Organization Overview

United Friends of the Children empowers current and former foster youth on their journey to self-sufficiency through service-enriched education and housing programs, advocacy, and consistent relationships with a community of people who care.

Founded over 40 years ago, United Friends’ is a leading provider of youth development services to current and former foster youth in Los Angeles County. Through its housing and education programs, the organization has helped thousands of young people imagine and actualize their own dreams and futures. All programs are grounded in a relational model. At United Friends, youth build long-lasting, developmental relationships between young people and caring adults, as well as connections to nourishing peer and community support systems. Around those relationships, United Friends wraps an array of supportive services to help youth successfully transition to adulthood. Operating 11 housing sites around the county, United Friends’ housing program provides current and former foster youth with a stable place to live and targeted services that promote their long-term economic stability and wellness. Serving students from the sixth grade through college competition, United Friends’ education program reverses abysmal educational outcomes for foster youth by ensuring they graduate from high school and college. As a result of services, United Friends alumni have greater housing and economic stability, higher educational attainment and a stronger sense of community and emotional wellbeing.

Position Overview

United Friends of the Children’s Pathways Housing Programs provides residents, ages 18-24, with housing and support services as they seek to obtain stable and secure housing and employment. Reporting to the Community Manager, the Advocacy Counselor (AC) carries a caseload of up to (15) 18–24-year-old former foster youth. The AC’s primary objectives are to build meaningful relationships with youth and other Advocacy Counselor Team members that help them reach their educational, career, and personal goals, and to assist with program development.

United Friends currently implements a hybrid work environment – schedule is determined at the discretion of management and the needs of the program and/or agency. This position will work full-time hours, Monday-Friday. Weekend and evening support may be required, on occasion. The Advocacy Counselor will work primarily from the Whittier housing cluster sites. The Advocacy Counselor will work four days per week at the housing site and work remotely one day per week. Minimal travel between United Friends’ housing sites across Los Angeles County is required.

Duties and responsibilities

Case Management

· Support and guide the residents while maintaining an advisory relationship based on trust and respect.

· Promote personal growth, independence, responsibility, and accountability among the residents in the housing program and inspire them to reach their full potential.

· Work with assigned residents to develop a thorough and individualized case plan within the required time frame.

· Meet one-on-one with residents on caseload on a weekly basis to discuss goals related to housing, career, education, mental/physical health, and basic life skills including budgeting and finance.

· Facilitate the move-in procedure including completing paperwork and coordinating with Property Management regarding apartment readiness.

· Utilize Community Model Approach to ensure that AC’s assigned residents are maintaining their housing units in accordance with program rules.

· Conduct needs assessments, coordinate resource referrals and connect youth to services through effective case management.

· Give regular feedback to residents regarding their progress with respect to their case plan.

· Monitor residents’ adherence to program rules and institute and enforce improvement plans where necessary.

· Provide crisis intervention assistance and personal counselling as needed.

· Attend and facilitate community building activities in order establish and maintaining relationships with Pathways youth.

· Engage in weekly 1:1 supervision and team meetings to discuss case planning, progress with residents and any problematic cases.

· Participate in Life Skills classes regularly.

· Guide residents through the transition from the program assisting them with developing a proper exit plan into a permanent/stable housing situation.

Documentation and Outcomes

· Track and document all service efforts made on behalf of youth in United Friends’ database within a week of each effort’s occurrence.

· Continually expand and update professional and technical knowledge within the housing, mental health, education, foster care, and case management fields.

· Using a strengths-based and solutions-focused approach, track youths’ progress towards achievement of Positive Youth Development and work with the Pathways Team to develop interventions for youth as challenges arise.

· Analyze caseload outcomes and trends and work with Pathways team to improve program model and service delivery.

Other

· Other duties as assigned.

General United Friends Responsibilities

· Act as a role model within the organization to uphold and implement United Friends’ organizational values:

o Embrace program evaluation that leads to excellence and impact

o Build effective and empowering partnerships with the youth, community, and each other

o Create a fun and exciting environment that inspires learning and innovation

o Communicate openly, honestly and with humility across all groups

o Work together as one organization

Required Qualifications

● MSW, MFT, or related Master’s level degree

● 3+ years post-graduate case management experience with a similar population in a relevant setting

● Strong leadership, problem-solving and crisis intervention skills.

● Excellent knowledge of substance abuse and mental health issues

● Ability to work well both independently and collaboratively as a member of a multi-disciplinary service team

● Conveys thoughts and ideas clearly, listens well, communicates in a solution-oriented manner, and incorporates others’ views into work

● An understanding of and sensitivity to issues concerning former foster care youth

● Establishes and cultivates respectful relationships with people from diverse backgrounds

● Holds self-accountable, sets high expectations for self and others, and relates tasks to organizational values

● Passionate about United Friends’ mission

● Must have valid California Driver’s License and an insured and reliable vehicle

Preferred Qualifications

• Oral and written fluency in Spanish
• Clinical licensure

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $64,480.00 - $68,635.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift

COVID-19 considerations:
We do have a COVID-19 Safety Plan in place.

Education:

• Master's (Preferred)

Work Location: In person

Please Note :
caminobluff.com is the go-to platform for job seekers looking for the best job postings from around the web. With a focus on quality, the platform guarantees that all job postings are from reliable sources and are up-to-date. It also offers a variety of tools to help users find the perfect job for them, such as searching by location and filtering by industry. Furthermore, caminobluff.com provides helpful resources like resume tips and career advice to give job seekers an edge in their search. With its commitment to quality and user-friendliness, Site.com is the ideal place to find your next job.