Youth and Family Outreach Counsellor

**Position Summary**
The Youth Empowerment Society is a non-profit community service agency offering support and services to youth and their families.

The Youth and Family Outreach Counsellor provides a variety of services to at-risk youth (12-19 years of age) and their families in the Core Victoria area. The Youth and Family Outreach
Counsellor provides services and interventions through crisis response, safety assessment and risk reduction services. The counsellor aims to provide conflict resolution and parent-teen mediation to assist in family stabilization and reunification. Much of this position requires working collaboratively in an outreach and community-based capacity.

**Duties and Responsibilities**
To perform the job successfully the Youth and Family Outreach Counsellor must be able to consistently perform each essential duty adequately. Other duties may be assigned.

**Youth and Family Engagement and Service Planning**
▪ Work with youth and their families to carry out crisis intervention and support through urgent response, safety assessment and risk reduction to prompt a change in behaviour and/or situation.

▪ Interview youth and their families, prepare case histories, and assess barriers and strengths. Provide intervention services collaboratively with other community programs.

▪ Develop and implement counselling and intervention programs to assist Ministry of
Children and Family Development (MCFD) and youth and families in determining goals and achieving the objectives developed.

▪ Work with youth, family, and others when appropriate, to complete initial and ongoing assessments and the development of individualized service plans.

▪ Facilitate referrals to appropriate community services, including identified medical, mental health, addictions, legal and family services.

▪ Provide behavioural management skills, crisis response, intervention and risk reduction services to best support youth and families as well as create a safe and stable environment, especially around issues such as trauma, suicidal ideation, mental health and addictions.

▪ Provide mediation services, support and counselling for parents around issues of family violence, sexual abuse, grief and loss, and early childhood education.

▪ Follows up and evaluate the effectiveness of counselling programs and the progress of youth and families.

▪ Form mutually respectful partnerships with youth and their family support systems to address any issues and problems they face through parent-teen mediation and conflict resolution to support family stabilization and reunification.

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▪ Maintain a collaborative and cooperative working relationship with MCFD, other professionals and the community, including police officers and probation.

▪ Provide regular and consistent outreach services to youth and their families as required.
▪ Provide support, information, education and referrals to family support systems as appropriate.
▪ Participate in integrated case management conferences, as required.
▪ Support youth to participate in the development and implementation of individualized short-term goals and establishing a transition plan.
▪ Demonstrate a level of cultural sensitivity and understanding of the client population.
▪ Form mutually respectful partnerships with youth and their family support systems to address any issues and problems they face.
▪ Accept the clients’ rights to self-determination and individuality and must not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, language, religion, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, age, abilities, socio-economic status, political affiliations, or national ancestry.

▪ Demonstrate a client centred strength based approach.
▪ Maintain a positive conviction about the capacity of people to grow and change.
▪ Set appropriate boundaries, intervenes appropriately and maintains a helping role to meet the needs of the youth or other family members.
▪ Recognize persons with special needs and makes appropriate referrals.
▪ Act as an advocate for youth and families and promotes empowerment for them to advocate on their own behalf.

**Program Development and Administration**
▪ Assist MCFD in providing outreach services and helping to reconnect youth to appropriate care giving systems in the continuum of care.
▪ Maintain a collaborative and cooperative working relationship with MCFD, other agencies, professionals, ministries and the community.
▪ Work respectfully in partnership with other team members, including referring authorities.
▪ Participate in developing and implementing evaluation systems to assess the effectiveness of intervention. Modify services and programs as deemed appropriate.
▪ Liaise and share relevant information with MCFD, police, judicial system, families, etc. in an effort to help make knowledgeable, informed choices regarding mutual clients.
▪ Fulfill the requirements of and participates in committees to meet the stan