LGBTQIA+ Youth Advocate

Description

AGENCY OVERVIEW

Since our founding in 1895 in Marin County as an orphanage – and through subsequent years as  Sunny Hills Services – Side by Side has been at the forefront of best practices in child welfare,  working with the most vulnerable youth in our community. Today, Side by Side operates in four  counties – Marin, Alameda, Sonoma, and Napa – across the Bay Area, reaching nearly 2,000  children, young adults, and family members per year with much-needed services related to behavioral  and mental health, early intervention in schools.

Side By Side places high value on individuals with a passion for helping underserved youth and families in a collaborative and inclusive work culture. We strive to work together to create a trauma-informed workplace where we walk the walk of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging principles.  

COMPENSATION

This position has an hourly rate of pay between $21.00 to $24.00 based on experience.  

BENEFITS

• 3 weeks of paid vacation for F/T employees increasing to 4 weeks of vacation after 2 years of service (for all non-school based employees).
• 2 weeks of sick leave for F/T employees with 2 additional sick days for direct service staff and 4 additional for school staff
• 10 paid holidays per year and 1 Self-Care Anniversary Day each year
• 100% employer-paid Medical for F/T employees including platinum level Kaiser Permanente insurance, Sutter Health or Anthem options
• Dental and Vision Insurance
• Long Term Disability insurance up to $9,000 per month, plus $50,000 Life and AD&D insurance. Employees also have the option to purchase additional life insurance at their own cost.  
• 403b Retirement Plan
• Professional development and other learning opportunities including unlimited access to over 1,000 behavioral health courses online. Side By Side is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness certified employer
• FREE Employee Assistance Program including up to 10 complimentary personal counseling sessions per problem, per year for staff and dependents
• Employee recognition program with $1,000 bonus awards
• Employee referral bonus of up to $1,000
• Pet Insurance

JOB SUMMARY

The Youth Acceptance Collaborative (YAC) is a partnership between Our Space (Side by Sides community center for LGBTQ youth), Family Builders by Adoption and Alameda County Social Services. The YAC provides a continuum of services towards the prevention of some LGBTQ youth from entering the child welfare system, and the transition of others from placement to family-based permanency. 

The role of the Youth Advocate is to provide support services to LGBTQ youth ages age 13 up to 21 who are in foster care or at-risk of entering foster care. The Youth Advocate may, at times, serve youth younger than 14, or older than 21 at the discretion of their supervisor. Support services will be focused on placement stabilization and may include weekly, individual support meetings with youth; facilitation of a weekly support group for LGBTQ foster youth; collaboration and case consultation with Social Services staff, Family Builders and community partners; assessment and support of clients’ permanency needs; and referral and linkage services. The Youth Advocate will work closely with staff at the Alameda County Assessment Center to provide crisis intervention and stabilization services; build rapport and trust with LGBTQ youth; and decrease barriers to LGBTQ youth receiving services, education and community resources. The Youth Advocate will also work closely with the Family Advocate from Family Builders to provide placement stabilization and clinical family support. This position requires a high level of independent decision making as 60 – 75% of the Youth Advocate’s time will be spent in the field providing community-based support services to youth referred to the YAC. When not in the field, the Youth Advocate will maintain a physical presence in the milieu at Our Space to create a continuity of services for LGBTQ youth who have had contact with the Assessment Center, and at the Assessment Center to develop rapport and provide support to Social Services placement workers as needed. Critical to this position is the ability to create and maintain positive working relationships with community partners, towards successfully supporting clients and engaging providers in submitting referrals. The Youth Advocate will carry a caseload of 8-15 youth. 

A portion of this role works to raise awareness around the programming and services offered through Our Space and the Youth Acceptance Collaborative. The Youth Advocate is responsible for overseeing communications platforms, including social media, the monthly newsletter, and print materials. Additionally, the Youth Advocate will network and collaborate with community partners, including schools and nonprofit organizations serving LGBTQ youth, to identify and pursue opportunities for collaboration.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for assessing the placement and support needs of LGBTQ youth who are referred to the YAC or residing at the Assessment Center.
• Staff the Alameda County Receiving Center in Castro Valley at least once a week. 
• Provide placement stabilization services to referred youth.
• Connect with Family Advocate for placement stabilization services for clients. 
• Utilize a positive youth development framework to build trusting relationships with LGBTQ youth and engage them in support services.
• Provide support, trainings, and consultation to Social Service staff as they grow their skills in LGBTQ competent and affirming service provision.
• Build mutually respectful and supportive relationships with Social Service staff and community providers towards improving the care of LGBTQ foster youth.
• Complete YAC intake for active YAC clients on caseload.
• Partner with youth in involving family and other informal and formal key players in planning services and support for each youth. Partner with youth in maintaining relationships with permanent support people and identifying opportunities to strengthen these relationships
• Partner with youth in identifying community resources.
• Partner with youth in identifying obstacles to living independently, obtaining employment, obtaining post-secondary education, and in developing supportive social and recreational activities. Partner with youth to develop strategies to overcome these barriers
• Partner with youth to develop and monitor working goals and objectives with measurable outcomes.
• Collaborate with Family Builders around referrals and shared clients.
• Responsible for documentation of meetings in Electronic Health Record.
• May be responsible for writing clinical Progress Notes in accordance with Medi-Cal guidelines and within expected agency timeframes.
• Transport youth in vehicle on a regular basis.
• Provide LGBTQ youth with appropriate service referrals and linkages.
• Attend Team Decision Making (TDM) meetings as requested to provide support to LGBTQ youth.
• Work collaboratively with Child Welfare Workers (and in particular, Placement Workers) to identify placement needs and advocate for appropriate and supportive placements
• Accompany clinicians and Child Welfare Workers on home visits as requested.
• Participate in Our Space special projects, events, and/or community center programming and staffing as needed (at discretion of supervisor).
• Participate in the tracking of outcomes and use of outcome measurement tools, including Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS).
• Submit reports and required paperwork on time.
• Maintaining regular communication via e-mail, phone, and in person meetings with community partners to create and sustain community partnerships
• Identifying and pursuing opportunities for promoting Our Space and the YAC in the community, including tabling at resource fairs, workshops at local schools and nonprofit organizations, and presentations
• Participate in coordinating, planning, and facilitating Our Space community events. 
• Updating Our Space’s social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, with information about community center programming, special events, and local resources
• Creating and distributing original content for monthly newsletter, flyers, and infographics
• The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and expectations required of the position.

Requirements

POSITION-SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES

Agency Service Principles

• Ability to administer a procedure that insures confidentiality of client records.

Team Building

• Ability to view yourself as a leader and pass on teachable skills and knowledge to others.
• Ability to hold yourself accountable for your work.
• Ability to give and receive feedback to others.
• Ability to work both collaboratively and independently.
• Enthusiastic and strengths-based approach to partnering with youth and collaborating with peers.
• Ability to develop mutually respectful relationships with community providers.

Action Oriented

• Commitment to effectiveness, prioritizing efficiency and follow-through.
• Strong problem solving skills.

Leadership Qualities

• Ability to manage time effectively.
• Skilled in independent thinking and able to use judgment to make sound and appropriate decisions.
• Ability to serve as a role model for youth being served.
• Commitment to self-reflection and personal awareness as a means of being able to remain emotionally available and connected with youth, and function as an engaged team-member
• Ability to respond to volatile youth in a kind and non-judgmental manner.
• Ability to advocate for positive social change in systems impacting LGBTQ youth without alienating community partners and stakeholders.
• Ability to develop mutually respectful relationships with community providers and members of a youth’s treatment team (i.e. group home staff, clinician, child welfare worker, and more.)
• Ability to view families, both biological and chosen, as resources and support systems for youth, and commitment to involve families in services
• Commitment to self-reflection and personal awareness as a means of being able to remain emotionally available and connected with youth, and function as an engaged team-member

Managing Diversity

• Commitment to working in a diverse workplace, and self-awareness regarding issues of race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion/spirituality and disability.
• Passion for working with a diverse group of youth including youth of color, LGBTQ youth, and youth with disabilities. 
• Knowledge of risk and protective factors for LGBTQ youth and systems-involved youth.
• Ability to view families, both biological and chosen, as resources and support systems for youth, and commitment to involve families in services

QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience working with LGBTQ youth, preferably runaway/homeless youth and current or former foster youth
• Experience working with communities of color and a demonstrative track record of cultural competency. 
• Experience with, and commitment to using, a positive youth development model.
• Experience with training facilitation and curriculum development.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs, particularly Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
• Proficiency in utilizing Internet, email and web-based programs.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• California Department of Justice and FBI fingerprint clearance
• A valid California driver's license
• Personal vehicle insurance.
• Reliable Personal Transportation
• Please note that Covid-19 vaccination is mandated for all Side by Side staff, except in cases of approved medical or religious accommodations.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Sitting, walking, standing, twisting and bending for brief periods of time.
• Occasional reaching and/or grasping using hands and/or arms.
• May be required to lift up to 20 pounds.
• May be required to ascend/descend stairs.
• Regular use of hands requiring dexterity in using the telephone, computer keyboard, mouse or calculator.
• Visual ability to read documents and computer monitor.
• Exposure to low to moderate noise levels characteristic of working in an office or client environments.
• Ability to drive to various sites.
• Hearing and speech to converse in person and over the telephone.
• Driving within 100 miles of Alameda County

We are committed to maintaining a culturally inclusive work environment. We strongly encourage LGBTQ people, people of color, and others with diverse personal experience to apply. Sunny Hills Services/BAYC is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, Vietnam era or other veteran status.

Side by Side provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.  

Salary : $21 - $24