Parent Mentor - (Culturally Specific - BIPOC Fathers)
Description
- Nonviolence - being safe and doing the right thing
- Emotional Intelligence - managing our feelings so we don’t hurt ourselves or others
- Social Learning - respecting and sharing ideas of our teams
- Democracy - shared decision making whenever possible
- Open Communication - saying what we mean and not being mean when we say it
- Social Responsibility - everyone makes a contribution to the organizational culture
- Growth and Change - creating hope for our clients and ourselves
- Equity - Assuring all can survive and thrive
Job Summary:
The Parent Mentor program matches Parent Mentors who have lived experience of involvement with ODHS child welfare and are currently living a recovery lifestyle with parents currently entering the Child Welfare system. Parent Mentors are role models demonstrating the possibility of change and a healthy life as a parent in recovery.
This position requires knowledge of and lived experience parenting or working with African American / Black communities. This would be demonstrated by the ability to share experiences working directly with individuals who identify with the African American / Black community or a shared understanding of parenting norms and the ability to give specific examples of understanding community traditions, customs, beliefs, history, and culture.
- Empower and coach parents through their case with ODHS, support them at family meetings and court hearings, drive parents to appointments in their respective counties/districts, connect parents to culturally specific resources and provide support for other mentors on the team are all important aspects of this work
- Develop a trusting relationship with child welfare-involved parents by providing regular contact and support, building trust and rapport, including attending court and/or meetings with ODHS
- Build relationships with ODHS Child Welfare, treatment services and dependency court systems and represent the Parent Mentor Program positively with all County partners
- Communicate positively and professionally with ODHS staff and work collaboratively with caseworkers to support parents in achieving their goals
- Demonstrate a commitment to developing a thorough knowledge and application of the Sanctuary model and other organizational policies & practices.
- Participate in staff development, in-services, and training related to equity and inclusion in the workplace; model appropriate behaviors; develop, recommend, and implement improvements to business practices with awareness and understanding of the impact in a trauma-informed and culturally diverse organization.
Experience/Education Requirements
- Personal experience and knowledge of addiction issues
- Minimum 2 years in active recovery from using alcohol and other drugs
- Personal experience of a ODHS Child Welfare case, closed for a minimum 1 year required
- High School Diploma or GED or high school level writing and reading skills.
- Bilingual in Spanish
- Must have and maintain a valid driver’s license and personal auto liability insurance
- Must pass a criminal history check