Evening Advocate

Job Description Description: Job Title: Family Peer Recovery Advocate
Department: Children’s Mental Health Program
Position Summary The Family Peer Recovery Advocate is responsible for the delivery of direct services for the Family Support Program. The Family Peer Support Specialist will provide an array of formal and informal services and supports provided to families caring for/raising a child who is experiencing substance use, social, emotional, developmental, medical,, and/or behavioral challenges in their home, school, placement, and/or community. The service is needed to allow the child the best opportunity to remain in the community. Activities included must be intended to achieve the identified goals or objectives as set forth in the child/youth’s treatment plan.

“Family” is defined as the primary care-giving unit and is inclusive of the wide diversity of primary caregiving units. Family is a birth, foster, adoptive, or self-created unit of people residing together, with significant attachment to the individual, consisting of adult(s) and/or child(ren), with adult(s) performing duties of parenthood/caregiving for the child(ren) even if the individual is living outside of the home.
Department New Directions’ Family Peer Support Program empowers caregivers through advocacy, education, support, and connection to community resources. Services help families navigate child-serving systems, build skills, strengthen natural supports, and improve outcomes for children and youth.
Agency New Directions is an equal opportunity employer committed to championing the principles of anti-racism, justice, and equity. We aim to have a leadership and workforce that is reflective of the communities we work in partnership with.
Starting Pay: $19. 60– $20.47 per hour during your first year
Holidays: 14 paid agency holidays
Access to medical, dental, and life insurance
Retirement: 401K with up to 3% agency match
Hours/Schedule Full-Time
Flexible Monday – Friday schedule
Professional Development Opportunities New Directions supports professional growth through credentialing opportunities, continuing education, supervision, training, and advancement pathways within the organization.

Provide outreach and individual advocacy to parents/guardians of youth with substance abuse concerns or diagnosis, serious emotional/behavioral diagnosis.

• Based on the strengths and needs of the youth and family, connect them with appropriate services and supports. Assist the family to gather, organize and prepare documents needed for specific services. Address any concrete or subjective barriers that may prevent full participation in services. Serve as a bridge between families and service providers, supporting a productive and respectful partnership by assisting the families to express their strengths, needs and goals. Self-Advocacy, Self-Efficacy, and Empowerment: Empower families to make informed decisions regarding the nature of supports for themselves and their child
• Coordinator child care for support groups
• Include guest speakers on relevant training topics and skill building activities as identified through FANS data,and through group requests

Collaborate with Community Partners:

• Collaborate with formal systems including but not limited to LDSS, Juvenile drug courts, schools, mental health clinics, substance abuse clinics, local hospitals and crisis services
• Facilitate educational seminars on relevant topics regarding substance abuse to caregivers/parents at community agencies and internally
• Conduct outreach with collaboration with community agencies to provide information on the Family Peer Recovery Advocacy program
• Create and distribute promotional materials to support the Family Peer Recovery Advocacy program

Keep all client and family information, verbal and written, confidential

• Adhere to all Medicaid requirements for billing and documentation
• Maintain documentation for all group meetings (group participant roster, dates, locations, topics), units of service and related expenditures, and submits required information to Supervisor
• Conduct client satisfaction surveys at regular intervals and discharges

Training:

• Complete Level One and Level Two of the Family Peer Advocate Core Training/ Parent Empowerment Program (PEP) training or approved comparable training
• Attend all mandatory in-service trainings as per NDYFS policy and DOH/OMH requirements
• Complete motivational interviewing training
• Participate in regular supervision (per New Directions policy and procedure)
• Maintain a flexible schedule based around client availability, including evenings
• Adhere to agency and department policies and procedures
• Agree to practice according to the Family Peer Advocate Code of Ethics.
• Perform all other duties as assigned by immediate supervisor

New Directions Youth & Family Services, Inc is an equal opportunity employer. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable persons with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Ability to work effectively with clients, families, staff and community contacts from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
• Ability to deal effectively with children/youth with behavioral, emotional and/or mental health challenges and their families.
• Ability to accept supervision and perform as part of a team.
• Ability to be flexible and adapt to change.
• Must have a valid driver’s license, and meet the criteria for driving set forth in the New Directions Driver’s License policy and Auto Insurance policy.
• Demonstrate ‘lived experience' as a parent or primary caregiver who has navigated multiple child serving systems on behalf of their child(ren) with substance use, social, emotional, developmental, health and/or behavioral healthcare needs ? Can provide two letters of reference attesting to proficiency in and suitability for the role of a Family Peer Recovery Advocate

High school diploma, high school equivalency preferred, or a State Education Commencement Credential (e.g., Family Peer Advocate (FPA) Credential.

We want to emphasize that the preferred qualifications are not required and that we are committed to helping our future colleagues develop these preferred skills.