District Attorney Liaison

New York City, NY•Staten Island, NY

38d•$78,315•Onsite

About The Position

The Administration for Children's Services (ACS) protects and promotes the safety and well-being of children and families through child welfare and juvenile justice services and community supports. ACS manages community-based supports and foster care services and provides subsidized childcare vouchers. ACS child protection staff respond to allegations of child maltreatment. In juvenile justice, ACS oversees detention, placement and programs for youth in the community. ACS' Division of Investigations (INV) is made up of four main areas, including Investigative Consultants, the Instant Response Team Program, District Attorney Liaisons, and the Office of Safety First. INV works in conjuncture with the ACS Division of Child Protection (DCP) in efforts to ensure the safety of children in New York City (NYC). We achieve this goal by collaborating with outside entities, including law enforcement and other mandated reporters. Within INV, the mission of the Instant Response Team (IRT) is to improve coordination between ACS and Law Enforcement to enhance the protection of NYC children. In cases involving severe abuse and severe maltreatment, personnel from ACS, the NYC Police Department (NYPD), and the District Attorney's (DA) Offices work together on "Instant Response Teams" to accomplish the following objectives: Protect children from abuse and maltreatment by ensuring evidence is gathered in a timely, effective, and coordinated manner - thereby laying the foundation for necessary intervention, and removing alleged abusers instead of children, where appropriate Minimize trauma to child(ren) during investigation processes by reducing the need for repetitive interviews by law enforcement, medical, and social service staff and by holding interviews and medical examinations in child-friendly surroundings, such as Child Advocacy Centers Senior Child Protective Supervisors in INV determine which cases meet the IRT criteria and initiate joint response efforts between ACS and NYPD after screening reports are released INV IRT is seeking a District Attorney (DA) Liaison who will be physically located in Staten Island at the 350 St. Mark's Place site. In the spirit of cooperation and recognition of the DA role and mandates, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) exists between ACS, the NYPD, and the DA Office. The MOU outlines the high-risk cases that ACS is required to send to the DA Office, identifies those cases that may be shared with NYPD, and sets forth the process for case-specific information sharing with the DA Office and NYPD.

Requirements

THIS POSITION IS ONLY OPEN TO ACS APPLICANTS WHO ARE PERMANENT (NOT PROVISIONAL) IN THE CIVIL SERVICE TITLE OF CHILD PROTECTIVE SPECIALIST SUPERVISOR
A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, including or supplemented by 24 semester credits in one or a combination of the following fields: social work, psychology, sociology, human services, criminal justice, education (including early childhood), nursing or cultural anthropology, at least 12 of which must have been in one of these disciplines; 30 semester credits toward a Masters of Social Work degree or toward a graduate degree in a related field; plus eighteen months of child protective casework experience.
Section 424-a of the New York Social Services Law requires an authorized agency to inquire whether a candidate for employment with child-caring responsibilities has been the subject of a child abuse and maltreatment report.

Nice To Haves

The preferred candidate must have a previous background as a Child Protection Specialist.

Responsibilities

Ensures compliance with the MOU
Provides requested case-specific information to the DA Office and NYPD
Facilitates ongoing communications between ACS and the District Attorney
Processes clearances requested by the DA Office and NYPD, and routes requested clearances through the borough office in accordance with legal mandates
Receives DA "Decline to Prosecute" notices and distributes to appropriate unit supervisors
Receives all subpoenas sent by the DA and is responsible for obtaining and submitting requested information to the DA in a timely fashion
Shares information with the Department of Probation and State Division of Parole, where legally permitted
Tracks information on standardized logs for all cases sent to the DA/NYPD, and submits 30-day case inquiry status updates
Participates in regular meetings with the IRT Coordinator and IRT Manager, and various other staff to review compliance with the MOU and IRT protocol
In the absence of an IRT Coordinator, the DA Liaison may be directed to perform their duties