Care Navigator

About Think of Us

Think of Us (TOU) is transforming the child welfare system into one where young people and families can heal, develop, and thrive. We drive purpose-driven work aligned with meaningful systems change, powered by data and the insights of lived experience. Our focus is on prevention, keeping families strong before crisis, and on building kinship-first systems so children grow up with people they know and trust. Through bold collaborations with leaders and innovators across the public and private sectors — from Presidential Administrations to local providers — we identify leverage points and co-create solutions that re-architect child welfare for the future.

Here’s what this looks like:

• Built the Lived Experience Engine into the largest dataset of its kind (51,000+ voices), powering AI tools and shaping reforms
• Partnered with California to launch the Kinship Accelerator in 8 counties, backed by $150M and a budget increase from $317M → $896M
• Drove a national kin-first shift: 39 states (plus 5 tribes) adopting kinship standards, unlocking $3B for families
• Operate one of the largest direct resource networks, connecting 1,827 families to $28M+ in support 

Our team members share a commitment to driving systems change through creative problem-solving, obsessive curiosity, and a love of quickly driving innovative, measurable, and impactful results. 

Position Overview

Department: Programs & Services - Direct Services 

Reports to: Senior Manager, Direct Services 

Direct Reports: N/A

Location: Remote, California 

Category: Full-Time, Exempt 

Think of Us is building a new kind of direct service practice — one that is human-centered, technology-enabled, and designed from the start to generate the intelligence needed to change systems at scale. The Care Navigator is a founding practitioner in that model.

Where a Community Responder opens the door, the Care Navigator walks through it with you. This role is defined by sustained, relationship-based navigation — holding TAY and kinship families in California through the full arc of their journey, not just the first moment of contact. The Care Navigator carries complex, evolving caseloads, goes deep on individual circumstances, and stays present through transitions, setbacks, and progress over time.

This is not traditional case management. The Care Navigator is a practitioner, a knowledge generator, and a co-designer — someone who delivers high-quality direct support while simultaneously helping codify what a 21st-century digital navigation practice actually looks like. Working within an emerging digital practice model, Care Navigators leverage technology-assisted intake, smart follow-up workflows, and real-time data tools — while keeping the lived experience and voice of the people they serve at the center of every interaction.