Parent Partner

Parent Partner - San Leandro, CA

Your opportunity to truly make a difference in the lives of vulnerable and under‑served children and their families is here! Parent Partners are assigned to work with the caregivers of children and youth who receive Foster Care, Juvenile Probation or Mental Health services. Regardless of the system, Parent Partners build upon their personal experience to achieve better outcomes for all children and families they serve.

Parent Partners provide information on how systems and programs can support the family centered and family driven philosophy and principles into practice both internally and collaboratively with community partners. Parent Partners are former youth, parent or primary caregiver who have first‑hand experience with the Child Welfare system and who have exhibited exceptional qualities in their own efforts to develop viable permanency plans for their children, and an appreciation of what it takes to be successful and personal qualities that lend themselves to collaboration on various levels.

Alternative Family Services provides a supportive work environment and an excellent benefits package. See details below, and apply today!

Alternative Family Services is a Foster Family, Adoption and Mental Health Agency that has been serving abused and neglected children in our community since 1973. Our mission is to support vulnerable children and families in need of stability, safety, and well‑being in communities. We provide a wide range of foster, adoption, mental health and transition‑aged youth services in English and Spanish.

We have eight locations throughout the Bay Area and over 200 employees. We celebrate diversity, equal opportunity, and excellence.

• Must have lived experience as a former youth, parent or primary caregiver who has navigated the Child Welfare, Juvenile Probation or Mental Health system
• Possess a high school diploma or GED
• Be able to professionally interact with parents, co‑workers, county representatives, and other treatment team members as part of a cooperative team
• Possess excellent interpersonal communication skills, a positive attitude and a willingness to help others
• Ability to maintain confidential information
• Obtain and maintain fingerprint and government and agency required background clearances
• CPR/First Aid certification
• Possess a valid California driver’s license with an acceptable driving record
• Maintain valid automobile insurance with his/her name on the verification card as an insured driver on the policy at all times
• Possess and agree to continue to work on cultural competency as it relates to the diverse client population served
• Be able to work with minimal direct supervision and manage time and prioritize workload

• Actively participates as a parent mentor to families currently navigating the Child Welfare System
• Drawing from personal experience, provides training and peer support consultation to parents involved in the treatment process
• Taking into account cultural contexts and economic settings, seeks to improve the effectiveness of parent/professional partnerships to meet the needs of families
• Provides active support as an informal counselor through listening to and identifying with parent experiences
• Maximizes the parent voice, choice and involvement in community meetings throughout the service delivery process
• Assists parents in their efforts to articulate and communicate their needs to service providers
• Meets with assigned parent(s) as agreed upon in supervision
• Adapts to changes in treatment, as determined by members of the care team and the client
• Exhibits qualities of dependability, empathy, genuineness and respect
• Ensures compliance with HIPAA privacy practices
• Adheres to our attendance and punctuality policy
• Visits a variety of community settings using personal vehicle that is maintained in safe working order
• Provides emergency response; evenings and weekends may be required
• Assumes other duties as assigned by supervisor

This position requires the employee to work out in the community and within foster homes throughout the Bay…