Youth Intervention Advocate

Job Description

Under the direction of the Promising Youth Program Manager, the Youth Intervention Advocate will provide crisis and emergency response, advocacy, and direct services to at-risk and gang involved youth as well as their families. Incumbents will work in collaboration with sworn SLCPD staff, the Salt Lake City School District, and community organizations.

• Provides emergency and crisis interventions for individual victims of traumatic violent crimes and gang activities.
• Provides school and community-based interventions after violent/gang events or alarming behavior.
• Guides at-risk youth through high-risk events:
  Collaborates with students, parents or guardians, and school faculty to develop individualized intervention strategies designed to reduce or eliminate dangerous or disruptive behavior. Guides teachers and parents or guardians in appropriate intervention techniques. Works with students to improve communication or social skills, runaway and truant behavior, and other similar situations.
• Conducts home visits with at-risk youth and their families, SLCPD Gang Unit, and patrol officers.
• Ongoing work with youth via an assigned caseload, including all appropriate documentation and statistical data collection needed.
• Coordinates and collaborates with community partners, school personnel, counselors, parents, victim advocates, clinicians, medical providers, social workers, and other multi-disciplinary partners to create positive outcomes for youth.
• Works with Safe School Program after threats of violence occur within school settings and the surrounding community.
• Prevention work in school and community settings to decrease future violent events.
• Participates in all aspects of safety review, events planning, coordination, evaluation, and supervision of youth during the Promising Youth Program Summer Project.
• Serves as a liaison between at-risk, underserved populations and law enforcement/school administration to help build trust and respectful relationships.
• Completes all documentation within 24 hours of service/intervention.
• Participates in supervision and training meetings as required.
• Trains School District Staff, parents, students, community groups, criminal justice staff, and others on protective factors and risk factors associated with at-risk youth.
• Provide youth assistance in a trauma-informed, victim-centered manner.

• Bachelor’s degree in social or behavioral science or criminal justice or related fields.
• Experience may be substituted for education on a year-for-year basis.
• Ability to work effectively with individuals in crisis and provide possible solutions for positive outcomes.
• Knowledge of youth, gangs, victimization, and trauma responses models including adverse childhood experiences and related risk/protective factors.
• Possession of a valid driver’s license or driving privilege card.

• Considerable exposure to stressful situations, as a result of dealing with people in extreme crisis.
• Required to work irregular hours to accommodate crisis events, school events, summer programming, and other activities.
• Exposure to potentially hostile and dangerous environments.