Youth Advocate

At The New York Foundling, we trust in the power and potential of people, and we deliberately invest in proven practices. From bold beginnings in 1869, our New York-based nonprofit has supported hundreds of thousands of our neighbors on their own paths to stability, strength, and independence.  We help children and families navigate through and beyond foster care. We help families struggling with conflict and poverty grow strong. We help individuals with developmental disabilities live their best lives, and we help our neighbors access quality health and mental health services—core to building lifelong resilience and wellbeing. Together, our interrelated programs provide a whole-person, whole-family, and whole-life approach that unlocks solutions for a lifetime.

The Youth Care Advocate works directly with the youth in foster care to provide advocacy and support towards the goal of achieving permanency. The Youth Care Advocate will work in collaboration with the Case Planning team, Program Coordinator, Residence Manager, Lead Youth and Childcare Specialists (YCCS) and YCCS.

• Serve as advocate for the youth with service providers and community resources to facilitate meeting their service needs and permanency goals.

• Use motivational interviewing techniques to encourage youth in foster care, as well as engage with parents, foster parents, and Youth and Child Care Specialist, in order to support the youth in achieving permanency.
• Review and explain programmatic paperwork/documentation provided to the youth upon arrival to the program and throughout the duration of the youth's stay in the program to ensure that the youth is aware of their rights in foster care, expectations of the program as well as case progression.
• Assist in developing safety plans and utilize crisis intervention skills to deescalate conflicts in a trauma-informed approach to teach the youth in utilizing appropriate coping skills.
• Build and sustain a network of substance abuse treatment programs, mental health providers, recovery programs, parenting classes, and other support services. This network aims to empower youth by providing them with the resources, knowledge, and support needed to safely progress towards achieving permanency.
• Reach out to absent or difficult-to-reach family members and youth on trial discharge, serving as a resource for referrals to community services and ensuring ongoing support and continuity of care.
• Take an active role in clinical interdisciplinary team meetings to promote collaboration across departments, ensuring that youth receive high-quality services.
• Participate in obligatory evidence based model trainings such as EQ2 and Power Source Parenting as well as Therapeutic Crisis Intervention and RISE to enhance program services provided to the youth in foster care.

The New York Foundling is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse employee population, the Foundling will honor your experiences, perspectives and unique identity. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable and welcoming.