Sr. Advocate SAF (Services to Aid Families) - Transitional Housing Focus

OCO•Oswego, NY

13d

About The Position

OCO's Services to Aid Families (SAF) team is seeking a Sr. Advocate to provide advocacy services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness or in need of transitional housing resulting from their victimization related to do mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, child abuse, or other crimes. The selected candidate will provide direct services to support victims in reaching goals including attaining safe and stable housing, budgeting, employment counseling, and/or re-entry into the workforce.

Requirements

Must have a desire to work with individuals and families and a demonstrated ability to work with others in a warm, non-judgmental manner.
Must exhibit a detailed knowledge of regulations, services, rights and responsibilities for the population served and a thorough understanding of the family development process
Must have the ability to work with populations with special needs, including those that may exhibit aggressive behaviors.
Must complete and maintain all regulatory training/education for NYS DOH Rape Crisis Certification and Domestic Violence Advocate privilege.
Must be able to work independently and be self-motivated, resourceful, organized and adaptable in carrying out job duties
Must be familiar with the geographical layout of the county and have knowledge of civil/legal systems and human service resources in the county
Must have good oral and written communication skills and have excellent documentation and reporting skills.
Must possess skills for complex data entry and have the ability to read and interpret complex information and manipulate data.
Must exhibit professionalism, good judgment and maintain strict confidentiality with regard to client information.
Must be flexible with work schedule in order to meet the needs of the program; must participate in 24 hour on-call emergency services on a rotating basis.
Must have acceptable health to carry out the responsibilities of the position.
Must have a valid NYS Driver’s license with driving record within policy and access to a properly insured, reliable vehicle for regular travel and transporting consumers.
Bachelors is preferred or any combination of education and experience.
1-3 years’ experience in Human Services/Victim Assistance programming with a wide variety of ages and populations; or
Any equivalent combination of education, experience and training.

Responsibilities

Provides crisis intervention and advocacy to individuals and families experiencing victimization using a strength-based, trauma-informed approach via phone and in-person at community locations and home visits.
Develops comprehensive assessments and individualized service plans and coordinates service activities to help consumers meet their needs and protect their rights in a variety of civil and legal processes.
Provides advocacy between Transitional Housing participant and landlord to ensure tenant rights, understanding lease agreements, and to foster positive relationships between tenant and landlord.
Works in collaboration with a wide variety of service providers and community support agencies to engage consumers and assist them in connecting to needed services.
Provides referrals, advocacy, and assistance with completion of applications for a variety of individual needs, as well as monitors the provision of these and other services to primary and secondary victims.
Follows strict protocols for safety when working in public on behalf of victims including protection of the confidentiality of staff.
Provides the teaching and coaching of life skills such as safety planning, civil/legal systems, positive problem-solving, healthy relationships; facilitates education and prevention education in the community.
Provides or arranges transportation to enable consumers to connect with the courts and police agencies, medical providers, DSS caseworkers, and other needed resources in the community.
Provides on-call 24-Hour Rape Crisis Response crisis intervention related to the forensic medical exam and or medical treatment on a rotating basis as scheduled to the local emergency room for victims of sexual assault
Case-manages on clients’ behalf with co-workers, supervisors and community partners including law enforcement, local courts, prosecutors, probation and attorneys as needed.
Plans safety for Victims of Domestic Violence and Crime while maintaining staff safety in a variety of settings; in client homes, during accompaniments to court and law enforcement agencies, apartment viewings, and more.
Maintains records for individual client-related services, as well as a variety of documentation used to report program outcomes, provide data in the agency data management system; and complete documents for billable services and grant reports.
Acts in a Leadership role, represents the agency to community partners and oversees program specific functions, as assigned.