Youth Advocate

Overview

Join to apply for the Youth Advocate role at Wayfinder Family Services
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Wayfinder’s Kinship Support Services Program is a kinship navigation service for grandparents, extended family members or close family friends who step up to raise children so they avoid the trauma of separation from their birth family. The program offers counseling, assistance with basic needs, support groups and workshops, respite resources and more. Kinship families are more stable, and children maintain their family connections, which produces better long-term outcomes.

The primary focus of the Youth Advocate is to mentor and support children and youth living with a relative or Non-Related Family Member (NREFM), both formally and informally.

$21.00/hr - $23.00/hr

• Meet and provide mentoring support and services with clients in-person or virtually, for the duration of the case. Maintain monthly contact with youth and family; phone, virtual and in-person meetings will vary based on needs.
• Provide mentoring services including education about the child welfare process, guidance for relatives or NREFMs, sharing personal experience, supporting youth through internal struggles, and general assistance throughout the case.
• Complete monthly contact notes documenting all communications with families (phone, face-to-face, virtual, email, text).
• Complete 40 hours of training within the first 90 days of hire and 32 hours per fiscal year (8 hours per calendar quarter) of kinship-related training.
• Provide advocacy and guidance in community settings on behalf of the youth (e.g., IEP meetings, CFT meetings, WRAP meetings as needed).
• Develop and provide ongoing youth groups as needed.
• Other duties as outlined in the position description.

• The Youth Advocate is a paraprofessional position with no minimum degree requirement, but applicants must have experience providing direct client services as required.
• Lived kinship-related experience (living with a relative or NREFM through the child welfare system) is preferred.
• Valid CA Driver License with a minimum of three (3) years of good driving history and must be approved by the agency’s insurance carrier to drive agency vehicles.

• Medical, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match up to 4%
• Employee referral program
• Education tuition assistance program
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligible
• Flexible spending account (FSA) plans
• Eligibility and other benefits are outlined in plan documents

Wayfinder Family Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We support a drug-free workplace and conduct pre-employment background and drug screenings.