Sylia Wilson (Institute of Child Development), Anna Zilverstand (Department of Psychiatry) and Michael Georgieff (Department of Pediatrics).

The HBCD study is a NIH-funded national landmark study on the long-term effects of perinatal substance use exposure and other risk and protective factors on infant and child development (https://hbcdstudy.org/). This study will include 7500 women nationally (300 in Minnesota) from diverse backgrounds, to investigate the brain development, cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional function beginning in the perinatal period, and extending through childhood until age 10 of the children.

The social worker / recruiter / community outreach specialist will lead outreach, recruitment and retention efforts for the HBCD study, and work with the study team and a certified peer recovery navigator with past lived experience of Substance Use Disorder to support study participants.

Job Duties/Responsibilities:

Recruitment & Community Outreach – 40%
•Developing and implementing a plan for recruitment strategies with Dr. Anna Zilverstand – current strategies include recruitment through 1) a broad network of clinics inside and outside the Twin Cities, 2) recruitment through community outreach inside and outside the Twin Cities.
•Organizing, participating in and leading visits to meet clinical staff and potential study participants at our recruitment clinics, a network of twenty urban and rural clinics that serve varied populations (in terms of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status).
•Organizing, participating in and leading outreach in the community (e.g. at the State Fair/Community fairs, at events organized by our clinical partners).
•Providing information about the study, screening participants by phone and scheduling their first visit.
•Attaining HBCD study recruitment goals, tracking the progress in recruitment and developing solutions for recruitment challenges in collaboration with the team.

Retention & Support of Study Participants – 40%
•Developing and implementing a plan for retention strategies with Dr. Anna Zilverstand – current strategies include 1) referrals to services/resources as needed, 2) personalized one-on-one support as needed, 3) phone “warm-line”, 4) coordinating childcare, transportation, overnight stays as needed, 5) community building and educational events, 6) study website and newsletter, 7) compensation.
•Establishing and maintaining a current catalog of local and regional resources and referrals that can be offered to participants as they request or desire, such as how and where to access assistance with substance use treatment, mental and physical health care, housing, food supplies, etc.
•Collaborating with and consulting research staff on available resources for study participants.
•Providing personalized one-on-one support to study participants. The study team includes a certified peer recovery navigator with past lived experiences of Substance Use Disorder. Together with the peer recovery navigator, you will check in with study participants during and in-between study visits to answer questions and provide resources/referrals for study participants as needed.
•Contacting study participants in case of a clinically significant incidental finding, providing the appropriate referral information (in consultation with the clinicians from the study team).
•Personalized one-on-one support may include home visits.
•Providing a “warm-line” by phone that can be contacted by study participants during business hours for questions and in case of crisis situations.
•Researching available options for providing childcare, transportation, and overnight stays.
•Organizing, overseeing, participating in and leading events aimed at recruiting future study participants and retaining previously enrolled participants, for example:
- Community events hosted by the University and/or collaborating community organizations around different topics such as for example the goals of the study, the achieved study milestones, and resources available for participating families and beyond.
- Educational events at the University of Minnesota and/or collaborating community organizations, led by researchers or collaborators that are organized around topics that are relevant to young families such as for example breastfeeding, infant care, perinatal depression, child development, parenting & healthy relationships.
•Monitoring the study communication channels, supervising students who prepare a study newsletter, and/or send out cards to study participants.
•Developing a plan and purchasing items for non-monetary compensation of study participants, such as diapers, or infant clothing.
Support of research team – 10%
•Supporting the research team as needed.
•Facilitating scheduling of study visits for participants as needed.

Meetings – 10%
•Participate in meetings with the principal investigators, study team and peer recovery navigator.
•Participate in meetings of the local HBCD Community Advisory Board, which will consist of community members and health care providers, and will consult the study team on the implementation of the protocol, inform targeted recruitment and retention efforts, identify priorities and needs of partner communities, and perform community outreach.
•Analyze recruitment data, identify issues and generate solutions, prepare reports and present these in meetings.
 

All required qualifications must be documented on application materials

Required Qualifications:
•BA/BS with at least 2 years experience or a combination of related education and work experience to equal 6 years.
•Prior professional experience with providing personalized one-on-one support.
•Demonstrated strong communication and interpersonal skills (verbal, listening and writing) and ability to establish and maintain positive rapport with a diverse variety of clients and professionals.
•Demonstrated ability to work effectively both independently and as a part of a team.
•Ability to work on-site at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB), Institute of Child Development (ICD), Department of Psychiatry, and/or Department of Psychology in Elliott Hall.
•Ability to work 1-3 weeknights or weekend days per week, depending on study phase.
•A valid driver’s license and access to a vehicle with insurance coverage to travel to recruitment clinics and community events (mileage will be reimbursed).
•Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Office based software.

Preferred Qualifications
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
•Background in social work
•Prior professional experience with research with human subjects.
•Prior professional experience with community outreach.
•Prior professional experience working with mothers and/or families with infants and/or young children.
•Prior professional experience working with women with substance use disorder and mental illness.

About University of Minnesota Twin Cities

The University of Minnesota, founded in the belief that all people are enriched by understanding, is dedicated to the advancement of learning and the search for truth; to the sharing of this knowledge through education for a diverse community; and to the application of this knowledge to benefit the people of the state, the nation, and the world.

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