LGBTQIA+ Youth Advocate

Overview

AGENCY OVERVIEW

Since our founding in 1895 in Marin County as an orphanage – and through subsequent years as Sunny Hills Services – Side by Side has been at the forefront of best practices in child welfare, working with the most vulnerable youth in our community. Today, Side by Side operates in four counties – Marin, Alameda, Sonoma, and Napa – across the Bay Area, reaching nearly 2,000 children, young adults, and family members per year with much-needed services related to behavioral and mental health, early intervention in schools.

Side By Side places high value on individuals with a passion for helping underserved youth and families in a collaborative and inclusive work culture. We strive to work together to create a trauma-informed workplace where we walk the walk of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging principles.

This position has an hourly rate of pay between $21.00 to $24.00 based on experience.

• 3 weeks of paid vacation for F/T employees increasing to 4 weeks of vacation after 2 years of service (for all non-school based employees).
• 2 weeks of sick leave for F/T employees with 2 additional sick days for direct service staff
• 10 paid holidays per year and 1 Self-Care Anniversary Day each year
• 99% employer-paid Medical for F/T employees including platinum level Kaiser Permanente insurance, Sutter Health or Anthem options
• Dental and Vision Insurance
• Long Term Disability insurance up to $9,000 per month, plus $50,000 Life and AD&D insurance. Employees also have the option to purchase additional life insurance at their own cost.
• 403b Retirement Plan with agency match after one year of employment
• Professional development and other learning opportunities including unlimited access to over 1,000 behavioral health courses online. Side By Side is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness certified employer
• FREE Employee Assistance Program including up to 10 complimentary personal counseling sessions per problem, per year for staff and dependents
• Employee recognition program with $500 bonus awards
• Employee referral bonus of up to $1,000
• Pet Insurance

The Youth Acceptance Collaborative (YAC) is a partnership between Our Space (Side by Sides community center for LGBTQ youth), Family Builders by Adoption and Alameda County Social Services. The YAC provides a continuum of services towards the prevention of some LGBTQ youth from entering the child welfare system, and the transition of others from placement to family-based permanency.

The role of the Youth Advocate is to provide support services to LGBTQ youth ages age 13 up to 24 who are in foster care or at-risk of entering foster care. The Youth Advocate may, at times, serve youth younger than 14, or older than 21 at the discretion of their supervisor. Support services will be focused on placement stabilization and may include weekly, individual support meetings with youth;

facilitation of a weekly support group for LGBTQ foster youth; collaboration and case consultation with Social Services staff, Family Builders and community partners; assessment and support of clients’ permanency needs; and referral and linkage services. The Youth Advocate will work closely with staff at the Alameda County Assessment Center to provide crisis intervention and stabilization services; build rapport and trust with LGBTQ youth;

and decrease barriers to LGBTQ youth receiving services, education and community resources. The Youth Advocate will also work closely with the Family Advocate from Family Builders to provide placement stabilization and clinical family support. This position requires a high level of independent decision making as 60 – 75% of the Youth Advocate’s time will be spent in the field providing community-based support services to youth referred to the YAC.

When not in the field, the Youth Advocate will maintain a physical presence in the milieu at Our Space to create a continuity of services for LGBTQ youth who have had contact with the Assessment Center, and at the Assessment Center to develop rapport and provide support to Social Services placement workers as needed. Critical to this position is the ability to create and…