Senior Super Heros
Far Northern Regional Center’s Calling All Senior Heros (CASH) Campaign…
We had the opportunity to talk with Jane Work, project manager for the Calling All Senior Heroes (CASH) Campaign, organized by the Far Northern Regional Center on behalf of community workforce partners.
Enjoy: Tell us a bit about Far Northern Regional Center.
Work: Far Northern Regional Center is one of 21 community-based nonprofit agencies throughout California that serve children and adults with developmental disabilities. Regional centers offer case management services, and help purchase and coordinate services to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Far Northern currently serves about 10,000 individuals in our nine-county catchment area. We work with community-based organizations to give our clients the opportunity to live and work independently with the communities we serve.
Enjoy: Tell us about Calling All Senior Heroes (CASH).
Work: Seniors are an underutilized resource and many of them are looking for employment to bring them back into the workforce. Staff shortages continue to be an issue throughout the state, making it difficult for our job development agencies to attract, hire and retain job coaches. CASH is a new effort to find seniors who might be interested in being a job coach, working with adults with disabilities to help them learn and perform their job duties. Job coaches specialize in assisting individuals with disabilities to learn and accurately carry out job assignments. Job coaches provide one-on-one training to the needs of the employee. They coach the employee to work more and more on his/her own until completely self-sufficient and able to perform job duties accurately and effectively without assistance. A career as a job coach is very rewarding and an opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives.
Enjoy: How does CASH distinguish itself from similar initiatives?
Work: CASH is targeted at seniors, as their life and work experiences make them knowledgeable, reliable and great candidates for providing job coaching. Being a job coach can provide many positive impacts for seniors, such as getting paid to make a difference, meaningful work, additional income, flexible work schedules, exploring new experiences and increasing social interactions.
Enjoy: Who can be part of the CASH program?
Work: Typical basic job requirements are a high school diploma, California driver’s license, and the ability to pass fingerprint and background checks. Transporting individuals in your personal vehicle is not required. Job-specific training will be provided by your employer.
Enjoy: How does one get involved?
Work: Go to www.farnorthernrc.org/providers/jobs •
