Childrens Youth Advocacy Program Community Care Advocate

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Classification: Youth Advocacy Program (YAP) Community Care Advocate

The Youth Advocacy Program (YAP) Community Care Advocate is a community-based para-professional who will provide 10-20 hours per week of face-to-face contact to two (2) high-risk, juvenile court-involved youth and their families as assigned by the YAP Outreach Specialist.  Program goals will focus on reducing the number of court-involved youth who are currently in or at risk for out-of-home placements (incarceration/correctional and/or residential treatment) by providing strength-based and individualized service plan options within the targeted youth’s home community.  This para-professional will work closely with the YAP Outreach Specialist, other YAP Advocates and system-of-care partners and stakeholders that already exist in Jefferson County to ensure program goals are met.

PRIMARY JOB FUNCTIONS:

Provides wraparound support by brokering/linking youth and their families to a comprehensive mixture of individualized services for approximately 4-6 months.

Provides 10-20 hours of face-to-face contact on a weekly basis with each targeted juvenile court youth according to their individualized needs.  (Advocates will be assigned no more than 2 youths at any given time to allow for more intensive support through a higher frequency of contacts).

Able to develop and implement strength-based, individualized service plans with assigned youth and their families.

Provides accurate, timely documentation of face-to-face contacts to ensure program objectives are being met.  Collaborates closely with other YAP staff to provide progress updates/adjust service plans as needed.

Participates in 24/7 crisis intervention access and networks with other agency partners to ensure the provision of specialized support services according to the individualized service plan (in home/case management, tutoring, educational, medical, outreach and tracking, life skills and training, access to job placement programs).

Monitors the progress of targeted youth and their families on a daily and weekly basis and works closely with designated system-of-care partners to ensure timely collection and analysis of program data to evaluate outcomes.    

Performs other administrative duties as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

A person with a high school diploma or GED who resides in the targeted communities of the assigned high-risk youth and, who by education, training and/or experience, is qualified to perform advocacy and other means of formal/informal assistance with minimal supervisory oversight.  Prior experience working with the juvenile population through a community-based or clinical program is highly preferred.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

General knowledge of the special needs and challenges of juvenile court-involved youth and their families.  Willingness to be educated and trained to build knowledge in this area for maximum outcomes with high-risk youth.

Culturally aware and sensitive with the ability to communicate effectively with youth and families from a wide variety of socio-economic and cultural situations. Willingness to be educated and trained to build knowledge in this area for maximum outcomes with high-risk youth

Knowledge of the available community resources in Jefferson County and surrounding catchment areas.

Organized, reliable and able to plan and implement a set of tasks geared at helping others in need in a timely and efficient manner.

Ability to perform strength-based assessments and develop individualized service plans tailored to the unique needs of the targeted population and t