Re-Entry Action Youth Mentor

The Reentry Action for Youth (RAY) Program is a fundamental component of the Los Angeles County Department of Youth Development’s (DYD) commitment to equitable prevention, early intervention, and reentry through youth development. The program is delivered by mentors with lived experience of justice system involvement who are an important resource for young people who experience barriers to access services, especially young people of color who have historically been disproportionately excluded by traditional systems and services.

Mentors are trained in trauma-responsive approaches for building trust, providing care coordination and system navigation, and facilitating conflict resolution and crisis intervention with youth. Through mentorship, young people will receive authentic guidance and support from individuals who share common life experiences.

• Mentor, motivate, and empower youth participants to become positive members of their communities by establishing trusting and open relationships.
• Maintain consistent contact with youth participants at least two times a week, with a minimum of one in-person meeting.
• Maintain and manage a caseload of approximately 10-12 youth participants, providing individualized support and mentorship.
• Conduct intake and exit assessments, and assess participants at enrollment to develop individualized care plans.
• Document all participant interactions, maintaining accurate and timely case notes and care plans, in required internal and external data systems.
• Provide appropriate linkages and referrals to needed services through individualized care planning.
• Develop relationships with service providers to create referral pathways and link youth participants to supportive services not offered in-house.
• Build and maintain collaborative relationships with attorneys, probation officers, and other justice system partners to support participant success.
• Exit youth participants who have successfully completed services and/or are no longer actively engaged.
• Conduct outreach and engagement of eligible youth for program enrollment.
• Provide mentorship support through assistance with appointment scheduling & accompaniment, transportation support, court advocacy, and coaching in self-sufficiency.
• Provide court advocacy support through court accompaniment, preparing letters of enrollment and progress letters relevant to the youth’s programming in RAY.
• Attend all required training, meetings, and professional development opportunities, including those required by the County, funders, and ACE, to foster learning and community.
• Participate in cultural and community-building activities/events.
• Be available to work outside of regular scheduled hours, which may include early mornings, evenings, and occasional weekends (Saturday and Sunday) to support youth needs, program and agency activities.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support program goals and participant success.

• Sensitive to community, cultural, and personal dignity of program participants; able to successfully engage, assess, and plan services for participants typical of the program’s target population.
• Recognizes appropriate boundaries and limitations on interactions with program participants and families; maintains professional standards and practices.
• Familiar with accurate participant record-keeping practices, including timely charting, notation formats, content limitations, and confidentiality.
• Knowledge of programs, regulations, and procedures regarding human services, social services, justice, and workforce development.
• Able to operate within ACE’s designated geographic areas.
• Able to work in assigned locations that may expose oneself to hazardous conditions or extreme physical discomfort.
• Strong ability to assess conditions and responsiveness to interventions.
• General proficiency in navigating and using technology.
• Demonstrated period of stability and success in the community following system-involvement and/or incarceration; deeply connected and rooted in the community.
• Prior experience working with individuals with system involvement, mental illness, substance use disorder, or…