Juvenile Justice Family Advocate

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

The Juvenile Justice Family Advocate role works with families to reduce conflict at home, strengthen family relationships, and prevent youth homelessness. This position supports families whose youth may be involved in the juvenile justice system and provides guidance and advocacy to help youth and caregivers navigate services, court involvement, and community-based resources. The Juvenile Justice Family Advocate engages families in their homes and in the community to assess strengths and needs, create goal plans, and provide family-centered case management. They maintain a caseload of up to 15 families and also help facilitate monthly parenting classes for parents and youth. This role responds to community calls, collaborates with community partners, and works collaboratively across Cocoon House programs to ensure consistency of care and coordinated support for youth and families.

Cocoon House is committed to continually growing in our equity, diversity, and inclusion journey, and candidates with lived experience or who identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ are strongly encouraged to apply! We will also provide reasonable accommodation to qualified persons with disabilities upon request.

Juvenile Justice Family Advocate Duties & Responsibilities

Full-Time 40 hrs/week | On-site

Wages: $23-$25/hr DOE 

This position is typically a 9am-5pm work schedule with required evening flexibility two to three days each week to meet with families, as needed. This position also requires some weekend availability such as one weekend each month to conduct the family classes with weekday schedule adjusted to accommodate.  

Family Case Management:

• Provide case management to 15 families working on goals to reduce conflict and increase stability in the family, including families where the youth is juvenile justice involved.
• Establish and maintain a professional, supportive relationship with youth and their families, many of whom are involved with the juvenile justice system.
• Support youth in creating their own goals that they want to work on with their family.
• Collaborate effectively with Cocoon House’s Youth Engagement Team to ensure seamless services to youth and families being served by both teams.
• Professionally represent Cocoon House when attending court at the juvenile justice center, as needed.
• Build relationships with community partners and gather community resources for families in Snohomish County.

Other Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with coworkers and community partners to present parenting classes and support.
• Provide low-barrier support for families through phone calls and drop-in services.
• Provide referrals to other resources as needed, including legal advocacy supports, diversion resources, youth behavioral health supports, and juvenile justice-related community services.
• Provide education and promote Cocoon House programs with community partners.
• Collect needed demographics and other information from youth and their families and complete all data entry associated with family case management and drop-in sessions in a complete and timely manner.
• Support other Cocoon House programs to increase staff knowledge around family engagement as needed.
• Assist the Family Engagement team in training Cocoon House staff in best practices in working with families.
• A commitment to being a part of Cocoon House’s equity, diversity and inclusion work.

Benefits:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision health options with employer contribution
• Multilingual pay stipend
• 403(b) retirement plan
• 21 days of PTO accrued in first year
• 10 agency-recognized holidays
• Paid training & testing: CPR/first aid, food handler's permit, blood borne pathogens, abuse awareness, TB testing, and additional in-depth practical trainings

Requirements:

Skills needed to be successful in this role:

• Two years of experience working directly with parents or guardians of middle school and/or high school youth required.
• Experience supporting youth and families involved in the juvenile justice system strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of juvenile justice processes, court systems, and community resources related to diversion, probation, and youth advocacy preferred.
• Effective communication skills.
• Strong at crisis de-escalation.
• Knowledge of issues facing young people, adolescent development, and strengths-based approaches in working with families.
• Individuals with lived experience are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Experience in facilitation preferred.
• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.

General:

• High school diploma/GED or high school equivalency
• Must be 21 years of age or older
• DCYF background clearance
• Acceptable driver's abstract with no more than 2 violations within last 3 years
• Possess a valid driver's license, auto insurance, and reliable transportation

Physical:

• Ability to effectively communicate with all internal and external clients
• Be able to hear voices and alarms.
• Ability to read and comprehend a variety of materials
• Ability to operate phone, computer, and record information for files and logs
• Must be able to lift up to 50 Ibs
• Must have ability to run up and down indoor and outdoor stairwells in case of youth emergency.
• Go up and down stairs