Youth Advocate

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Wage band range: $18.00 - $25.00; starting pay determined by position scope, candidate experience, and internal equity. Bilingual in Spanish preferred and position eligible for bilingual pay incentive.

Under the direction of the UPLIFT TAY Program Supervisor, the youth advocate is responsible for supporting Casa Pacifica youth and alumni with their transition and eventual exit from the foster care system. This includes participating in on‑campus activities, such as child‑family team meetings, and maintaining relationships with community supporters and organizations. The Youth Advocate will also support youth/young adults with duties outlined within the TYS program.

We are a diverse and inclusive team providing excellent services to all surrounding communities. Our team members are empowered to share their identities, ideas, and perspectives. A culture built on diversity, equity and inclusivity is essential to creating a safe and healing environment at Casa Pacifica.

• Supervises, protects, and cares for the youth individually and in groups.
• Provides assistance to each youth working within a group and handling individual problems.
• Administers discipline and sets limits for behavior.
• Notates the youth's progress (through strength‑based approaches); identifies the possible need for professional services and communicates such findings to professional staff.
• Develops and maintains relationships with transitional‑age youth on campus and mentors and guides their transition to extended foster care or back into the community. Participates in child‑family team meetings, encourages 15½, 16, and 17‑year‑olds to enroll in Independent Living Program, assists youth 16‑18 with job preparation (transporting to interviews, filling out job applications, assisting with resume writing, and helping them acquire proper documentation).
• Informs youth on campus about the independent life skills classes (ILS) and encourages participation.
• Maintains relationships with transitional‑age youth on campus by taking them out on outings.
• Attends and coaches youth on participating in the child‑family team meetings for those 16‑18 years. Understand this meeting should be driven primarily by the youth; these meetings identify a team of people who will be supportive of the youth once the transition has occurred. Youth Advocate participates in the meeting helping to identify goals, needs, and concerns of the youth then helps to formulate an action plan.
  
  The youth Advocate follows up before the youth’s 18th birthday or transition occurs.
• Oversees/facilitates campus Participant Advisory Council—facilitates youth leadership through their participation in Participant Advisory Council. Helps Participant Advisory Council members plan on‑campus events, such as dances and volunteer opportunities, and oversees Participant Advisory Council involvement when partnering with the Angels and Amigos Auxiliary Boards for special campus activities.
• Facilitates, co‑facilitates, and supports groups for youth, including, but not limited to, Planned Parenthood classes and Commercially Sex Education Curriculum (CSEC). They will help coordinate meetings, set up and clean up rooms, and huddle the youth to attend.
• Maintains relationships with Casa Pacifica alumni—both transitional and emancipated youth. This can include taking youth who have been moved to a new placement out on a day pass to maintain relationships. The Youth Advocate provides information to alumni in five major areas: housing, education, employment, transportation, and health. The goal is to help alumni become self‑sufficient. Youth Advocates also support alumni—emotional and otherwise—when they experience difficult times.
• Participates in the TYS program by supporting youth/young adults with emotional support, providing information for community resources, and education surrounding Assembly Bill 12 Extended Foster Care (AB12). The Youth Advocate will specifically comply with mandates and objectives listed in the TAY contract and will gather, organize, record, and do outreach for youth/young adults in need of…