Survivor Advocate-SAP (GF

City Colleges of Chicago’svision is to be recognized as the city’s most accessible higher education engine of socioeconomic mobility and racial equity – empowering all Chicagoans to take part in building a stronger and more just city. The community college system’s more than 3,500 faculty and staff servemore than 60,000 students annually at seven colleges and five satellite sites.

Working across the City Colleges district, the Survivor Advocacy Program (SAP) provides trauma-informed victim services and advocacy to those impacted by gender-based violence, family violence, community violence, and other forms of violent crime. SAP seeks to remove barriers to education and promote access to justice through trauma-informed services for survivors. The program also conducts outreach to engage underserved population and community partners to create a continuum of care from disclosure to healing.

The SAP staff provides individuals affected by violence with crisis intervention, safety planning, case management, and crime victim compensation; makes referrals to individual and group counseling, community-based resources, public aid programs, and evaluation for learning disabilities; and facilitates outreach to promote campus awareness of service availability.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

Reporting to the Director – Survivor Advocacy Program, the Survivor Advocate provides victim services to members of the CCC community and serves as a confidential, frontline advocate for survivors of violent crime. This position will primarily serve CCC students, but the Survivor Advocate may also provide services to CCC Faculty and Staff and limited services to those affiliated with a CCC student or staff member.

The position also works with Project S.A.F.E. staff to support outreach about service availability to survivors of gender-based violence.

Working in close collaboration with the Wellness Centers, the Survivor Advocate provides emotional support and assists survivors in accessing safety, exploring legal options, and identifying resources to support healing after trauma. The Survivor Advocate provides information on survivor rights and resources, institutional and legal system advocacy, safety planning, case management, and referrals to services both internal and external to City Colleges.

Performs related duties as required.

Travel between colleges is required.

This position is grant-funded and will be funded at least through December 2028.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Monitors intake platforms by email and phone and conducts intakes with potential clients to evaluate legal, medical, mental health, and basic needs and eligibility for services.
• Manages a caseload of 10 to 20 clients who are seeking services related to violent crime and meets regularly with assigned clients.
• Utilizes phone language interpretation to provide services for clients with limited English proficiency.
• Provides accurate information about civil and criminal legal systems and processes, protective orders, public benefits, and victim compensation and helps survivors contemplate their legal and non-legal options for support and safety.
• Supports transportation access and occasionally accompanies clients to court appointments, Title IX hearings, and other hearings to provide support and aid in understanding of proceedings
• Supports eligible clients in completing and amending Victim Compensation applications.
• Works closely with the Chicago Police Department and State’s Attorney’s Office to assist clients in understanding legal proceedings, obtaining legal reports, and ensuring language access.
• Makes appropriate referrals to the Wellness Center and community-based organizations.
• Works with survivors to create, implement, monitor, and update individual safety plans.
• Maintains case files in a manner consistent with confidentiality under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), FERPA, and HIPAA.
• Remains up-to-date on victims’ rights under local, state, and federal law, including the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act, Title IX, the Clery Act, and the different types of protective and no-contact orders available in Illinois.
• Meets with SAP…