Family Advocate
Family Advocate
Regular Full-Time
Bronx, NY, US
Brooklyn, NY, US
NEW YORK, NY, US
Family Advocate (FT and PT)
Overview
The Family Advocate is responsible for encouraging parents who reside in Harlem, Brooklyn and the Bronx to actively partner with Graham Windham and to engage in the process of planning for their family. The incumbent accomplishes this through credible messaging and using their lived experiences with the child welfare system, advocacy, establishing and maintaining strong community linkages and by referring birth parents to concrete support services.
Specific Duties
General
· Maintains a tracking system of referrals and case assignments. Provides assistance in facilitating training in topics
including, but not limited to the Parenting Journey.
· Encourages parent’s participation in Family Team Conferences (FTCs) providing reminders and other supports as
warranted.
· Represents Graham Windham at internal and external meetings.
· Celebrates parents by contributing to hosting events and activities.
· Maintains accessible resource materials, making them available to other Graham staff and to parents.
· Documents efforts to engage parents via service plans.
· Provides full disclosure and all required consents to parents.
· Co-facilitates quarterly parent round table meetings.
Housing
· Provides direct counseling, on-call assistance, intervention, negotiation and advocacy regarding families’ housing needs.
· Develops and maintains a comprehensive list of available housing resources.
· Collects required documentation, completes online applications and records data in all applicable Housing systems
including the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and Supportive Housing systems.
· Delivers completed Housing application packets to the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS)
· Accompanies parents to Housing court and to government assistance offices.
· Maintains all reporting requirements set by funding and/or regulatory agencies.
· Utilizes aspects of the Solution Based Casework (SBC) model when interviewing parents. (i.e. Address issues which led to
the lack of housing and communicate with clients to ensure they have a clear understanding of their responsibilities as
outlined in their “return to parent” plan).
· Demonstrates responsible and professional telephone, email and interview etiquette
· Attended all required training to ensure up to date information
Qualifications
High school diploma/General Equivalency Diploma (GED), preferred; Experience with the child welfare system
Other Requirements & Competencies
· Candidate must have had contact with the child welfare system and use his/her personal lived experiences to strongly encourage parents to engage in the process of planning for their family.
· Demonstrates passion for working with parents in a child welfare setting.
· Able to set limits and to maintain appropriate professional boundaries
· Strong belief in parents’ abilities to grow and change.
· Self-motivated
· Strong time management, writing and organizational skills
· Works, both, independently and collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders
· Willing and able to travel throughout the five boroughs of New York City as needed.
· Inclusive and respectful of all staff, parents, youth families regardless of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, creed, national
origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or any other protected class or characteristic.
· Must be able to climb stairs and conduct recreational outings and field visits to community.
Position Type: Full time and Part time
Salary commensurate with experience.
Graham Windham offers Full time eligible employees a comprehensive benefit package including medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, holiday pay, retirement savings plan, and much more. Graham Windham will provide professional development training.
EOE