Social Work Caring for Young People
Join our team of counselors, case managers, peer support, and direct care staff and help interrupt trauma while providing a pathway for all youth to reach their full potential.
Meeting Young People's Most Critical Needs
Y Social Impact Center programs help interrupt trauma and provide a pathway for all youth to reach their full potential. We offer services to youth and young adults through housing, foster care, and behavioral health programs in King, south Snohomish, and Pierce County. We believe in a trauma-informed, youth-centered approach that views young people as experts in their own lives, honors their self-determination and agency, and supports them based on their strengths, abilities, aspirations, and preferences.
Helping Teens, Young Adults, and Families to Thrive
We offer a wide range of behavioral health jobs for all abilities that make a real difference in meeting the critical needs of young people in our community.
Case Managers
Case Managers coordinate or provide services so participants can utilize medical, educational, social, clinical, and other services necessary to maintain the physical, psychological, and developmental health of both children and caregivers in our program.
Direct Care Staff
Direct Care Staff provide general support to help youth achieve their goals in our family engagement, mental health, health and wellness, education, employment and career development, housing, technology, and other programs.
Peer Specialists
Peer Specialists provide caregivers with culturally competent, evidence- and strength-based support and parenting skills to decrease crisis and increase in-home stabilization. They support parents and families by acting as a bridge with system representatives.
Program Directors
Program Directors oversee the development of program areas and supervision of staff. They are responsible for complying with funding contracts, quality assurance, data, outcomes, and program budget monitoring, and reporting to ensure continuity of services.
Therapists
Therapists provide comprehensive counseling services to youth and their families to meet their social-emotional needs and participate in community outreach presentations and quality assurance processes, including clinical audits.
Crisis Intervention Specialist
Crisis Intervention Specialists provide comprehensive, short-term crisis outreach services to youth, young adults, and families in King County experiencing a mental health or behavioral emergency.
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Lived Experience Matters
Some of our positions specifically ask for lived experience as a required or preferred qualification because persons with lived experience can uniquely connect and relate with the participants and communities they serve. Lived experiences may look different from person to person, including struggles with substance use and recovery, mental health, homelessness, or family challenges. These experiences can build skills beneficial to working with participants and clients, such as:
- Ability to navigate complex systems that are not user-friendly
- Support skills and coping models from someone who has experienced similar struggles
- Providing a community for participants or clients, including cultural, physical, geographic, and identity-based communities
While lived experience can be valuable in this field of work, we also recognize that the healing around experienced trauma MUST OCCUR BEFORE working in the field. Whether you are "fully healed" from the trauma, or have developed coping skills to work through and process vicarious trauma, please consider this when applying for a job asking for lived experience.
Master's in Mental Health Counseling Program
The YMCA of Greater Seattle and its agency partners provide a fantastic employee opportunity to earn a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from Heritage University. Through a partnership, the program provides access to advanced education in behavioral health to employees of the Y and participating partner agencies, including King County Medicaid mental health or substance use disorder agencies.
Staff with a bachelor's degree may be eligible to apply for admittance to the Y + Heritage University Master’s in Mental Health Counseling Program through a King County community-based behavioral health clinical training site.
To increase access to higher education and improve the extent to which behavioral health providers reflect the communities they serve, the program prioritizes staff of color, staff living with disabilities, and staff identifying as LGBTQIAA+.
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How Y Staff are Changing Lives
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Stay Engaged With the Y
Why Work at the Y?
We’re an inclusive organization of all kinds of people with a shared commitment to nurture the potential of youth, promote healthy living, and foster social responsibility. Learn more about our culture and values and why the Y is the right place for you.
We Invest in You
We are proud to provide a comprehensive and affordable Total Rewards package to our valued employees and their families.
Join the Y
With a shared commitment to nurturing the potential of kids, improving health and well-being, and supporting our neighbors, your membership will not just bring about meaningful change in yourself, but also in your community.
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