Job Opportuities
Administrator
Serves as ALF's operational backbone, managing youth intake and placement, residential site logistics, staff training schedules, and facility maintenance across all six program tiers. Acts as ALF's internal Compliance Officer, tracking FFPSA standards and SCDSS facility requirements to protect IV-E funding eligibility. Coordinates cross-tier operations with Residential Supervisors, the Tier 1 Coordinator, and both Directors. Requires a bachelor's degree and 3–5 years of multi-site or residential operations experience.
Volunteer Tutor
Provides one-on-one or small-group academic tutoring to K-12 students enrolled in ALF's Tier 1 prevention and mentoring program, working alongside but distinct from each student's mentor. Focuses on closing literacy and subject-area skill gaps to help rebuild school confidence and attendance stability. Coordinates with the Tier 1 mentor and Family Support Case Manager and flags emerging risk to the Prevention & Mentoring Coordinator. This is an unpaid, flexible volunteer role requiring a minimum one-semester commitment and background screening.
Tier 1 Mentor (Life Guide)
Provides consistent, trusted one-on-one mentorship to a K-12 student showing early signs of instability, serving as a coach, guide, and advocate rather than a tutor or substitute parent. Commits to weekly contact for a minimum 12-month match, building the relationship around ALF's three pillars (Rise, Learn, Lead) and documenting sessions via a Mentor Contact Log. Stays within defined role boundaries, recognizing safety triggers and escalating concerns to the Tier 1 Coordinator. This is a volunteer or lightly stipended role requiring background screening and completion of ALF's five-phase Life Guide Training Curriculum.
Prevention & Mentoring Coordinator (Tier 1)
Manages ALF's Tier 1 community-based prevention program, The Ascent, including mentor (Life Guide) recruitment and training, school-based partnerships, and home-based family interventions. Serves as the single point of accountability for referral intake, mentor matching, and the step-up protocol to Tier 2. Supervises Family Support Case Managers and tracks Tier 1 outcomes against target benchmarks. Requires a bachelor's degree (master's preferred) and 3–5 years of youth mentoring or family case management experience.
Accountant
Provides organization-wide financial stewardship for ALF, managing payroll, accounts payable/receivable, and financial reporting while maintaining audit-ready records across all funding streams. Ensures accurate reconciliation for Medicaid reimbursements and tracks federal grant compliance (HUD/HHS). Supports the Program Director and Board Treasurer with annual budgeting and reserve tracking. Requires a bachelor's degree in accounting/finance and 3–5 years of nonprofit or grant-funded accounting experience.
Case Managers
Serve as the continuity-of-care anchors across ALF's six-tier continuum, developing individualized success plans and coordinating legal, medical, educational, and social services for assigned youth and families. Assigned within a specific tier (1–5), with responsibilities and caseload intensity varying by tier assignment and reporting line. Maintain documentation suitable for funder, court, or DJJ review and ensure timely permanency/transition planning. Requires a bachelor's degree in a related field and 2–4 years of case management experience in child welfare or juvenile justice settings.
Licensed Clinical Counselor / Therapist
Leads ALF's clinical healing process, providing diagnostic assessments and evidence-based individual and group therapy for the complex trauma experienced by justice-involved or displaced youth across Tiers 2–4. Participates in or co-chairs case staffings at key decision points and documents clinical progress for court, DJJ, or regulatory review. Provides mental health screening at intake and clinical consultation to on-call crisis support as needed. Requires a master's degree in a clinical field and current SC clinical licensure (LPC, LMSW/LISW-CP, or LMFT).
On-Call Crisis Support (Stipend Pool)
Provides 24/7 rapid-response crisis de-escalation for both residential sites and community-based (Tier 1) families as a contracted, stipend-based on-call pool rather than a standard position. Delivers phone-based or on-site guidance during active incidents and supports warm handoffs when a youth requires step-up to a higher tier of care. Documents every activated incident and reports summaries to the relevant Director. Requires a bachelor's degree in a related field and 2–3 years of crisis intervention or residential youth care experience.
Transitional Excellence Coach (Tier 6)
Provides specialized coaching for young adults exiting ALF's continuum, focused on employment readiness, credit building, insurance navigation, and housing stabilization. Delivers ALF's competency-based Tier 6 model, verifying readiness across six domains before a graduate exits, and extends service delivery to concurrently-enrolled Tier 5 residents aged 18+. Builds employer and financial-institution partnerships and tracks outcomes tied to employment, housing, and checklist completion. Requires a bachelor's degree in a related field and 2–4 years of workforce development or financial coaching experience.
Residential Supervisor(s)
Provides frontline leadership for ALF's campus-based residential tiers (2–5), overseeing daily operations and directly supervising Youth Care Specialists and Overnight Staff. Ensures trauma-informed care standards and safety protocols are consistently delivered shift after shift, and responds to and de-escalates behavioral incidents. Supports staff onboarding and training, flagging gaps to the Administrator and relevant Director. Requires a bachelor's degree in a human services field (or equivalent experience) and 2–3 years of residential youth care experience, including at least one year in a supervisory role.
Overnight Staff
Ensures vigilant safety, continuity, and supervision during nighttime hours at ALF's residential program sites across Tiers 2–5. Responds calmly to nighttime disruptions using trauma-informed de-escalation and escalates any safety or behavioral concern to the on-call supervisor or crisis support. Conducts safety checks, documents shift notes, and supports morning transitions to day staff. Requires a high school diploma and the ability to remain alert throughout an overnight shift.
Life Skills & Education Coordinator
Bridges therapeutic healing with practical independence by delivering academic persistence support, vocational exploration, and daily-living instruction to youth in Tiers 3–4 preparing for adulthood. Maintains educational continuity during residential placement and coordinates a warm handoff of progress data to Tier 6 as youth approach transition. Delivers structured life-skills curricula and tracks reform-progress milestones. Requires a bachelor's degree in education or a related field and 2–3 years of experience with at-risk youth education programming.
Director of Clinical & Residential Services
Provides executive oversight of ALF's three clinically intensive, court-facing tiers (Emergency Shelter, Transitional Living, and Specialized Residential Care), centralizing clinical, court, and licensure functions under one point of accountability. Chairs case staffings, supervises the Clinical Supervisor and Tier 2–4 Case Managers, and serves as ALF's primary liaison to SCDSS, SCDJJ, and the Solicitor's Office. Oversees mentor roster capacity and reports on census, compliance, and caseload ratios to the Program Director. Requires a master's degree in a clinical field, SC clinical licensure preferred, and 5–7 years of residential youth treatment experience.
Director of Permanency & Independence Services
Provides executive oversight of ALF's two long-horizon tiers, Permanent Supportive Housing (Tier 5) and the independence-launch program for young adults (Tier 6), plus Cross-Tier Aftercare for all exiting youth. Manages Tier 5's no-predetermined-exit-date permanency model, the concurrent Tier 5+6 enrollment pathway, and Tier 6's competency-based exit checklist across six domains. Builds employer and financial-literacy partnerships and oversees longitudinal aftercare tracking. Requires a bachelor's degree (master's preferred) and 5–7 years of experience in supportive housing, independent living, or workforce development.