Counselor Advocate, Juvenile Justice System

Center For Victims • Pittsburgh, PA

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

Center for Victims (CV) is announcing a position opening. Have you recently earned a degree and are looking to gain skills, work experience and professional development? Are you a seasoned professional looking to make an even bigger impact? We invite you to join us today!

A Counselor Advocate, JJS provides counseling, crisis intervention, legal and medical advocacy, and mandated and supportive services to CV clients within the Juvenile Justice System. The Counselor Advocate also provides education and assistance as to other various systems clients he/she may encounter. The Counselor Advocate supports and empowers victims and/or witnesses in their personal decision making process. A Counselor Advocate provides education and training to various systems professionals to ensure appropriate first response and victim sensitivity.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Psychology, Criminology, or a related field or an Associate’s degree in the same fields with three years minimum related work.
• Strong communication, crisis response and presentation skills.
• Able to serve as a liaison between clients, the criminal justice and juvenile justice systems and appropriate service providers.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Completion of mandatory victim assistance training including domestic violence, sexual assault/rape crisis, & other crimes and basic conflict resolution training – provided by the organization.
• Ability to commit to additional training hours as required.
• Ability to secure Act 33 and 34 (Child Abuse and Criminal History) and FBI clearances.
• Abilitiy to secure additional clearances/testing that may be required by funding regulations.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Programs; computer/database skills including ability to learn state, county and CV’s various software programs.
• Ability to work closely with others in a team environment.
• Supportive of organization’s mission along with sensitivity of cultural diversity and workplace harmony.
• Ability to adhere to CV’s confidentiality policy along with respect to sensitive, confidential client date and adherence to all Federal, State and Local Statutes.
• Access to a personal cell phone for safety and immediate business communications.
• A readily available and reliable means of transportation.
• Self-directed with strong problem-solving abilities and flexibility to meet the needs of the program.

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience in social services, criminal justice system or victim services a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide crisis intervention and supportive counseling to victims, witnesses and significant others of violence & crime via phone, hospital visit, court, home, office or other designated locations as needed.
• Educate clients, both victims and witnesses with accurate information about the Juvenile Justice System and process, and Victim’s Rights.
• Educate victims and witnesses as to the basic principles of BARJ philosophy.
• Provide psycho-educational information to clients on the impacts of violence and trauma.
• Serve as the CV liaison to various systems within Juvenile Court, obtain early referrals and provide subsequent outreach to the referred victims.
• Based on assessments of clients’ needs, provide supportive counseling via court accompaniment to victims, witnesses and significant others.
• Provide individual and personal advocacy on behalf of victims, witnesses and significant others throughout all relevant systems such as the medical, legal, Juvenile Probation, and court systems including providing information and accompaniment.
• Serve as a member of Community Crisis Response Teams as assigned, once training is completed.
• Conduct CISP exit interviews for juvenile offenders and co-facilitate Victim Awareness Curriculum programs when schedule permits.
• Provide Hotline and Emergency Advocacy coverage during assigned shifts or on-call rotation. This includes assessment of the situation and determination of the appropriate response including crisis intervention, information and internal or external referrals. Emergency Advocacy may entail emergency room visits, police interviews and home visits, etc.
• Work in close cooperation with Juvenile Court staff, Juvenile Court prosecutors and CV staff to ensure the highest quality of services to victims and witnesses of juvenile offenders.
• Participate in the coverage of the Victim Witness Sign-In Desk; including greeting and signing in all victims and witnesses, completing fee vouchers and distributing information regarding CV services, system information, and Victim’s Rights.
• Assist with maintaining an organized environment at CV offices at Juvenile Court including maintenance, supplies, availability of documents, confidentiality of client files, and ensuring the Victim and Witness Waiting Room is clean and comfortable for clients.
• Participate in preparing for the next court day, including looking up courtroom dockets and pulling petitions for assigned courtroom and any other courtroom as directed. Organize court and agency documents, and assist in copying documents needed and used by the unit.
• Provide systems advocacy on local and state levels on behalf of CV clients.
• Utilizing case management standards, assess clients’ needs; provide appropriate internal and external referrals including follow-up services.
• Provide and contribute to all assigned reports, grants and statistics as required by CV and/or the various funding sources.
• Provide timely and accurate client intakes, direct service logs and reports utilizing CV established MIS reporting systems.
• Provide education, material resources, and/or training to allied / systems professionals, as assigned.
• Participate as an active member with all client focused staffing’s, trainings, in-services, and team and agency meetings.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Employee Health, Dental and Vision Benefits
• Paid Time Off Benefits
• Shift differential offered for Second and Third Shift
• 15 Paid Holidays
• Short Term Disability and Life Insurance
• Retirement Plan
• Employee Assistance Program
• Opportunity for employee reimbursements for mileage, parking and cell phone usage (position dependent)
• Opportunity to apply for PSLF Program (Paid Student Loan Forgiveness Program) for your work with a non-profit

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree