Parent Advocate

Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York•New York, NY

11d•$35,000 - $40,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Parent Advocates will support parents with children in residential foster care to understand and navigate the foster care system, make decisions for their families, remain hopeful, and address family challenges so that they can accomplish their goal of reunification. The focus of this job is building connections with parents and working collaboratively with case planners. Parent Advocates will be assigned to a case planning unit and will support parents and bring their experience to the foster care agency decision-making process so that children are more likely to return home quickly and safely. The Advocates will be part of the Parents Supporting Parents initiative recently launched by the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), in conjunction with Rise, a parent-led NYC advocacy organization, and other important child welfare stakeholders. All Advocates will receive training and support through Rise. This initiative is built upon the premise that Advocates with their own personal prior lived experience of the child welfare system will be effective in informing and supporting parents with children in foster care and help to improve outcomes for children and families. St. John’s, founded in 1826, is a nonprofit social services agency providing residential care to New York City youth involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, offering holistic, trauma-informed support to young people up to age 21. Our main campus in Rockaway Park, Queens, houses a Residential Treatment Center, Close to Home Non-Secure Placement programs, administrative offices, clinical services, and an on-site NYC Department of Education school. We also operate a Non-Secure Detention residence in Richmond Hill and Limited Secure Placement programs in Brooklyn and Staten Island. St. John’s is dedicated to helping youth heal, grow, and build the skills they need to achieve their goals and return to family or a stable, supportive environment as engaged members of their communities.

Requirements

Previous life experience being impacted by the child welfare system as a parent including having had a child placed in foster care or having had a court-ordered supervision case. Other prior child welfare involvement such as having personally experienced child welfare investigations may also qualify. Previous child welfare cases must be closed for at least one year.
A natural collaborator.
Warm, enthusiastic, able to engage and positively impact individuals.
Someone who has a sincere appreciation for people and how they are each uniquely motivated.
Strong interpersonal skills to assist with parent engagement and are geared towards working sensitively on topics involving trauma, stress, and healing.
Good Writing skills.
Computer skills conducting Google searches and using Microsoft Office.
Skilled at working in a fast-paced environment on multiple projects occurring simultaneously.
Passion for parent leadership and preventing child welfare involvement.
Able to maintain high level of confidentiality.
Able to travel extensively to all NYC boroughs.
Able to uphold the mission and values of Little Flower.
Have experience as a Parent Advocate in foster care, preventive, mental health, or family defense agencies, or in any coaching or support roles in community organizations, schools, etc.
High School Diploma or GED.
Have experience holding challenging conversations and facilitating meetings.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual skills is a plus.

Responsibilities

Build trusting relationships and support parents in coping with the trauma of foster care involvement, making decisions for their families, communicating effectively with those involved in their case, and maintaining relationships with their children during foster care placement.
Prepare parents and participate in Family Team Conferences including but not limited to, Service Plan Review, Trial Discharge and Final Discharge conferences.
Report to MST Supervisor and work alongside case planners and MST Coaches.
Welcome, prepare, encourage and support parents to engage in court, home visits, case planning contacts, services, and Family Time.
Be trained by Rise as part of a group of parent advocates newly hired to work in foster care agencies, with a focus on healing and self-care; building knowledge of child welfare law, policy, and practice; building relationships for support and mentorship with other advocates; and creating an ongoing support and advocacy network.
Learn to use Rise’s TIPS handouts and resources to inform and support parents.
Be trained to facilitate Restorative Justice Peacekeeping Circles to support parents and other parent support groups at the agency and/or in community.
Become a partner in Rise’s Reunification Collaborative, working with 6 foster care agencies to improve case practice and engagement with parents in the first 90 days.
Contribute to defining and achieving success for this effort to build effective and meaningful roles for parent advocates in foster care agencies.
Recognize and celebrate parents’ progress toward reunification.
Encourage parents to engage in supportive interventions that will strengthen their families. Encourage participation in Family Time.
Help families navigate and access resources.
Coach parents to strengthen problem-solving skills while discovering their strengths, hopes, dreams and priorities. Elevate parents voice.
Maintain documentation and confidentiality in accordance with ACS, OCFS and agency requirements.
Share trends and reoccurring parent concerns with leadership.
Perform all other related duties as assigned.
Bring parent perspective into case discussion and program planning.
Promote respectful, strength based and family-centered communication.