Child Advocate

Position Title: Child Advocate

Reports to: Program Manager

Primary Location: Kids’ Harbor, Inc.

-St. Robert, MO

Designation: Exempt

Kids’ Harbor, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)3 child advocacy center servicing 10 counties and the Fort Leonard Wood Military Installation in southwest and central Missouri for over 20 years. Our mission is to provide coordinated response, healing, and prevention of child abuse.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Child Advocate will work within a multidisciplinary team to create and support high standards for child abuse investigations and to advocate for the needs and wellbeing of child abuse victims and their families. The advocate will provide initial onsite services to safe caregivers of children reporting sexual and/or physical abuse. The Child Advocate consults and collaborates with forensic interviewers, law enforcement, prosecutors, medical professionals, child protection workers, mental health professionals, court victim advocates, community resource providers, and other victim service organizations.

The advocate provides support and information to the child and safe caregiver throughout the duration of the case. The advocate will assist families in accessing needed services: immediate crisis intervention, applications for Crime Victims Compensation, long term counseling, medical care, and other issues related to victimization, including reduction of barriers to those services. The advocate will coordinate appropriate referrals for services.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Ensures children and their safe caregivers receive the most sensitive and humane care during the investigation process by ensuring a timely response from investigative agencies and seeks to protect children from being subjected to repeated interviews and medical examinations.

• Delivers orientation services to children and families, including explaining child advocacy center services, assessing the needs of the child and safe caregivers, and connecting community-based services
• Provides crisis intervention, safety planning, and resource information to families
• Locates community resources for children and families and communicates with agencies to reduce barriers to services
• Advocates on behalf of child crime victims; accompany them to criminal justice offices and to criminal court hearings
• Remain apprised of services available within the community to link child/safe caregiver with appropriate services that would enhance the quality of life for the child
• Consults with investigative team members before and after child interviews and medical examinations to determine strategies to support the safe caregivers’ efforts to protect the child
• Prepares timely, thorough, and accurate case notes of family advocacy sessions, including data collection, data entry and maintenance of the computerized case tracking system
• Participates in the coordination and facilitation of multidisciplinary case review meetings
• Provides back up intake coordination as needed
• Rotates on-call availabilities to respond to emergency calls by multidisciplinary team (MDT) members and provide emergency advocacy services as appropriate.
• Advocates for child victims and their families during the case review process and the ensuing screening by prosecutors, juvenile officers and child protection workers as they consider filing criminal charges or Juvenile Court petitions
• Administer surveys to help ensure quality of services.
• Conducts training sessions with community professionals who require education about child abuse, Kids’ Harbor, Inc. services, the benefits of multidisciplinary case collaboration and the dynamics of child abuse
• Attends skills-based training to remain abreast of the latest research, trends and best practice standards in victim advocacy and cultural sensitivity
• Provides regular updates to the Program Manager for modification to service delivery, program content, evaluation, etc.
• Attends relevant continuing education opportunities, networking meetings, committee meetings, conferences, etc. approved by the Program Manager and Executive Director
• Assists in the recruitment, training and use of volunteers and interns in the Kids’ Harbor, Inc. Program
• Attend annual agency…