Family Advocate

　　Job Details

　　Level

　　Experienced

　　Job Location

　　1946 Webster Avenue, Bronx, NY 10457 - Bronx, NY

　　Position Type

　　Full Time

　　Education Level

　　Not Specified

　　Family Advocate, Preventive Program

　　About the Program

　　In full partnership with families & communities, Graham Windham strives to make a life-altering difference to children, youth and families affected by abuse, neglect and delinquency by providing each child we serve with a strong foundation for life: a safe, loving, permanent family and the opportunity and preparation to thrive in school and in the world. With over 400 full-time, part-time and on-call employees serving children and families in multiple programs throughout Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Harlem, Graham Windham provides an exciting & enriching work experience.

　　Graham Windham’s General Preventive (GP) or Beacon Ties Programs located both in Manhattan and the Bronx offer preventive case management services to families at risk of removal of children to foster care due to neglect and abuse. Risk factors for families served by the FTR program are sometimes advanced as a result of the stressors of poverty, substance use, instability and criminal justice involvement can greatly compromise a parent’s capacity to care for his/her children, despite strong desires to be engaged. Our goal is to partner with families to keep them together while ensuring that children will be safely cared for in the homes.

　　Position Overview

　　To assist the unit’s team in efforts to develop and promote early engagement with parents whenever a new intake is assigned within the first 30 days and to help with advocacy around resources and services offered in their communities.

　　Duties and Responsibilities (but not limited to):

　　Engagement

　　Build relationships and support parents in coping with the trauma of child welfare involvement, making decisions for their families and communicating effectively with those involved in their case.

　　Partner with case planners to help families engage and navigate targeted resources

　　Prepare parents and participate in Family Team Conferences including but not limited to ERC, Safety Conference, Service Termination Conference, Six Month Service Plan Review, Joint home visits, Administrative Meeting with Families as well as 30 / 45-day conferences, Six Month Service) and court proceedings.

　　Encourage parents to engage in supportive interventions that will strengthen their families.

　　Encourage parents to participate in our Family Success Interventions (Baby & Me, Visit Outreach to parents via text messages, phone calls or emails to build relationships while connecting parents to community resources as needed.

　　Review Parent Engagement Guide with parents to acquaint parents with the child welfare processes.

　　Coaching

　　Coach parents to develop skills that will allow them to independently develop problem-solving skills while discovering their strengths, hopes, dreams as well as their priorities.

　　Work in collaboration with Case planner to appropriately assess the needs of the parents in order to create measurable goals while determining what barriers could affect the desired outcomes.

　　Facilitate bi-weekly support groups utilizing Network and Parent Café Model, (staff to be trained in the model).

　　Escort parents to scheduled court appearances for support, to scheduled appointments or shopping to purchase items requested by the agency.

　　Recognize and celebrate parents whenever they make simple or significant progress service goals.

　　Collective Approach

　　Collaborate and maintain effective and timely communication with team members, case planners as well as other stakeholders to ensure that the overall needs of the parents are met.

　　Participate in routine case consultation with case planning teams in order to assure the parents are following through with their required service plan while demonstrating behavior change.

　　Participate in joint home visits with case planners as needed to provide the required support to both parents.

　　Assists parents in establishing structure during home visits and meeting the needs of their children by utilizing hands on teaching and modeling techniques.

　　Ensure that the provision of services is informed by principles outlined in both the Solutions Based Casework, Parenting Journey, and Appreciative Inquiry.

　　Professional Development

　　Attend and actively participate in skill development training to improve the manner in which we approach the work, keep current with structural changes within the agency/child welfare.

　　Contribute agenda items and participate in weekly supervision with assigned supervisor.

　　Prepare parents to participants in the birth parent roundtable.

　　Participate in policy/advocacy development and decisions.

　　Data/Documentation

　　Maintain and document interactions with parents within the database (Connections).

　　Submit monthly tracker to supervisor regarding contacts made with parents in a timely manner.

　　Assist in eliciting feedback from parents on their experience.

　　Required Trainings :

　　Appreciate Inquiry

　　Protective Factors

　　Parent Café

　　Therapeutic Crisis Intervention

　　Visit Coaching

　　Rise (Visiting Tips)

　　Motivational Interviewing

　　SBC

　　Documentation/ Progress notes and Connection Trainings

　　Addressing crisis issues and de-escalation.

　　Motivational interviewing and professional boundaries in the workplace

　　Family Coaching Guide

　　Legal (Understanding the legal process or CW cases)

　　Medicaid Compliance

　　Mandated Reporter

　　Be trained to facilitate Restorative Justice Peacekeeping Circles to support parents through weekly circles (meetings) at the agency and/or in community

　　Full-time position; Starting salary: $45,172/annually + merit award. Graham Windham offers eligible employees a comprehensive benefit package including medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, holiday pay, retirement savings plan, and much more.

　　EOE

　　Qualifications

　　Qualifications:

　　Experience as a parent or primary caregiver who has navigated multiple child-serving systems on behalf of their child(ren) with social, emotional, developmental, health and/or behavioral healthcare needs.

　　College experience is a plus, High School Diploma, or its equivalent (GED) is preferred not required, good verbal and written communication skills are required.

　　Knowledge of child and adolescent development

　　Ability to work with and engage hard-to-reach populations, as well as families impacted by trauma, poverty, complex stressors, violence, mental health, juvenile justice and substance abuse

　　Culturally competency and trauma-informed approach

　　Computer literate

　　Ability to complete paperwork in a timely manner, flexible, willing to travel, while working well with peers.

　　Capable of traveling and working with families in their homes and communities

　　Knowledge of the Preventive or foster care system preferred.

　　A strong interest in the enhancement of the quality of life for those who depend upon agency’s services.