Investigative Consultant I

City of New York•New York City, NY

1d•$67,510 - $77,637

About The Position

The Investigative Consultant I (Protection Agent) supports the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) in complex and sensitive investigations involving children in ACS custody, including allegations of child abuse or neglect and efforts to locate youth missing from foster care, placement, or non-secure detention settings. The role advises and trains Child Protective Specialists (CPS), supervisors, and other child-protective staff in investigative approaches and techniques. Under supervision, with latitude for independent action and decision-making, the position is assigned to a child-protective field office or special investigation unit, such as Emergency Children’s Services or the Office of Special Investigation. Investigative Consultants provide expert assistance on allegations involving parents, Children’s Services, or other City staff, including cases resulting in serious injury or death. They may accompany staff on challenging home visits, interview and document information from children and community members, testify in court, perform background checks, use investigative databases, and conduct fieldwork to help locate missing youth. They also train staff in sensitive investigative methods, worker safety, and strategies for handling difficult interactions.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent and five years of satisfactory full-time law-enforcement experience, including at least three years in Special Victims, Forensics, Homicide, Domestic Violence, Missing Persons, a Precinct Detective unit, or a closely related law-enforcement work unit or task force; alternatively, an associate degree or 60 semester credits from an accredited college or university and at least three years of satisfactory law-enforcement experience, including at least two years in a specialized law-enforcement unit or task force described above.
At appointment, possess a motor vehicle driver license valid in New York State and maintain it for the duration of employment.

Responsibilities

Provide expert assistance on child abuse or neglect cases involving parents, Children’s Services, or other City staff, including cases involving serious injury or death.
Accompany Child Protective Specialists and supervisors on home visits anticipated to be unusually difficult.
Conduct and document interviews with children, family members, neighbors, school officials, and other community members as needed.
Testify in court regarding investigations.
Train child-protective staff in sensitive-investigation techniques, including observation, interviewing, detecting signs of abuse or neglect, interrogations, forensics, and evidence and documentation collection.
Train and prepare CPS staff to deal with difficult or recalcitrant parental figures during home visits or child removal.
Conduct criminal and domestic-violence background checks; document, analyze, and interpret the results for CPS.
Assist and train child-protective staff in navigating public databases.
Provide training and assistance to provider agencies and ACS staff to help gather information to locate AWOL youth.
Use investigative databases and review records to develop leads for locating AWOL youth.
Make field visits to assist in locating youth AWOL from foster care, placement, or detention settings.
Re-interview parents, neighbors, and relatives when provider agencies have not successfully located AWOL youth.
Collaborate and share information with law enforcement so that located youth can be safely returned to foster care, placement, or detention settings.