Staten Island Family Services Center (1 Edgewater St)

$40,000 - $48,000

Position Summary: This position will provide Parent Support and Advocacy for Children's Aid's caseplanning units. Parent Advocate will provide concrete support to parents as they engage with the agency to plan for their children in foster care. The Parent Advocate may participate in Family Team Conferences, Case Planning Meetings, Interdisciplinary Treatment Team Meetings, Family Visits and/or accompany parents to appointments. Parent advocates will be assigned to a caseplanning unit and report to the unit supervisor in one of four agency foster care offices.

Responsibilities:

• Meet with parents at or near the time of Intake to Foster Care and act as a credible messenger of hope for parents planning for their children
• Participate in case planning meetings or family team conferences and ITT meetings as a support to parents, providing insight, clarification and emotional regulation to parents to make meetings more effective and planning more successful.
• Meet with families during Family Time (Family Visiting) as a support to encourage visits and to help parents problem solve obstacles to healthy effective time with their children.
• Accompany parents to service providers such as drug treatment, housing, mental health programs or court as a source of encouragement and support and helping parents to overcome ambivalence about starting new programming
• Coordinate with the members of the foster care teams to plan activities with parents and to outline efforts to move families to discharge more quickly.
• Other duties as necessary.

Qualifications:

• Experience as a parent whose children were in foster care, must be beyond services not less than 2 years.
• Experience in parent advocate training through ACS, RISE, CWOP or another agency a plus.
• Bilingual (Spanish/English) a plus.
• Willing to learn and practice engagement skills with families
• Flexibility and ability to work with families in their communities.
• Ability to maintain healthy boundaries and confidentiality
• Computer literate a plus.