Youth ACT Queens - Youth Peer Advocate

Child Center Residential Treatment Facility•Queens, NY

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Child Center of NY strengthens children and families with skills, opportunities, and emotional support to build healthy, successful lives. Founded in 1953, The Child Center of NY has become a powerful community presence throughout the city, with 50 locations and 100 programs serving over 40,000 children and families annually. The organization is seeking a compassionate, reliable, and recovery-oriented Youth Peer to join the Manhattan Youth Assertive Community Treatment (Youth ACT) team. This role involves using lived experience, a recovery perspective, and relationship-building skills to engage youth and young adults with serious emotional and behavioral health needs. Youth ACT is a mobile, multidisciplinary, community-based model providing intensive services in the environments where youth live, learn, and spend time. The Youth Peer's unique role is to help young people build trust, strengthen self-advocacy, develop life and coping skills, increase hope, and connect to natural supports and community resources, all grounded in person-centered, family-centered, trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and recovery-oriented care.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent required.
Lived experience relevant to the role and ability to use that experience appropriately and effectively in supporting youth.
Ability to work effectively with youth who may have significant mental health needs, trauma histories, substance use concerns, school difficulties, family conflict, justice involvement, or housing instability.
Ability to work collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team.
Strong engagement and relationship-building skills with youth from diverse backgrounds.
Strong communication, organizational, and time-management skills.
Basic computer skills and ability to complete documentation in an electronic health record.
Ability to work flexible hours, including some evenings, as program needs require.
Ability to travel in the community throughout Manhattan and surrounding areas as needed.

Nice To Haves

Credentialed Youth Peer Advocate (YPA-C) preferred; provisional status or eligibility to pursue credentialing may be considered consistent with program and regulatory requirements.
Experience working with adolescents, transition-age youth, or young adults with behavioral health needs strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide peer support services to youth and young adults based on lived experience, recovery principles, and the values of hope, empowerment, and self-determination.
Build authentic, supportive relationships with youth to promote engagement, trust, and continued participation in services.
Support youth in identifying personal strengths, recovery goals, interests, and meaningful next steps.
Assist youth with skill-building in areas such as communication, coping, problem-solving, self-advocacy, emotional regulation, daily living, social connection, and navigating systems.
Provide coaching, mentoring, and encouragement related to school, work, relationships, community involvement, and independent functioning.
Help youth prepare for, participate in, and follow through with appointments, meetings, and other important life activities.
Support youth during transitions, including transitions between levels of care, school settings, living situations, hospital/community re-entry, and movement into adulthood.
Facilitate connections to natural supports, pro-social activities, and community resources.
Model effective coping strategies, wellness practices, and recovery-oriented problem solving.
Participate in outreach and engagement efforts in the community, including home visits, school/community visits, and accompanying youth to appointments or activities, as appropriate.
Collaborate with family members/caregivers, when clinically appropriate and consistent with the youth’s preferences, to support engagement and recovery goals.
Participate in crisis prevention planning and provide peer support during periods of increased stress or instability, within role and scope.
Collaborate closely with the interdisciplinary Youth ACT team, including psychiatry, nursing, therapists, care managers, family peer, and other staff, to support coordinated care.
Document services in a timely and accurate manner in the electronic health record, consistent with agency, Medicaid, and program requirements.
Participate in team meetings, case conferences, supervision, trainings, and quality improvement activities.
Maintain professional boundaries, confidentiality, and adherence to agency policies and procedures.
Perform other related duties as assigned.