Youth Support Worker - Seven Hills Foundation

Overview

YOU Inc is looking for Youth Support Workers to join our home-based team! Our Youth Support staff work as a member of our Support and Stabilization team to provide home and community-based support, skill building, and case management for youth involved with the Department of Children and Families.

Responsibilities

· Work one on one with youth in the community to build social skills, transition to adulthood skills, mental health coping skills, navigate family challenges, and build overall resiliency.· Have the capacity and skills to work with youth of various ages that have an increased need for support (youth with mental health challenges, family conflict, trauma, educational needs)· Assist youth who are transitioning into adulthood with setting goals for work/career/education.· Travel within several towns areas within Central Massachusetts to provide in home and community-based activities, as well as meetings at the Department of Children and families and other local agencies.· Complete a needs assessment and treatment planning that is individualized to meet the youth’s needs· Assess the need for long term supportive services, and assist youth with obtaining referrals.· Initiate referrals to therapeutic services including substance use treatment, domestic violence services, psychiatric treatment, and long-term mental health services.· Maintain close collaboration with other service providers to support coordination of care.· Provide crisis intervention management and ongoing safety planning.· Attend regularly scheduled meetings with DCF to collaborate on treatment planning and assure progress is being met with family goals.· Provide on-going supportive and/ or case management according to needs that have been identified in the treatment plan to assts the youth with meeting their goals.· Document all services and collateral contact made on a timely basis and maintains the electronic health record in accordance with the agency standards.

Qualifications

· BA/BS/BSW degree in psychology/social work/criminal justice or other human service degree required.· At least two years of experience working with youth and families preferred.· Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation required.· Strong knowledge in child/youth mental health, family systems theory/practice, behavior management and practical experience with youth and families preferred.· Bilingual (English/Spanish) and/or bi-cultural background and/or skills preferable.

· Must be able to perform sedentary aspects of position, including, but not limited to desk and computer work, typing, driving to meetings and trainings, as well as driving/transporting clients as necessary.· Must also be able to perform therapeutic activities with children and families.· Must be able to perform the duties listed above, with or without a reasonable accommodation.· Employee may be required to intervene in order to de-escalate and/or provide safety of clients using techniques as trained and approved by YOU, Inc, and appropriate to community and home-based settings. Employee needs to complete the agency’s human service worker safety and/or home-based worker safety training.