Youth Specialist - Youth Haven

About the role

Are you looking for a job where you can make a positive impact on the lives of young people? Do you want to join a community that celebrates diverse voices, values collaboration, and measures success by the lives that are touched and the futures that are shaped? Join the team at Friends of Youth where it’s all about making a meaningful difference for the youth in our community while building a successful and rewarding career.

Responsibilities

• Providing a safe and stable environment for youth ages 7-17 at our Youth Shelter, utilizing a trauma-informed approach.
• Supervising on-site activities and outings in the community (Yes, we go on field trips!).
• Providing transportation to meet medical, educational, and legal needs of our clients.
• Modeling and teaching healthy communication and daily living skills.
• Encouraging and motivating youths’ interests to identify and work to achieve personal goals.
• Maintain a safe living environment.
• Model and teach self-regulation.
• Promote a sense of community and safety.
• Support conflict resolution skills.
• Utilize preventative floor management techniques to address challenging behaviors.
• Encourage family involvement and provide support as appropriate.
• Listen to and address individual concerns.
• Provide personal attention.
• Support the growth and development of independent living skills.
• Respect confidentiality.
• Build positive relationships with youths.
• Interact with empathy and without judgement.
• Plan, supervise and support tasks that promote mental, physical, and social health.
• Ensure the safe storage of medications and dispense as prescribed and instructed.
• Assist with homework, work attainment, goal setting and achievement.
• Prepare meals and snacks.
• Design and facilitate scheduled groups and activities as requested.
• Transport youths to appointments and outings as assigned.
• Stay in close contact to maintain awareness of the whereabouts of the youths.
• Monitor health and other behaviors.
• Report any concerns regarding abuse, exploitation and/or neglect to the Supervisor and subsequently to Child Protective Services.
• Assist in training volunteers, interns, and relief employees under the guidance of the Supervisor.
• Attend and positively contribute to weekly team meetings.
• Attend professional training for continuous knowledge and growth.
• Model positive and healthy behaviors.
• Objectively document behavioral events.
• Maintain daily communication logs.
• Record medication and fund disbursements.
• Complete incident reports as per agency policy.
• Complete other reports as requested by a supervisor.
• Provide consistent communication and support with daily accurate documentation for reports.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or General Education Diploma (GED).
• Bachelor’s degree in a human-service field preferred.
• Minimum of 6 months of full-time experience, providing direct service to youth in a work or volunteer capacity.
• Experience working with youth who are homeless and/or involved in the foster care system.
• Experience working with immigrant and refugee youth is preferred.
• Must be 21 years or older.
• Must satisfactorily pass criminal history check.
• Must satisfactorily pass tuberculosis (TB) test.
• Must have