You Gotta Believe (YGB) is a New York City-based, national organization specializing in finding permanent families for young adults, teens, and pre-teens in foster care. YGB focuses exclusively on preventing youth from aging out of foster care without family; thus reducing the risk of homelessness, incarceration, and poverty due to a lack of stable connections. Founded in 1995, YGB achieves this mission by collaborating with foster care organizations to recruit, match, and provide indefinite, comprehensive support to adoptive foster parents and youth.
The Permanency Advocate amplifies the You Gotta Believe (YGB) mission through outreach, training, advocacy, and support initiatives. They provide comprehensive support and assistance to youth served by YGB. Working collaboratively with all You Gotta Believe staff, the Permanency Advocates represent You Gotta Believe (YGB) with enthusiasm, integrity, and a deep appreciation for its values, mission, and impact. The Organization’s primary goal is to ensure that every youth in our program has the opportunity to establish a stable and lasting connection with a supportive and loving family to prevent them from aging out of the child welfare system alone.
Lived Experience in Child Welfare System
We strongly encourage applications from individuals with lived experience in the child welfare, foster care, or adoption systems. Your insight and understanding of the challenges, needs, and strengths of youth and families navigating these systems are invaluable in shaping our work and building trust with those we serve.
Sharing your personal experiences can be a powerful tool to connect with young people, inspire hope, and inform strategies that are truly youth-centered. At the same time, we recognize that revisiting certain experiences can sometimes evoke difficult emotions, especially if past trauma has not been fully processed.
Before applying, we encourage candidates to reflect on their own readiness to share and engage with these experiences in a professional setting. We are committed to providing a supportive environment to help ensure that your voice and story can be shared in ways that are healthy for you and impactful for our community.
Specifically, the Permanency Advocate role encompasses the following responsibilities:
- Facilitate individualized and group permanency engagement and services with youth residing in YGB contracted agencies. Collaborate with YGB Family Recruiter to expand family connections and help youth achieve moral adoption.
- Support youth morally adopted by YGB families. Collaborate with YGB Case Planner to assist in integration and address individual needs to ensure their well-being.
- Contribute to the recruitment, preparation, and retention of foster and adoptive parents. Participate in MAPP (Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting) classes and co-facilitate discussions by strategically sharing personal experiences about child welfare to raise awareness about the importance of unconditional commitment from parents to youth in care.
- Develop and facilitate permanency-based curriculum for youth, prospective parents, families, and child welfare professionals.
- Raise awareness about the child welfare system and youths’ permanency needs through conferences, and public engagements locally, state and nationally; traveling out of NYC as needed.
- Document information using various systems of records to contribute to YGB's impact.
- Participate in professional development opportunities identified by the Supervisor and Director to increase knowledge, skills, and abilities relevant to the role.
Note: The responsibilities noted above may be subject to modification or addition based on the needs and priorities of You Gotta Believe.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Minimum 1 year of related work experience working with older youth in child welfare in an advocacy, mentor, or human services professional capacity
- Personal experience with the child welfare system
- Personal experience with moral adoption; having an active, permanent connection to a supportive adult or legal adoption
- Enjoy relating to a diverse group of people to contribute to YGBs approach of being team-oriented, collaborative, and purpose-driven
- Experience working independently and managing one's own schedule to effectively meet the responsibilities of the role, including following through with day-day tasks and meet deadlines
- Commitment to solutions-based approach, receiving input, and direction, and engaging in professional development, and growth
SKILLS
- Comfortable with organizing and coordinating a wide range of diverse activities
- Strong interpersonal, writing, communication and presentation skills
- Experience with Microsoft and Google Workspace applications to accomplish responsibilities
- Knowledge in designing flyers, brochures, using visuals and graphic art with attention to detail
- Demonstrate humor, creative initiative, and innovation
- Effective problem-solving skills
REQUIRED
- Demonstrate a strong commitment to the mission and values of You Gotta Believe
- Maintain high code of ethics standard in all work related functions and interactions with all stakeholders; including professional appearance and conduct
- Adherence to the organization's policies and protocols
EDUCATION. High School Diploma or GED
LOCATION. This position is in New York City and will have a hybrid work arrangement.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS. The position primarily involves traveling in the inner city, standing for two hours or more for workshops and presentations, and computer-based work from a seated position.
COMPENSATION. The compensation for this position is $20 an hour.
WORK ENVIRONMENT. You Gotta Believe offers a creative relatively quiet community space. There is flexibility in scheduling both work hours and location, as the project needs demand. Workspace differs from day to day, requiring flexibility and adaptability.
WE BELIEVE IN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT. You Gotta Believe is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants and employees shall not be discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender (including pregnancy and gender expression) identity, color, marital status, veteran status, medical condition, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law or ordinance. Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified differently abled applicants may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application.
