Family Peer Recovery Advocate

Family Peer Recovery Advocate

The Family Peer Recovery Advocate is responsible for the delivery of direct services for the Family Support Program. The Family Peer Support Specialist will provide an array of formal and informal services and supports provided to families caring for/raising a child who is experiencing substance use, social, emotional, developmental, medical, and/or behavioral challenges in their home, school, placement, and/or community. The service is needed to allow the child the best opportunity to remain in the community.

Activities included must be intended to achieve the identified goals or objectives as set forth in the child/youth's treatment plan.

"Family" is defined as the primary care-giving unit and is inclusive of the wide diversity of primary caregiving units. Family is a birth, foster, adoptive, or self-created unit of people residing together, with significant attachment to the individual, consisting of adult(s) and/or child(ren), with adult(s) performing duties of parenthood/caregiving for the child(ren) even if the individual is living outside of the home.

New Directions' Family Peer Support Program empowers caregivers through advocacy, education, support, and connection to community resources. Services help families navigate child-serving systems, build skills, strengthen natural supports, and improve outcomes for children and youth.

New Directions is an equal opportunity employer committed to championing the principles of anti-racism, justice, and equity. We welcome prospective employees from diverse cultures and backgrounds, for all positions, who will uphold our values and contribute to our mission. We aim to have a leadership and workforce that is reflective of the communities we work in partnership with.

Starting Pay: $19.60–$20.47 per hour during your first year

Paid Time Off: 3 weeks PTO in the first year

Holidays: 14 paid agency holidays

Insurance:
Access to medical, dental, and life insurance

Retirement: 401K with up to 3% agency match

Full-Time Flexible Monday – Friday schedule

Location:

Lockport, NY

New Directions supports professional growth through credentialing opportunities, continuing education, supervision, training, and advancement pathways within the organization.

Job Responsibilities/Duties:

Individual Family Support:

Provide outreach and individual advocacy to parents/guardians of youth with substance abuse concerns or diagnosis, serious emotional/behavioral diagnosis.

Utilize the Family Assessment of Needs and Strengths to conduct a preliminary assessment of needs, strengths, and goals

Provide Engagement, Bridging, and Transition Support:
Based on the strengths and needs of the youth and family, connect them with appropriate services and supports. Accompany the family when visiting programs. Assist the family to gather, organize and prepare documents needed for specific services. Address any concrete or subjective barriers that may prevent full participation in services. Serve as a bridge between families and service providers, supporting a productive and respectful partnership by assisting the families to express their strengths, needs and goals.

Support and assist families during stages of transition which may be unfamiliar (e.g. placements, in crisis, and between service systems etc.).

Self-Advocacy, Self-Efficacy, and Empowerment:
Empower families to make informed decisions regarding the nature of supports for themselves and their child

Provide leadership opportunities for families who are receiving Family Peer Support Services

Provide Parent Skill Development? Prepare families to transition out of family support services as they make progress towards identified goals

Group Family Support:

Coordinate and facilitate 2 family support groups around Niagara County monthly

Coordinator child care for support groups

Identify and train parent group leaders/facilitator

Include guest speakers on relevant training topics and skill building activities as identified through FANS data, and through group requests

Collaborate with Community Partners:

Collaborate with formal systems including but not limited to LDSS, Juvenile drug courts, schools, mental health clinics,…