Family Advocate

Description

POSITION TITLE: Family Advocate

MMEDIATE SUPERVISOR: Denver Collaborative Partnership Program Coordinator

The Denver Collaborative Partnership is Denver County's Collaborative Management Program. We work with children, youth and families and assist them in navigating complex systems such as Child Welfare, Juvenile Probation, Diversion, Mental Health and the School System. We work with local partner agencies such as Denver Human Services, Denver Juvenile Probation, Denver Public Schools and many others to connect families to resources and services to families that are multi-system involved or at risk of multi-system or further system involvement.

The DCP team values family voice and collaboration with our team members and amongst partner agencies. We strive to keep up with best practice and promote family engagement and data informed processes.

SALARY:

$44,000- $48,000 based on experience

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide peer support and assistance with system navigation to families involved in multiple systems in the City and County of Denver.
• Assist parents with meeting basic needs of family such as healthcare, housing, food, etc.
• Participate in Multi-disciplinary staffing teams/Family Engagement Meetings
• Attend Court and other meetings as needed with families
• Assist parents with identification and connection to community-based resources
• Assist parents in finding or learning necessary skills for sustainability
• Conduct home/community visits as necessary to follow up on progress and/or to make contact when other means of communication are not effective
• Assist parents with scheduling/attending necessary appointments
• Empower and encourage families to actively participate in their treatment plans and program to obtain self sufficiency without system involvement
• Monitor and support youth and family progress
• Maintain client files and records by documenting in the database
• Mandated reporter of abuse and neglect to Department of Human Services
• Provide case coordination for families

QUALITIES

• Prior experience working with at-risk youth and their families in a community based setting
• Experience as a parent or caregiver of a child/youth with mental health or co-occurring disorder and has worked with multiple agencies/providers including the following systems:
• Juvenile Justice (Probation, Diversion, Municipal)
• Child Welfare
• Education
• Mental/Physical Health
• Courts
• Developmental Disabilities
• Knowledge of and become knowledgeable of community-based resources for youth and families
• Adaptable to change in the workplace and use change as an opportunity for innovation and creativity
• Job knowledge and skills to perform fundamental job functions and is able and willing to assume great responsibility over time regarding the scope of work
• Ability to listen, respect and collaborate with other people from culturally, ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds, inclusive of peers, co-workers, children and families with physical, developmental and mental challenges while maintaining a non-judgmental attitude toward youth, families and professionals.
• Ability to be flexible and respond well to crisis
• Willingness to be an objective and balanced team member when working in the best interest of families

DATABASE MANAGEMENT

• Some knowledge of database systems and experience with data input
• Participate in collaboration with database consultants

*All job descriptions are subject to change at management discretion.

Requirements

21 years of age

Good driving record

Basic skills in Microsoft Office Suite

Basic comfort level with learning software

Good communication skills, verbal and written

Bilingual Preferred

Pass drug screen