Domestic Violence Hotline Advocate
Child and Family Services of Erie County, Inc.•Buffalo, NY
•$22 - $25
About The Position
The Domestic Violence Hotline Advocate is part of Haven House’s domestic violence services and the community response to domestic violence in Erie County. The advocate is the first point of contact for people seeking services and answers emergency 24-hour telephone and chat lines. The role provides crisis support, safety planning, referrals, and follow-up, and collaborates with the Erie County High Risk Team (HRT), including serving as its designated contact for eligible cases.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Social Work or a related field.
- Commitment to empowering domestic violence survivors using trauma-informed, equity, and strength-based approaches.
- Valid New York State driver's license and access to a reliable vehicle for frequent travel to meetings, including locations not accessible by public transportation.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs, including Excel.
- Ability to enter accurate information into a case-record management system or database.
Nice To Haves
- Prior domestic violence experience is strongly preferred.
- Spanish-English bilingual skills are welcomed.
Responsibilities
- Answer hotline calls in a compassionate and professional manner.
- Provide crisis counseling and trauma-informed support, including de-escalation, to callers and chat line users.
- Collaborate with callers and chat line users on safety planning using trauma-informed, survivor-centered, and solution-focused practices, including the Danger Assessment.
- Refer callers and chat line users to relevant services.
- Triage client follow-up calls based on high-risk factors and work with interns to complete follow-up call requests.
- Attend HRT-related and internal departmental meetings as needed to improve processes and build and maintain relationships with partners and coworkers.
- Provide accurate information about common dynamics of domestic and interpersonal violence.
- Support bachelor's- and master's-level students completing fieldwork on the hotline.
- Serve as the liaison and designated contact for the Erie County High Risk Team, responding to and following up on eligible cases.
- Serve as the main contact for participating law enforcement jurisdictions and provide immediate crisis intervention.
- Follow up with HRT cases and high-risk survivors who need emergency housing when Haven House shelter placement is unavailable.
- Assist with maintaining data and case-management records in Empower.
Benefits
- Paid time off: 20 days, increasing to 25 days after five years of employment.
- 14 paid holidays, including two flexible holidays.
- Four paid bereavement days.
- Paid jury duty.
- Employer-paid life insurance.
- Medical insurance with two plan options.
- Dental insurance with two plan options.
- Vision insurance.
- Wellness program and incentives.
- Health Savings Account with quarterly employer contributions.
- Healthcare Flexible Spending Account.
- Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account.
- Employee referral bonus.
- Qualifying employer for the Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
- 403(b) retirement plan available immediately, with employer contributions after two years.
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
Upload and Match Resume
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
