Child Advocate

ABOUT THE YWCA

The YWCA Northeastern Massachusetts is a social change organization which exists today for the same reasons it was founded back in 1892: to assure that women have the tools, skills and opportunities needed to become and remain personally and economically self-sufficient. Behind every one of our milestones is a story, a journey and an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of women and their families. The breadth of our offerings is great, with every program and service molded to our mission of helping to foster peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Each year we serve over 15,000 people from our Lawrence, Haverhill, Lynn and Salem, NH locations, where people know they can turn for caring, compassionate and highly skilled support.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Child Advocate is responsible for providing intake, assessment, case management, advocacy, support and crisis intervention to child victims of sexual abuse/assault seeking services in the Child Advocacy Program. The Child Advocate is also responsible for providing individual counseling, as needed, to promote the safety and health of child victims of sexual abuse.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Develop immediate safety plan to ensure child safety in environment.
• Interventions to stabilize crisis.
• Coordinate intake assessments and follow-up for child victims and their non-offending caregiver. Complete psychosocial assessment including substance abuse/domestic violence evaluations when appropriate.
• Refer family to specific services to address basic needs/social problems/ and other psychosocial concerns.
• Meet with non-offending primary caregiver or foster family as appropriate.
• Meet with family and child on a weekly basis to deal with psychosocial issues related to victimization and trauma.
• Establish whether other children in home are safe/make appropriate referrals.
• Provide medical advocacy and support for victims and their non-offending caregivers.
• Provide hotline coverage including accompanying survivor to hospital, court or police if requested.
• Contact DCF to file a 51A if needed.
• Provide outreach and education to families and the community around sexual assault, trauma and related topics.
• Ensure that child victim/family have been offered assistance in accessing victim compensation.
• Ensure compliance with reporting and contract obligations of the VOCA funding. Complete all quarterly statistical and narrative performance reports.
• Attend all meetings related to grant compliance.
• Attend trainings related to family violence/child sexual abuse.
• Manage the program waiting list and provide appropriate information and referrals to non-offending caregivers.
• Maintain professional relationships with community providers and continue to outreach to collaborators.
• Maintain an up-to-date referral list which reflects changes in services in the Greater Lawrence area and Essex’s county.

• Individual counseling skills and experience required.
• Understanding of legal and social issues related to child victims of family violence and sexual assault.
• Experience leading sexual assault groups for family violence victims.
• Experience in and understanding of case management.
• Certification in Domestic Violence, preferred.

Must Have

• Bachelor’s degree (minimum of one year experience in child development or child advocacy, with specific work in child sexual assault or abuse, preferred).
• Bilingual Spanish language competency
• Certification as Rape Crisis Counselor, required (in service training provided).
• Child Development and Trauma informed services: 1 year (Preferred)