Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) Youth Specialist

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COMPANY OVERVIEW

Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains is a nonprofit, human services agency committed to community safety, support, and resiliency. Since 1948, LFSRM has provided support, guidance, and resource coordination to individuals and families, regardless of race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age through family and refugee services. We believe that all people, from the newborn to the most elderly, are valued members of our community. If you want to impact your community while serving alongside other amazing professionals, Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains welcomes you to apply.
DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

LFSRM's Foster Care Programs include Traditional Foster Care, Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) Foster Care, and Long Term Foster Care. We provide skilled, caring substitute families for children unable to live with their birth families due to abuse and neglect, abandonment, or separation caused by displacement from their home countries. With office locations spanning the front range of Colorado, LFSRM's foster care teams work diligently to address each child's individual needs while providing oversight, guidance and support to families through the foster process and beyond.
JOB SUMMARY & RESPONSIBILITIES

The Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) Youth Specialist provides focused support to foreign born young people in a variety of placement settings. The Youth Specialist coordinates with the treatment team and other partners to ensure each youth has opportunities that preserve ethnic and religious heritage, promote cultural integration, develop key independent living skills, and create opportunities for peer support and connection with other youth in the URM program. The Youth Specialist also provides guidance and support to placement providers throughout the URM network, including cultural orientation and coordinated access to available URM-specific resources.
REQUIRED COMPETANCIES

Occupational Competencies

• Delivers services within diverse cultural communities: Skills and sensitivity in working with individuals from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, with a variety of needs.
• Meets standards of practice: Familiarity with social work practice, human development, and the child welfare system, including applicable local, state, and federal regulations and guidance.
• Communicates professionally: Ability to communicate professionally and cooperate with colleagues, other professionals, community partners, and other individuals involved in the care and coordination of services.
• Assesses developmental needs of youth: Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of the various stages of child and adolescent development and ability to evaluate the needs of children and young people.
• Establishes collaborative relationships: Experience with establishing a connection between organizations or individuals which may benefit from communicating with one another in order to facilitate a positive, collaborative relationship between both parties.
• Documents efforts: Ability to maintain high quality, thorough, and timely documentation and records of activities, services, and efforts.

Foundational Competencies

• Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting.
• Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Instructing: Teaching others how to do something

EXAMPLE ACTIVITIES

• Plans and carries out or supports activities that preserve cultural heritage, promote cultural integration, develop independent living skills, and encourage connections with peers and the community. May provide transportation to youth in the program.
• Delivers training, technical support, and guidance to providers across all URM programs, including third-party contracted providers. Services may include consultation, referrals to culturally appropriate service, oversight to ensure orientation and on-going supports are being provided to URM youth in care, and assistance with accessing funding to support the needs of the youth. Support may be across all URM programs and third party providers in the state.
• Provides opportunities for specialized training and support to foster families. Supports the recruitment and retention of URM foster parents, including information meetings, trainings and support groups. May conduct home studies to support the assessment of potential and ongoing foster homes.
• Participates in the on-call phone rotation to provide support to families during off-hours.
• Maintains complete and accurate documentation in the agency's electronic data system and hard case files.

TRANSPORTATION

Must maintain a valid driver's license and carry personal auto liability insurance at the level of $100,000/300,000/100,000.

• Frequent regional travel. May be required to transport clients in personal vehicle.

REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS

• Associates degree OR two (2) years of experience in a related field such as social work, human services, humanitarian, refugee and immigration studies, or other related field. Equivalent combination of education and experience accepted.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Must be able to fluently speak, read, translate and write in the following language(s):
  • English
  • Fluency in a second language is preferred

REASONABLE ACCOMODATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed in this job description are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.