St. John’s Well Child & Family Center

Job Title: Victim Advocate – Domestic Violence Housing First FLSA Status: Non-Exempt Reports To: Homeless Services Program Coordinator Union Position: Union Approved By: Director of Human Resources Department: Homeless Services Approved Date: Jobs Supervised: None

OUR MISSION is to eliminate health disparities and foster community well-being by providing and promoting the highest quality care in South Los Angeles. OUR VISION: St. John’s Well Child and Family Center will be a leader, catalyst, and model for the best care, long-term community health improvements, and sustainable, health-enhancing system and structures in Los Angeles. OUR CORE VALUES Dignity We honor and respect every person we encounter as a valued member of the human family whose gifts and rights are to be protected. Excellence We support and champion individual and organizational growth, accountability, creativity, teamwork, and commitment to quality, and the best standard of care. Well-Being We promote and advocate for the full integration of our patient’s physical and mental health with their needs as an active member of a vibrant and just community. Social Justice We collaborate with others to develop systems, organizations, and programs that address the needs of and empower all members of our community with a preference for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.
JOB SUMMARY The Victim Advocate is responsible for working with an annual caseload of 84 survivors of domestic violence (DV) and will provide direct services to help clients increase access to and retain safe, permanent housing while providing tailored supportive services. The incumbent is also responsible for ensuring a measure of safety and security through survivor-driven, trauma-informed, culturally-sensitive crisis intervention, counseling, criminal justice support, and advocacy. This position is grant funded. The grant is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2022. The grant may or may not be funded again after that date. Your employment beyond the grant expiration date is not guaranteed. Should the grant not be funded, you are eligible and encouraged to apply for another position within the agency. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Performs a combination, but not necessarily all, of the following duties: Page 2 of 4 Job Description Last Revised & Approved Version #  Receive referrals from medical providers, behavioral health clinicians, and support staff to perform an initial domestic violence/sexual assault client assessment and evaluation, utilizing appropriate assessment and evaluation procedures, practices that meet or exceed industry standards;  Provide coordinated entry and intake assessments for participants seeking housing support, identifying housing service needs and coordinating initial services;  Develop a case management plan for each eligible client, provide short-term crisis intervention for clients who voluntarily wish to participate in services which include but are not limited to: accessing emergency shelter and motels, assistance with restraining orders and stalking orders, provide active listening, peer support, access mental health services, employment, long-term housing and provide follow up services in a timely manner;  Support participants in finding and securing safe, affordable housing;  Help families access resources for housing related assistance (i.e. furniture procurement, utility assistance, etc.);  Conduct risk assessment and provide on-going safety planning;  Advocate with managers and owners for tenancy and negotiate move-in costs;  Provide mobile advocacy and community engagement as needed;  Assist victims in attaining self-sufficiency and utilize a strength based, trauma informed empowerment model;  Complete all data entry, case notes, updating client files, reports, and all other program/grant required administrative tasks by deadlines;  Access legal services and obtain protective orders (restraining orders or stalking orders) for clients when necessary;  Access legal immigration services for clients. Assess for client eligibility for immigration relief and assist clients in gathering important documents and evidence, writing letters of support and obtaining clearance from law enforcement;  Advocate and coordinate with service providers, domestic violence agencies, law enforcement and the legal system for the needs of immigrant/refugee women victims and their families;  Provide/Secure interpretation and translation services to link clients with existing mainstream domestic violence services and shelters as needed;  Maintain confidential individual client files including records of intakes, assessments, case management, plans, hour of service, and all contacts and referrals made  Establish and develop working relationships with clients;  Provide crisis intervention, advocacy, and case management, including developing appropriate safety plans with clients, to address the variability of victims’ needs;  Assist with the filing of victim compensation forms;  Attend regularly-scheduled and impromptu meetings and maintain communication with program team members and supervisor;  Assist in the production of required weekly, monthly, and/or quarterly data collection reports;  Maintain outreach activity calendars and logs according to program standards;  Assist with program evaluations and updates to assigned program and services;  Attend appropriate community resource meetings and trainings, as assigned;  Work in collaboration with other departments when required;  Attend meetings, trainings, and other work-related events as needed; and  Other duties may be assigned or may be modified as business needs dictate. Supervisory Responsibilities  This position has no supervisory responsibilities. Responsibility to Team: Actively support assigned team/department by participating in and supporting all team/departmental initiatives, proactively communicating with supervision, meeting assigned goals and objectives, and committing to embracing process improvement initiatives. Responsibility to Organization: Page 3 of 4 Job Description Last Revised & Approved Version # Actively support SJWCFC by consistently meeting St. John’s Mission, Vision, and Values; modeling positive interactions with patients, staff, and community; keeping informed of internal (e.g. policies and procedures) and external (e.g. legal or political matters) which may affect business.
QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Education & Experience  Bachelors’ degree in a social work/mental health related field AND at least two years’ experience providing services to DV survivors OR  At least three years’ experience as an Advocate for survivors of DV;  Previous completion (preferred), or willingness to complete, 40 hour DV Advocate training;  Comfortable working with diverse populations including formerly incarcerated individuals, undocumented individuals, LGBTQ populations, communities of color, and those experiencing homelessness, substance abuse, and/or severe mental illness;  Experience with Housing First and Harm-Reduction strategies, Motivational Interviewing, Patient Centered and Trauma Informed Care, Crisis Intervention & Prevention strategies;  Bilingual English/Spanish required (read, write, speak) Licensure/Certification – Employees are responsible for maintaining individual certifications as required by job function or by law and provide verification and recertification when requested by management:  Valid CA Driver’s License and car required for travel to different clinic sites and community events Language Skills Ability to read, analyze and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public. Bilingual English/Spanish (read, write, speak) required. Reasoning Ability Ability to define problems collects data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions. Synthesize complex or diverse information. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram from and deal with several abstract and concrete variables. Ability to interpret situations, characteristics, behavior, etc. and respond appropriately. Computer Skills To perform this job successfully, an individual should have strong knowledge of MS Outlook, MS Excel, MS Word, and Internet software.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 Page 4 of 4 Job Description Last Revised & Approved Version # pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
WORK ENVIRONMENT The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this Job, the employee establishes and maintains effective work relationships with co-workers and customers, maintains regular attendance, understands and carries out a variety of oral and written instructions, has knowledge of proper English usage, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and vocabulary, has the ability to learn office principles, practices, and methods, understands filing systems, including numerical, alphabetical, and chronological, learns a variety of procedures, policies, and services of the assigned work unit or program, performs assigned duties with efficiency and accuracy and maintains confidentiality. The employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts and risk of electrical shock. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.