Parent Advocate

Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York; New York (NY); On-site; USD 35,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York seeks a Parent Advocate to support families involved in foster care within Queens and NYC. This is a full-time position focusing on building connections, guiding families through the foster care system, and collaborating with case planners to promote reunification.

Ideal candidates bring lived parent experience, strong interpersonal skills, and a commitment to trauma-informed, confidential support across multiple boroughs.

Qualifications

• Parent with lived experience in child welfare or related service systems.
• Commitment to family-centered practice and reunification goals.
• Ability to engage families affected by foster care and coordinate with case planners.

Responsibilities

• Build trusting relationships with parents and support coping with trauma from foster care.
• Prepare for Family Team Conferences and participate in service plan discussions.
• Report to supervisor and collaborate with MST Coaches and case planners.
• welcome and support parents in court, home visits, and service connections.
• Learn Rise resources to inform and support families and use Rise TIPS handouts.

Skills

Life experience as parent

Warm, enthusiastic

Interpersonal skills

Trauma-informed communication

Ability to travel across NYC

Confidentiality

Challenging conversations

Bilingual (plus)

Self-motivation

Community engagement

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Tools

Google searches

Microsoft Office

Job description

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Parent Advocate

Full Time Queens, NY, US

15 days ago Requisition ID: 1302

Salary Range: $35,000.00 To $40,000.00 Annually

Summary Job Description:

ParentAdvocates who will supportparents with children in residential foster care to understand and navigate the foster care system, make decisions for their families, remain hopeful, and address family challenges so that they can accomplish their goal of reunification. The focus of this job is building connections withparents and working collaboratively with case planners. ParentAdvocatewill be assigned to a case planning unit and will supportparents and bring their experience to the foster care agency decision-making process so that children are more likely to return home quickly and safely. TheAdvocates will be part of theParents SupportingParents initiative recently launched by the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), in conjunction with Rise, a parent-led NYC advocacy organization, and other important child welfare stakeholders. AllAdvocates will receive training and support through Rise.

This initiative is built upon the premise thatAdvocates with their own personal prior lived experience of the child welfare system will be effective in informing and supportingparents with children in foster care and help to improve outcomes for children and families.

About St. John’s

Founded in 1826 as a home for orphaned children,St.John’s has evolved into a nonprofit social services agency providing residential care to New York City youth involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. We offer holistic, trauma-informed support to young people up to age 21.

Our main campus in Rockaway Park, Queens, houses a Residential Treatment Center, Close to Home Non-Secure Placement programs, administrative offices, clinical services, and an on-site NYC Department of Education school. We also operate a Non-Secure Detention residence in Richmond Hill and Limited Secure Placement programs in Brooklyn andStaten Island.

St.John’s is dedicated to helping youth heal, grow, and build the skills they need to achieve their goals and return to family or a stable, supportive environment as engaged members of their communities.

• Build trusting relationships and supportparents in coping with the trauma of foster care involvement, making decisions for their families, communicating effectively with those involved in their case, and maintaining relationships with their children during foster care placement.
• Prepareparents and participate in Family Team Conferences including but not limited to, Service Plan Review, Trial Discharge and Final Discharge conferences.
• Report to MST Supervisor and work alongside case planners and MST Coaches.
• Welcome, prepare, encourage and support parents to engage in court, home visits, case planning contacts, services, and Family Time
• Be trained by Rise as part of a group of parentadvocates newly hired to work in foster care agencies, with a focus on healing and self-care; building knowledge of child welfare law, policy, and practice; building relationships for support and mentorship with otheradvocates; and creating an ongoing support and advocacy network.
• Learn to use Rise’s TIPS handouts and resources to inform and supportparents.
• Be trained to facilitate Restorative Justice Peacekeeping Circles to supportparents and other parent support groups at the agency and/ or in community.
• Become a partner in Rise’s Reunification Collaborative, working with 6 foster care agencies to improve case practice and engagement withparents in the first 90 days.
• Contribute to defining and achieving success for this effort to build effective and meaningful roles forparentadvocates in foster care agencies.
• Recognize and celebrateparents’ progress toward reunification.
• Encourageparents to engage in supportive interventions that will strengthen their families. Encourage participation in Family Time.
• Help families navigate and access resources
• Coachparents to strengthen problem-solving skills while discovering their strengths, hopes, dreams and priorities. Elevate parents voice.
• Maintain documentation and confidentiality in accordance with ACS, OCFS and agency requirements.

• Share trends and reoccurring parent concerns with leadership
• Perform all other related duties as assigned
• Bring parent perspective into case discussion and program planning
• Promote respectful, strength based and family-centered communication.

Qualifications:

• Previous life experience being impacted by the child welfare system as a parent including having had a child placed in foster care or having had a court-ordered supervision case. Other prior child welfare involvement such as having personally experienced child welfare investigations may also qualify. Previous child welfare cases must be closed for at least one year.
• Warm, enthusiastic, able to engage and positively impact individuals.
• Someone who has a sincere appreciation for people and how they are each uniquely motivated.
• Strong interpersonal skills to assist withparentengagement and are geared towards working sensitively on topics involving trauma, stress, and healing.
• Computer skills conducting Google searches and using Microsoft Office.
• Skilled at working in a fast-paced environment on multiple projects occurring simultaneously.
• Passion forparentleadership and preventing child welfare involvement.
• Able to maintain high level of confidentiality.
• Able to travel extensively to all NYC boroughs.
• Able to uphold the mission and values of Little Flower.
• Have experience as aParentAdvocatein foster care, preventive, mental health, or family defense agencies, or in any coaching or support roles in community organizations, schools, etc.
• High School Diploma or GED
• Have experience holding challenging conversations and facilitating meetings.
• Bilingual skills is a plus.

Travel Requirements: This position is located in Brooklyn, NY with some travel to other boroughs. A Valid NYS Driver’s License if using personal vehicle or agency vehicle to drive on agency business.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Statement

With more than 250 years of combined experience, Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York and St. John’s Residence for Boys have a long-standing history of serving children, youth, adults and families of color. Our mission, vision and values are grounded in elevating the shared humanity of every staff member, community partner and those with whom we engage. We recognize that our DEIB work is continuously evolving as we strive for equity and inclusion for individuals of all races, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, ages, abilities, religions and lived experiences.