Parent and Family Partner for At-Risk Youth

WestCoast Children’s Clinic, located in Oakland, California, is a non-profit community psychology clinic that provides mental health services to Bay Area children, youth and families. Working at WestCoast Children’s Clinic means being part of an organization that is client-centered, trauma-informed, collaborative, and committed to justice and equity. 

Position Details 

Title : C-Change Parent and Family Partner

Classification : Regular Full Time (1.0 FTE), Non-exempt (Hourly)

Location : Oakland, CA / Hybrid (availability to provide client services in-person and complete documentation remotely)

Regular Work Schedule : Full time, M-F 

Compensation:

• $31.25 per hour ($34.37 per hour for qualified bilingual Spanish candidates)

The Parent and Family Partner provides compassionate peer support, advocacy, and guidance to caregivers of youth who are commercially sexually exploited or at risk of exploitation. Drawing on lived experience navigating child-serving systems, this role builds trust, offers empathy, and helps families process complex emotions following disclosure. The Partner works alongside caregivers from referral through ongoing care - amplifying their voice and priorities during Child and Family Team (CFT) meetings, modeling hope, and empowering families to confidently navigate child welfare, educational, and legal systems while building on their own strengths.

How the Parent and Family Partner makes an impact:

• Conduct early outreach to caregivers of youth at risk of or experiencing commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC) to build immediate rapport, provide peer orientation, and facilitate warm handoffs to community resources and support teams.
• Utilize personal lived experience purposefully to build trust, normalize complex emotions (shame, grief, fear), reduce isolation, and share strategies that strengthen family communication, caregiver confidence, and natural support networks.
• Prepare and empower caregivers to advocate for their needs during Child and Family Team (CFT) and care planning meetings, ensuring family strengths, cultural values, and priorities directly drive all safety, crisis, and care plans.
• Guide and accompany families through child welfare, juvenile justice, law enforcement, behavioral health, and school systems, demystifying jargon, bridging provider communication, attending court hearings, and connecting families to concrete resources like housing, legal aid, and benefits.
• Educate caregivers on CSEC dynamics - such as grooming, coercive control, and trauma bonds
• Assist in developing trauma-informed safety plans covering online safety, missing youth episodes, and re-engagement.
• Collaborate as an equal partner on multidisciplinary teams to elevate the caregiver perspective in treatment planning, while adhering to mandated reporting, safety protocols, and timely service documentation.
• Maintain professional boundaries, strict confidentiality, self-care practices, and active participation in ongoing training and reflective supervision.

Minimum Requirements:

• Parent/caregiver lived experience navigating child-serving systems (child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, special education)
• High school diploma or GED
• Willingness to share personal experience purposefully and within professional boundaries
• Ability to build peer relationships with diverse families and advocate effectively
• Commitment to family-driven, youth-guided, trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and harm-reduction practices
• Strong communication, teamwork, and multidisciplinary collaboration skills
• Computer literacy and documentation skills
• Ability to travel by car to meet with clients, generally within a 90 mile radius of WCC's Oakland office. Alternative forms of transportation may be accommodated based on the needs of the program and clients. Employees must have a clean CA DMV record. When driving for WCC, current vehicle insurance is required.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Lived experience supporting a youth who experienced or was at risk of commercial sexual exploitation.
• Previous experience as a Parent Partner, Family Partner, Family Peer Support Specialist, or similar peer role.
• Experience with High Fidelity Wraparound, family peer support, or Child and Family Team processes.
• Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist certification, including a Parent, Caregiver, and Family Member specialization, or willingness to obtain certification within a designated timeframe.
• Training in CSEC, trauma-informed care, or harm reduction.
• Familiarity with local child welfare, juvenile justice, victim services, and behavioral health systems.
• Bilingual or multilingual skills (Spanish preferred)

Why work here?

-Be part of a compassionate, driven team that is social justice-focused:  We have Staff Affinity Groups such as Staff of Color, LGBTQ+, Equity and Inclusion, Health and Wellness, and more!

-Make a difference for the Bay Area’s most vulnerable populations:  We serve hundreds of vulnerable kids and their families each year to create positive changes in their lives!

-Access a growth-oriented learning community:  As a Joint Commission Accredited agency, we are dedicated to providing the highest standard of care, and offer extensive clinical trainings and seminars led by field experts. 

Benefits:

• Employer-paid Medical Benefits for Employees 
  • 100% employer-paid dental and vision 
  • Dependent medical, dental and vision (50% employer-paid) 
• Medical and Dependent Care FSA and commuter plans
• 100% employer-paid life insurance long-term disability insurance
• Voluntary accident, term life and hospital indemnity insurance 
• 403(b) and ROTH retirement plan options, employer contribution targeted at 7.5% after first year of employment
• Quarterly (5-10%) and annual incentive compensation (10%)
• Three weeks PTO during the first year of employment, 4+ weeks PTO with additional years of service
• 12 paid holidays plus one paid floating holiday per year
• 4 paid self-care days per year
• Wellness stipend ($100.00 per month)
• Professional development stipend and CEUs for trainings
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Join us and make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children and families in the Bay Area.  

WCC is passionate about leading and encouraging open conversations around race, gender, power, and privilege and how these impact community mental health. We are an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to diminishing the influence of privilege and discrimination in our field and our workplace, whether due to differences concerning age, citizenship, color, disability, marital or parental status, race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.