Parent Partner

Show your passion by empowering youth and families when joining the Wayside team!

Wayside is one of Massachusetts' most respected youth and family-serving agencies, supporting more than 6,000 youth and families annually across Central, Eastern, and Northeastern regions.

We invest in our employees' wellness with comprehensive benefits, including tuition and training reimbursement, a PTO package with 3 wellness days, 9 paid holidays, and up to 3 weeks of vacation in the first year. Enjoy a learning environment with free training, CEUs, and more, along with exceptional medical benefits, financial health supports, and career development opportunities.

Apply today and earn a $2,000.00 sign-on bonus (pro-rated for part-time)!

PARENT PARTNER
Academy - Framingham

Salary Range: $20.50 - $21.50/hour depending on experience + sign-on bonus (half paid after 6 months of employment and half paid after 1 year of employment/pro-rated for part-time).

The Parent Partner provides hope, information, encouragement and one-to-one support to parents of children with emotional/behavioral health issues that are receiving services from Wayside Academy’s 220 day/12 month setting. They will apply their personal experience being a parent, caregiver, guardian, grandparent, or foster care parent raising a child with mental health challenges and their current or past experience accessing special education or related services for their child to help guardians effectively partner with school staff and participate in their child’s education process. They will contribute, through a team approach, to providing a learning environment which is physically safe and intellectually open and in keeping with special education best practices. The Parent Partner will act as the first point of contact for the guardians of prospective students and assist Academy management in scheduling and completing tours and information sessions for referred students.

This position is Full Time with options for a flexible schedule and potential for work from home.

What you will do:

• Support Academy management in the referral process through contacting the guardians of prospective students, tracking said contact in the referral log, and scheduling and supporting tours and information sessions with guardians.
• Provide group, family and individual counseling intervention for guardians.
• Facilitate monthly virtual Parent Advisory Committee meetings, parent trainings and engagement opportunities with school staff and events.
• Consult and collaborate with teachers/parents regarding students’ needs to ensure appropriate resources are identified/implemented.
• Consult and collaborate with teachers/parents regarding guardian needs and communications.
• Document individual and group counseling sessions as well as all other required assessments, training and outcome measurement tools.
• Assists caregivers in planning for the strengths and needs of their child; as well as accessing resources, services/supports.
• The Parent Partner helps caregivers in preparation, scheduling and transportation to school meetings, events, trainings, and related meetings.
• Other responsibilities include timely submission of all required paperwork and developing/ maintaining strong communication with other team members within the Academy.
• Attend program functions and parent engagement opportunities as scheduled
• Participate in scheduled engagement activities with students.

Competencies/Traits of Our Superstars:

• Demonstrates ability to work independently (i.e. can self-direct on projects, can propose project solutions and take initiative around building and maintaining rapport with guardians).
• Demonstrates flexibility and creative thinking (i.e. ability to adapt and adjust to changing work situations, recognize and respond quickly when group/activity does not go as planned)
• Demonstrates the ability to teach, mentor, and coach others (i.e. able to provide constructive feedback to Guardians and Staff, capacity to provide understanding of lived experience with accessing services, special education law, etc.)
• Demonstrates dependability and persistence (i.e. excellent follow through on assigned tasks)
• Demonstrates ability to build and maintain ongoing and effective partnership/communication with guardians and ensure that learned information is distributed to appropriate staff members.

Minimum Requirements:

• A High School Diploma or equivalent is required
• Personal experience being a parent, caregiver, guardian, grandparent, or foster care parent raising a child with mental health challenges and their current or past experience accessing special education or related services. Non-profit organization experience and work history within child serving systems also strongly preferred.
• TCI, CPR, First Aid training upon hire.

We will train you in: Motivational Interviewing; Courageous Conversations; Attachment, Regulation and Competency Model (ARC); Trauma Informed Practice.