Family Services Specialist

Family Services Specialist I

The City of Alexandria is located in northern Virginia and is bordered by the District of Columbia (Potomac River), Arlington and Fairfax counties. With a population of approximately 150,000 and a land area of 15.75 square miles, Alexandria is the seventh largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Alexandria has a charming waterfront and is a unique and historic place to live and work.

If you are interested in working for the vibrant City of Alexandria, we invite qualified candidates to apply for our Family Services Specialist I position.

An Overview

The Family Services Specialist I will be a primary worker for children and youth who have experienced and/or witnessed domestic violence or adolescent relationship abuse; provides crisis intervention, individual and group counseling in the Safehouse and in the community. They will assist clients (parents and their children/youth) in developing goal plans and problem solving with issues such as parenting, substance abuse, housing, health and safety, benefits, childcare, and employment.

What You Should Bring

The ideal candidate will have good knowledge and understanding of domestic violence and trauma-informed advocacy; good knowledge of the principles and practices of social work; good knowledge of social, psychiatric, economic and health problems; good knowledge of early childhood development theory, principles and practices; good knowledge of adolescent relationship abuse; some knowledge of community resources or the ability to readily acquire such knowledge;

some knowledge of individual and group counseling techniques or the ability to acquire such knowledge; some knowledge of counseling techniques provided to clients with mental disorders, alcoholism, and/or drug abuse; ability to quickly assess and defuse hostile situations; ability to identify social problems and needs, and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of individuals and families; ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing;

ability to work with others, collaboratively, toward attaining service goals for the client; ability to understand and interpret laws, policies, and regulations.

The Opportunity

• Provide a time-sensitive assessment of and response to immediate needs of hotline callers who have experienced or been impacted by domestic violence to help them return to pre-crisis levels of functioning providing crisis intervention, support, safety planning, information, and referrals. The employee is expected to be available for on-call rotating shifts overnights and weekends.
• Provide 24-hour emergency crisis response and individual/systems advocacy to victims of sexual/domestic violence for forensic examinations, related medical treatment and testing, police interviews and court proceedings.
• Provide case management and advocacy services for victims of domestic violence including locating and providing community resources and referrals; monitor client's access to the referrals; and assist client when needed.
• Provide supportive individual and group counseling to child witnesses of domestic violence.
• Provide domestic violence intervention/prevention information utilizing best practices curricula to students in the City's schools and multi-session groups on healthy relationships to youth/teen groups.
• Provide supportive counseling to students who present issues relating to domestic violence and adolescent relationship abuse.
• Provide initial contact with domestic violence victims referred to the program by the Alexandria Police Department and/or the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office to inform them of the court process, civil remedies, sentencing alternatives and services.
• Prepare clients for trial through counseling, support and accompaniment, keep clients informed of case status and provide victims with court advocacy during all criminal and civil proceedings.
• Work with pro bono attorneys and Legal Services of Northern Virginia to secure legal assistance and services for victims of domestic violence.
• Assist with other arrest, non-arrest and outreach clients when need it.
• Provide leadership to and participate as an active member of the coordinating council, the Alexandria Domestic Violence Intervention Project.
• Represent the Domestic Violence Program by making presentations to community groups, civic organizations, local and state government agencies, social service agencies and citizen groups regarding domestic and sexual violence and services provided.
• Provide technical…