Youth Partner (Remote NC)

***This is a time limited grant funded position with an anticipated assignment period thru September 29, 2028 .***

LOCATION:  Remote – must live in or near Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Person, Rockingham, and Stokes County, North Carolina. The person in this role must live in North Carolina or within 40 miles of the NC border. Travel is required for this position.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB

The Youth Partner for Vaya Health’s SAMHSA-funded Changing Systems Through Youth and Family Leadership project provides direct support to children and youth, aged 21 and younger, who are engaged in or at risk of needing behavioral health services and reside in Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Person, Rockingham, or Stokes counties. As someone with lived experience as the recipient of child/adolescent behavioral health services, a Youth Partner supports children and youth in navigating behavioral health systems in accordance with System of Care values and principles. A Youth Partner supports the inclusion of youth voice at the individual, community, and state levels through 1:1, community-based, and policy-level outreach, skill-building, and education. A Youth Partner, in collaboration with System of Care Family Partners, is responsible for the timely and accurate completion and submission of data collection tools to inform the SAMHSA projects goals and objectives. A Youth Partner works closely with System of Care Coordinators and Family Partners in grant counties to identify individual, community, and state-level strengths, gaps, goals, and opportunities to build and enhance youth involvement and inclusion in the behavioral health system, with the goal of improving child and youth behavioral health outcomes and wellbeing.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Youth Direct Support and Documentation:

The Youth Partner provides ongoing support to children and youth, including, but not limited to:

1. Accompanying children/youth to appointments, meetings, court hearings, and other relevant events, at the request of the child/youth, to provide advocacy, encouragement, and service navigation assistance. 
2. Assisting children/youth in understanding and connecting with services (e.g., evidence-based practices) based on individual need, including during periods of transition (e.g., placement; child to adult services).
3. Working in collaboration with CFT members, service providers, Natural Supports, and Vaya Health Complex Care Managers and other staff to best meet the needs of children/youth.
4. Linking children/youth to activities and organizations in their communities to support sustained community connection and engagement.
5. Engaging children/youth in activities designed to help them identify their Natural Support system and working with children/youth to develop and sustain those relationships.
6. Promoting respect, understanding, and elevation of children’s/youth’s beliefs around culture, ethnicity, religion, and gender, and recognizing the impact of these beliefs. 
7. Protecting the privacy and confidentiality of children/youth.

The Youth Partner utilizes strategies to provide and enhance leadership opportunities for children/youth involved in the behavioral health system, including, but not limited to:

1. Recruiting youth to participate on local Community Collaboratives and/or youth advisory councils or other youth-focused, community-based groups.
2. Linking children/youth with local youth advocacy organizations.
3. Advocating for and supporting the inclusion of youth in SOC-related policy-development workgroups and legislative processes at both local and state levels.
4. Linking youth to training opportunities related to SOC, behavioral health, leadership, and self-advocacy.

The Youth Partner is an active participant on child and adolescent Child and Family Teams (CFTs) and other service-oriented and transition-planning team meetings, supporting and enhancing the utilization of SOC values in child/youth care and service provision to ensure:

1. Children/youth are prepared in advance of CFT meetings, either by the Youth Partner or meeting facilitator, and know what to expect and who has been invited. 
2. Children/youth are encouraged to contribute to the meeting agenda and list of invitees.
3. Children/youth take an active role in CFT meetings, self-identify strengths, needs, and goals, and agree with all objectives and services proposed by the CFT.
4. Plans created by the CFT align with the child’s/youth’s culture, language, and values/beliefs.
5. Proposed services to meet child/youth needs are strength-based, flexible, individualized, and available in the child’s/youth’s home and community.
6. CFTs have balanced representation between the child’s/youth’s Natural Support system and community agencies and providers.
7. CFT members communicate using child/youth- and family-friendly language.
8. Interventions and services developed to meet child/youth plan goals involve both evidence-based practices and informal services from Natural Supports.
9. CFTs address issues, gaps, and concerns identified by the child/youth, adjusting proposed services as needed.

The Youth Partner documents contact with children/youth according to the documentation guidelines utilized by Vaya’s System of Care team.

Data Collection and Participation in Project Teams:

In partnership with Family Partners, the Youth Partner supports the project’s data collection objectives through timely completion of National Outcomes Measures (NOMS) and other required screening tools with children and youth, ensuring data is completed and submitted to the Evaluation Team to fidelity. To support these efforts, the Youth Partner completes all data training and consultation sessions as required.

In collaboration with System of Care Coordinators and Family Partners, the Youth Partner ensures that child/youth and family inclusion and leadership remain at the center of grant project implementation, evaluation, and sustainability. The Youth Partner serves actively on the project’s Project Implementation Team (PIT), Governance Board, “Tri-Care Teams” with Family Partners and SOC Coordinators, local child collaboratives, and the NC State Collaborative for Children, Youth, and Families. In these roles, the Youth Partner gives feedback and makes recommendations regarding potential strategies, interventions, system change initiatives, and policy change efforts centered around child/youth leadership and inclusion.

Train/Co-train/Coach SOC Stakeholders: 

The Youth Partner assists with or provides SOC-related trainings and coaching to children/youth, families, community members, and other stakeholders around youth-guided values and principals, Child and Family team best practices, and other strength-based processes that promote child/youth voice and choice. 

Professional Development: 

The Youth Partner will attend SOC-related conferences, complete the 11-hour Child and Family Teams 01 training, and engage in train-the-trainer opportunities as outlined in the grant project narrative and budget.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL & ABILITIES

• Excellent organizational & time management skills
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Proficient working knowledge of System of Care values and practices
• Proficient computer skills, including Microsoft Office
• Considerable knowledge of available community resources
• General knowledge of serious emotional disturbances in youth and the social, economic and environmental conditions of the communities, youth, and families served
• Skills in relating to youth and families served and appraising basic needs
• Exercises good judgment in decision-making and effectively solving problems
• Ability to share their personal story in meaningful and responsible ways to support youth
• Ability to form collaborative relationships with a diverse range of individuals
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and responsibilities
• Ability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries in interpersonal work, seeking consultation with supervisor and other team members as needed

QUALIFICATIONS & EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

High school diploma or GED is required. 

• Personal/lived experience with child/adolescent behavioral health services and mental health supports.
• At least one (1) year of experience in the workforce.

Licensure/Certification Requirements:

Within twelve (12) months of employment with Vaya Health, Family Partner will complete System of Care: An Introduction to Child and Family Team - A Cross System Training from the Family’s Perspective and other trainings required by NC DMH/DD/SAS.

MENTAL/PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Close visual acuity to perform activities such as preparation and analysis of documents; viewing a computer terminal; and extensive reading. 
• Physical activity in this position includes crouching, reaching, walking, talking, hearing and repetitive motion of hands, wrists and fingers. 
• Sedentary work with lifting requirements up to 10 pounds, sitting for extended periods of time.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT:  The person in this position is required to reside in North Carolina or within 40 miles of the North Carolina border.

SALARY: Depending on qualifications & experience of candidate. This position is non-exempt and is eligible for overtime compensation. 

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: Open Until Filled

APPLY: Vaya Health accepts online applications in our Career Center, please visit https://www.vayahealth.com/about/careers/.

Vaya Health is an equal opportunity employer.