Peer Parent Mentor (Lived Experience in the Child Welfare System)

The Oklahoma Office of Family Representation (OFR) is seeking to contract with Parent Mentors(PMs) to be a part of our interdisciplinary legal teams of professionals providing support, hope, and advocacy to parents, legal guardians and Indian custodians that are involved in child welfare and juvenile deprived court cases in Region 1. Region 1 consists of the northwestern part of the state, with exact counties of operation to be determined with your director upon initiation of the contract. You will not necessarily need to work in every county. Your assigned counties will be based on your location and your preference/ability to travel. The role is primarily remote and requires frequent travel.

Contract PMs handle matters on a case-by-case basis and are not employees of OFR or Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma (LASO).

Role Description

Mentors promote family engagement, inclusion, and participation throughout the life of a child welfare case. This role that draws on the mentor's own lived experience to offer advocacy and support. Mentors are individuals who have personally experienced the child welfare system and now provide peer mentoring, support, and advocacy services to individuals who are presently involved in the system. Mentors possess firsthand knowledge of how risk factors can affect families’ lives and have acquired knowledge on effectively addressing these challenges and navigating the child welfare system.

Key Responsibilities

• Support families by attending meetings (including family team meetings and service provider meetings), court staffings, court hearings, and other important appointments with clients and helping advocate for their wants, needs and personal goals.
• Help prepare clients for court hearings and talk to them afterwards about what happened at the hearing, explaining their next steps and making sure they understand.
• Research, share, and help clients with information about resources available to assist them.
• Maintain frequent and consistent contact with the client’s attorney and social worker (when assigned) to discuss case assignments, client needs and goals, client engagement, and how to advance the legal case plan.
• Interact with case service providers including child welfare specialists, Indian child welfare (ICW) workers, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), etc. to ensure parents are actively engaged in case planning.
• Work with the Office of Family Representation (including the executive director, regional managing attorneys, regional director of social work and data analyst/entry personnel) and other contracted mentors, contracted social workers, and contracted attorneys to support program performance and improvement.
• Additional duties as outlined in contract.

Qualifications

Required

• Lived experience as a parent navigating the child welfare and juvenile deprived court systems whose case has been closed for at least one (1) year.
• No open cases with the criminal legal system and two years have passed since the end of any criminal sentence including probation.
• Actively participating in a healthy lifestyle rooted in successful recovery for at least the past two (2) years, demonstrating personal stability and essential life skills.
• Ability to effectively share your story to connect with, engage, and motivate clients.
• Strong ability to advocate for others and work from a strengths-based perspective in motivating clients.
• Self-Starter, ability to learn and work independently to accomplish job duties.
• Highly organized and attentive to deadlines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal and mentoring skills.
• Strong computer skills, including using business software/cloud-based programs such as MicroSoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint; Case Management system LegalServer and webapp Your Case Plan.
• Possess a working personal computer and a working smart phone, both with reliable and dependable internet service.
• Possess a valid Oklahoma Driver’s License and regular access to a vehicle with current insurance.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of Oklahoma Human Services (OHS) child welfare policies and state law pertaining to child abuse and neglect.
• Knowledge about resources and services in the community.
• Experience working with vulnerable populations.
• Ability to establish effective working relationships with clients and their families, court personnel, service providers and attorneys.
• Good mentoring skills.
• Maintain client confidentiality.

Commitments:

• PMs will accept cases assigned by the Director of Social Work.
• PMs will complete initial training, fundamental training and continue in-service training.
• PMs will attend conferences/trainings relevant to child welfare and legal representation.
• PMs will participate in individual and group supervision, staff trainings, and team meetings.

Remote Work Requirements:

As an independent contractor the PMs will be expected:

• to maintain a space that will accommodate client contact; and
• to provide own computer, software, telephone, supplies, and other necessary equipment or furnishings;

NOTE: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by the contractor in this position. These statements are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of the social worker independent contractors in this position.

Job Type: Contract

Pay: $22.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Mileage reimbursement

People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply

Application Question(s):

• Have you had a child welfare case (in which your children were removed from your home) that has closed successfully?

Work Location: On the road

Salary : $22