Advocate Supervisor-Older Youth Specialist

Advocate Supervisor-Older Youth Specialist

Deadline for Applying: May 12th, 2022

The Advocate Supervisor-Older Youth Specialist works in partnership with existing Advocate
Supervisors and Program Director to elevate the voice of children involved in the Dependency Court and Juvenile Justice Court systems. Special attention and understanding of the local community, diverse cultures and backgrounds required. The Advocate Supervisor-Older Youth Specialist
supervises volunteers providing support to youth ages 12-21 involved with the foster care and/or juvenile justice systems. This position manages relationships with key partners to improve outcomes for CASA assigned to youth in foster care and/or under Court ordered probation. We encourage people with experience and/or involvement in child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, or criminal justice systems to apply. We also have hope to expand our workforce to include people of color, specifically Latinx and bilingual in Spanish and English. This position reports to the CASA
Program Director and is part of a larger team of CASA staff. This position requires remote and office work, and a high percentage of computer use.

1. Advocate Supervisor and Juvenile Justice Specialist Responsibilities

• Stay informed about the most effective practices and resources to support youth on probation
• Attend probation, supervisor, and manager’s meetings
• Support all Advocates and Advocate Supervisors serving Juvenile Justice youth as well as youth in foster care ages 12-21.
• Coordinate with Department of Juvenile Probation to match Advocates with youth with the goal of youth completing terms of their probation, improving school attendance, and increasing their self-efficacy
• Monitor and attend team meetings as needed, and absence of assigned Advocate
• Facilitate in-service training specifically for Advocates serving older youth, young adults, and juvenile justice involved youth.
• Collaborate with the Independent Living Program (ILP) Coordinators; locate and distribute information about college, job, vocation, housing, and career resources
• Maintain relationships with higher education institutions (i.e., Cabrillo, UCSC, and CSUMB

Foster Youth support programs) and County Office of Education alternative education programs

• Track data/statistics and metrics for youth outcomes

2. Supervision of Advocates’ cases

• Exercise discretion and independent judgment to assist Advocates in creative problem solving, utilizing CASA and community resources to ensure accuracy and consistency with permanency planning and best practices
• Maintain a minimum of once a month contact with each assigned Advocate
• Assist Advocates in formulating and implementing the Advocacy Plans, support Advocates with documentation, required data collection, court reports and court appearances
• Facilitate relationships between professionals, service providers and Advocates
• Learn and understand the National CASA and Judicial Council guidelines, CASA MOU between Courts, Family and Children’s Services and Department of Juvenile Probation
• Update CASA database with youth and Advocate case information
• Perform Annual Reviews and End of Case interview with Advocates at case dismissal

3. Work with Program Team: Assign Advocates to cases

• Confer with referring and other interested parties regarding the status of waitlist cases
• Coordinate with CASA Waitlist Manager and other Supervisors to determine new

Advocates’ readiness and matching of cases

• Participate in contacting new and experienced Advocates without an assigned youth and matching new assignments in collaboration with CASA Waitlist Manager

4. Other Duties

• Participate in Advocates’ in-services, training and monthly CASA to CASA meetings as needed (some evenings and weekends required)
• Gather and report on data for program evaluation and grant reporting as assigned
• Participate in CASA’s community engagement and children’s events
• Complete a minimum of 12 hours of Continuing Education annually

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Lived and/or work experience in justice, child welfare, mental health, social work, education, child advocacy or related field
• Understand the impact of trauma on families and children
• Daily use of laptop and computers necessary; competent in Microsoft Word, Excel, use of

Microsoft Teams, Zoom, virtual meetings, and internet searches

• Knowledge of local community and ability to research cultural events and resources within the greater Santa Cruz County area, and specifically, youth and family friendly resources
• Good oral communication skills and attention to detail in written communication
• Ability to develop and further working relationships with all partner agencies
• Flexible hours, some evening and weekend work, mostly Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. hours
• Demonstrate respect of all people regardless of socioeconomic background, culture, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or gender
• Have reliable transportation and be willing to travel throughout Santa Cruz County
• Bilingual English and Spanish welcome

Desired Skills

• Comprehensive knowledge of Juvenile Justice system
• Commitment to DEI
• Commitment to addressing the root causes of children and youth becoming justice involved.
• Proven ability to coach others and role model advocacy for volunteers supporting youth
• Case management experience

Demonstrate Ability To:

• Communicate the mission and goals of CASA of Santa Cruz and demonstrate empathy, self-awareness, and good listening skills.
• Establish and maintain effective, collaborative working relationships with staff, volunteers, the courts, child welfare and the community
• Discretion, tact, and good judgment in dealing with sensitive matters
• Have a deep commitment to social, racial, and economic justice with experience in case management or youth development and a passion for collaborating with a team of people to support the success of youth involved in Juvenile Court systems
• Cultural Humility: Demonstrate the values of diversity and inclusion; encourage an environment that facilitates more diverse, equitable and inclusive spaces.
• Understand how to maintain confidentiality

Special conditions of employment: Ability to satisfactorily clear FBI and DOJ criminal Justice background check, CACI, SSN and DMV screening.
Full time: 40 hours/week
Benefits: Paid medical, dental, and vision; 23 days paid time off accrued annually plus 12 paid holidays, and after one year of employment all staff are eligible to participate in a 403(b)-retirement plan that is currently held with Vanguard.
Salary: Start salary at $30.33/hour commensurate with work and lived experience

TO APPLY: Deadline May 12, 2022

Email an updated resume, three reference names/contacts, and a brief letter summarizing your qualification and your interest in this position to: ASposition at casaofsantacruz.org

CASA of Santa Cruz County is an Equal Opportunity Employer: At CASA of Santa Cruz, we embrace a diversity of identities, beliefs, thoughts, and experiences. We commit to creating an organizational culture of equity and inclusion to better serve our youth and communities. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex/gender, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state, or local laws. We encourage people with experience and/or involvement in the

dependency, juvenile justice, mental health, or criminal justice systems; and people of color and

Latinx; people who identify as LGBTQ to join our team.

COVID-19 Policy at CASA of Santa Cruz: We are committed to the safety of our employees, children, and families we serve, and all others who enter our workplace. While COVID-19 poses a threat to the health and well-being of all individuals, vaccinations can significantly reduce that threat and help protect our workplace as well as our community and CASA supports vaccines whenever possible.
Masks are currently worn inside the CASA office and while engaging with children, volunteers, and partners indoors. COVID-19 vaccination is required for all staff. CASA may allow staff to apply for exemptions based on medical history. However, this must be approved through CASA’s Human
Resource Department in advance of hiring. CASA would allow accommodation for unvaccinated employees to perform their essential job functions so long as it does not impose either a direct threat to the health and safety of the workplace and employees, or an undue hardship on the organization.

813 Freedom Boulevard- Watsonville, CA 95076 - 831.761.2956 – www.casaofsantacruz.org

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: From $30.33 per hour

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Parental leave
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday
• Weekend availability

Work Location: One location