Youth and Family Advocate

Bay Area Youth Services Inc.; Saint Augustine (FL); On-site; USD 34,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Bay Area Youth Services Inc. seeks a Youth and Family Advocate to provide support, guidance, mentoring, advocacy and psychoeducational services to youth in the program. The goal is to engage and connect with adolescents effectively.

Responsibilities include assisting youth in treatment planning, coaching for life skills, maintaining case records, attending court with youth, and supporting wraparound and therapy processes. Evening/weekend hours and on-call availability may be required.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or equivalent required.
• Prior professional experience in child welfare or juvenile justice preferred.
• Personal lived experience preferred.
• Must have valid driver's license and ability to use a personal vehicle for work.

Responsibilities

• Assist youth to find their voice and exercise their choice throughout their time in care.
• Assist in the treatment process and help reach treatment goals/plans.
• Provide culturally competent education and hands-on coaching to youth for life skills and accessing community resources.
• Maintain accurate, timely case records.
• Establish a healthy relationship with youth and family.
• Provide crisis intervention and case management support for youth self-advocacy and placement stability.
• Help youth navigate the system of care.

Skills

Motivational interviewing

Crisis intervention

Case management

Mentoring

Youth counseling

Court appearance

Flexible hours

Education

High School Diploma or equivalent

Personal lived experience

Tools

Driver's license

Job description

The Youth and Family Advocate will provide support, guidance, mentoring, advocacy and psychoeducational services to the youth in the program. The Youth and Family Advocate primary goal is to successfully engage and connect with adolescents.

We are looking for a Youth and Family Advocate who must have:

• High School Diploma or equivalent required.
• Prior professional experience with child welfare or juvenile justice preferred.
• Personal lived experience preferred
• Must have valid driver's license, ability to use personal vehicle for work purposes, and appropriate vehicle insurance.

Job duties and responsibilities include:

• Assist youth to find their voice and exercise their choice throughout their time in care.
• Assist in the treatment process and take steps to reach treatment goals/plans.
• Provide culturally competent education and hands-on coaching to youth to help build life skills, including assistance with accessing community resources.
• Maintain accurate, timely, and complete case records.
• Establish a healthy relationship with youth and family.
• Provide crisis intervention and case management support with the goal of supporting youth self-advocacy, social connectivity, and placement stability.
• Align with and helps support youth in to navigating through the system of care.

Job Essentials:

• Utilizes Motivational Interviewing to engage and empower youth in their case planning.
• Provide a nurturing environment and close supervision of assigned youth.
• Utilize natural and logical consequences to appropriately address youth behavioral problems.
• Employ relationship and counseling skills effectively.
• Ability to learn and implement effective de-escalation skills with youth.
• Acts as a mentor and positive role model and assist in engaging youth in the wraparound and therapy processes.
• Attend court with youth.
• Able to work evening and weekend hours, and to be on call as needed.
• Able to drive daily to nearby locations for meetings or visits.

BAYS is a drug-free workplace. We prohibit the use, possession, or distribution of controlled substances on company premises or during work hours.