Family Assistance Specialist - C

Family Assistance Specialist - C

$48,564.00 - $58,278.00

Full time

Under general supervision serves as the main point of contact for family members interacting with the BCMEO (Bexar County Medical Examiners Office); provides information on BCMEO processes in an empathetic, supportive manner to the grieving person(s) and offers community resources as appropriate; serves as a liaison conferring with staff on case status and delivering proactive communication to family members; releases cause and manner of death information to public, official agencies, and media;

coordinates resources for grieving families

• Serves as primary point of contact between family members/representative(s) and BCMEO to provide timely and accurate case status information including cause and manner of death and explaining case status process

• Confers with MEs about case status and delivers proactive communication to the family members and informing the medical examiners of any requests or inquiries made regarding their cases

• Identifies resources and makes referrals to appropriate community agencies, crisis intervention services, victim assistance, grief counseling services, or other resources, as appropriate

• Coordinates prioritization and follow-up services throughout case until completion

• Tracks feedback from family members and uses this information to recommend changes to internal processes

• Collaborates with BCMEO administration to develop materials for family support and outreach, to include but not be limited to the BCMEO informational brochure and website

• Coordinates identification measures, notifies next of kin and contacts next of kin regarding disposition of decedent Works to increase collaboration between local governmental and not-for-profit victim assistance service providers, academic institutions and victim advocates, which may include making recommendations for policy and procedure revisions as deemed necessary to improve the integrated work environment

• Receives calls from news media and releases appropriate information regarding cases

• Ensures the BCMEO compliance with all public health death reporting requirements

• Actively participates in the department’s emergency preparedness and response team

• Performs other duties as required

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Counseling, Family Studies, Psychology, Nursing or another closely related behavioral or social science field and two (2) years’ experience in victim advocacy, social work, nursing, crisis intervention and/or another closely related field which includes case management experience.

• Experience in a Medical Examiner or Coroner’s Office, bilingual in English and Spanish and Certification in grief counseling preferred

• Must have knowledge of Texas Code of Criminal Procedures Chapter 49 and related statutes; knowledge of criminal justice system; knowledge of human anatomy, health care systems, basic pathophysiology and medical terminology

• Excellent written and oral communication skills and computer skills, including word processing, required

• Ability to maintain security of work area, evidence, and information is required.

• Must be able to respond to inquiries from public and official agencies with pleasant, effective and professional manner.

• Ability to work well with other agencies to facilitate effective investigation and appropriate services for decedents and their families

• Must secure and maintain a favorable background investigation from Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bexar County Sheriff’s Office

• Must possess and maintain a valid Texas driver's license

• Must clear a pre-employment physical and…