Advocacy Counselor (Clinical Case Manager)

Organization Overview

United Friends of the Children empowers current and former foster/justice involved youth on their journey to self-sufficiency through service-enriched 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. United Friends’ programs focus on commitment, trauma-informed care, and empowerment by prioritizing a whole-person-development approach. Through a Social Justice Positive Youth Development (SJPYD) model, we center building relationships with youth over an extended period to achieve greater outcomes. Around those relationships, United Friends wraps an array of supportive services to help youth successfully transition to adulthood. 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

Pathways is a low-barrier to entry housing program that provides intensive case management and support services to transitional aged-youth (TAY), ages 18-24. The Pathways program utilizes the Housing First Approach in which, assertive engagement with our youth is essential to ensure youth are aware of and participate in a myriad of resources and supportive services offered by the program. The Advocacy Counselor (AC) manages a caseload of up to 15 youth and provides housing-focused case management centered on increasing skills, removing barriers to their goals, and successfully obtaining an education plan, employment, and stable housing. The AC provides life skills trainings, linkages to community resources, and builds meaningful relationships with youth to foster self-sufficiency into adulthood.

The ideal candidate will have a keen understanding of best practice service models, such as trauma-informed care, harm reduction, and social justice positive youth development. Specific knowledge related to transitional aged youth experiencing housing instability is a plus.

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. The Advocacy Counselor is a part of the after-hours rotation schedule where they are required to respond to youth related crises and emergencies. As needed, the Advocacy Counselor should be able to respond to an onsite emergency within an hour. The Advocacy Counselor will work primarily from the Whittier housing sites. The Advocacy Counselor will work four days per week at the housing site(s) and may work remotely one day per week upon approval. Travel between United Friends’ housing sites across Los Angeles County is required.

Duties and responsibilities

Case Management

• Utilize motivational interviewing and harm reduction approaches to promote follow-through with preventive care and treatment of conditions, such as substance use, mental health symptoms, and high-risk behavior.
• Assess youth cases through biopsychosocial evaluations and assessments to determine case management needs and goals related to mental health support or high-risk behavior and provide referrals to appropriate treatment or services.
• Create comprehensive individual case plans for youth tailored to their needs and goals towards education, employment, wellbeing, and stable housing.
• Provide intensive case management that includes identifying and removing existing or potential barriers and linking youth to relevant community resources.
• Establish quality rapport that increases levels of program engagement to provide excellent services and support.
• Develop a robust transition plan to thoroughly guide and support youth into stable housing.
• Coordinate weekly meetings to provide coaching and guidance on case plan goals related to housing, employment, education, wellness, and life skills.
• Evaluate ongoing information and assessments to ensure youth safety, wellbeing, and progress towards case plan goals and condition of their living environment.
• Coordinate and facilitate tasks related to apartment and program readiness for youth move-ins and exits.
• Lead care coordination meetings with youth and their care team related to their progress and needs in program as well as directly addressing program violations or concerns.
• Monitor site safety and cleanliness, including conducting thorough unit inspections.
• De-escalate conflict that may include incidents involving community violence, domestic violence, or suicide ideation.
• Provide crisis intervention and restorative justice techniques to reduce harm, support youth through incidents, and complete appropriate safety measures, such as safety plans and incident reports.

Workshop and Events

• Coordinate and facilitate monthly groups or workshops for youth that support life skills which increase self-sufficiency toward independent living and responsible adulthood.
• Attend community building activities, life skills workshops, and events for youth.
• Build community by encouraging youth participation to attend workshops and events.

Documentation and Administrative Duties

• Meet all due dates for data entry and documentation requirements.
• Document all service efforts on Apricot and the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) within the required timeframes.
• Track youth progress towards goals and required outcomes.
• Analyze outcome data to improve service delivery.
• Attend agency required trainings and expand knowledge of services relevant to our population.
• Accurate and timely submission of all agency required documentation and procedures (e.g. mileage, payment request, reimbursement documents, etc.).

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:
  • Embrace program evaluation that leads to excellence and impact
  • Build effective and empowering partnerships with the youth, community, and each other
  • Create a fun and exciting environment that inspires learning and innovation
  • Communicate openly, honestly and with humility across all groups
  • Work together as one organization

• Staff hold a commitment to:
  • A culturally responsive Trauma-Informed Approach to our population and client centered advocacy
  • Strong knowledge of the communities served and centralize this cultural understanding into the work.
  • Support in Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)
  • Evaluating the completeness, accuracy and relevance of data to determine information value and improve client services.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in social work, psychology, counseling, or equivalent preferred with 1-2 years of experience, or B.A. in a relevant field with 3 or more years of experience
• Experience providing direct services to high-risk population or youth experiencing homelessness preferred.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Highly motivated to engage in problem-solving and research innovative solutions.
• Ability to provide crisis management and de-escalation techniques.
• An ability to work in a fast-paced environment that requires effective collaboration with a multi-disciplinary service team and to work independently.
• High level of accountability and responsibility for role expectations.
• Trauma-informed and client-centered advocacy
• Understand the communities served and centralize this cultural understanding into the work
• Passionate about United Friends’ mission and values.
• Must have a valid California Driver’s License and an insured and reliable vehicle.

Preferred Qualifications

• Oral and written fluency in Spanish