Family Peer Advocate (Allegany County, NY)

AspireHope NY, Inc. has an immediate opening for a Family Peer Advocate in Allegany County, NY. Job Title: Family Peer Advocate Title Description: Family Peer Advocates have 'lived-experience' as the parent or legal guardian of a child/youth with an emotional, behavioral, social, and/or developmental disabilities. Utilize your valuable lived experiences to help other families while working part-time in a strength based atmosphere. Opportunity to earn your Professional Family Peer Credential as well as additional opportunities for trainings in personal skill development. Purpose of the position - The Family Peer Advocate provides outreach, information, referrals, and advocacy services, and helps to coordinate family support services for families of children & youth. Under general supervision, the Family Peer Advocate functions as both advocate and deliverer of services. They foster effective parent-professional partnership and promote the practice of family-driven and youth-guided approaches. Overview of responsibilities Provide emotional support to families through phone and face to face meetings. Meet program specific billable service requirements (as appropriate). Meet documentation requirements in a timely manner per program guidelines. Provide family support as needed. Coach families on how to advocate for themselves. Facilitate/co-facilitate meetings with families in their home or at an agency location. Help families find ways to meet their basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, safety, and health. Assist families in identifying parenting skills which could be strengthened, and model these skills to the families Supervision : Reports directly to Family Services Coordinator Requirements: You MUST have personal 'lived-experience' as the parent or primary legal caregiver of a child/youth with an emotional, behavioral, social, and/or developmental disabilities . Must have reliable transportation, flexible schedule, home internet and home office space. Must demonstrate sensitivity and respect for diverse cultural backgrounds and practices of families and be committed to supporting and empowering advocacy. Experience navigating multiple child-serving systems. Must be eligible for Provisional Family Peer Advocate credential, and complete Professional Credential after 1000 hours of employment. Must maintain and re-certify for credential. High School Diploma or equivalent Ability to work some evenings and weekends. Must pass all criminal history background checks Bi-lingual in Spanish a plus. Salary and benefits associated with this position Job Type: This is a part time (20 hours) position. Hours are flexible and it varies but will typically be Monday-Friday between 9am - 9pm. Occasional weekends may be needed. Salary: starting hourly pay rate $16.86 & $17.36 after Professional Credentialing Mileage reimbursement. Paid time off Only those candidates selected for interview will be contacted.