Forensic Interviewer/Family Advocate

JOB TITLE: Forensic Interviewer/Family Advocate

FLSA STATUS: Non-Exempt (Hourly)

REPORTS TO: Children’s Advocacy Center Program Director

HOURS: Full-time at 40 hours per week, Mon - Fri, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. 1 hour lunch.

FORENSIC INTERVIEWER/FAMILY ADVOCATE GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

The purpose of a Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) Forensic Interviewer/Family Advocate is to work alongside other service professionals to jointly investigate cases of child abuse/neglect and provide support services and follow up to both the client and affected family members.

PRIMARY DUTIES:

Forensic Interviewer

1. Coordinate scheduling of Forensic Interviews with sexual assault services/medical (SAS), child protective services (CPS), law enforcement, and prosecution.

2. Consult with SAS, CPS, and Law Enforcement prior to interview to collect collateral knowledge of history and needs of children being interviewed.

3. Conduct legally sound, child-friendly forensic interviews that minimize the traumatic effect on the child while simultaneously following the nationally recognized practice guidelines American Professional Society Abuse of Children (APSAC) and/or National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC) forensic interview protocol.

4. Assist clients with crisis management and resolution of client issues, as appropriate for the role of Forensic Interviewer. Perform duties of a Family Advocate on opposite cases.

5. Forensic Interviewers may be required to testify in court and may be subpoenaed to testify. Attendance is mandatory, even if the FI is no longer employed with Childhaven. FI’s shall maintain an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV) for use in court documenting all education, experience, training, professional associations and accomplishments.

6. Assure all documentation is completed for client records including proper chain of evidence is followed for managing tape custodian, striving for a 100% accuracy rate and cross checks own data input.

Family Advocate

1. Complete documentation and accurate data entry of forensic interview and family advocate program data.

2. Assure completion of Crime Victim Reparation Commission (CVRC) compensation application for each victim of crime.

3. Assure the linkage of clients and affected family members to mental health and aftercare services. Continues to engage with family within 2 weeks post interview and regularly until case closure.

4. Actively communicate with staff internal and external to Childhaven to ensure case progress.

Programmatic

1. Flexibility in working primarily at the Children’s Advocacy Center office in Farmington, NM and weekly travel to satellite office in Gallup, NM., travel required.

2. Work with quality improvement mindset, incorporating supervisor’s and Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) feedback.

3. Participate in regular self-care to best handle any vicarious trauma.

4. Actively participate in Child Abuse Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meetings, Case Reviews in both counties and staff meetings.

5. Meet program goals, objectives, productivity standards, and outcomes.

6. Continue to review the San Juan County and McKinnley County protocols and the National Children’s Alliance standards to ensure the outcomes are met.

7. Assure separate staff people are assigned to conduct the Forensic Interview and Family Advocate job duties for each case.

8. Follow supervisor’s directions and other duties as assigned. Participate in regular supervision.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

1. Demonstrated professional experience with children, experience with children with special needs a plus.

2. Working knowledge of child development and psychodynamics of child abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and family dynamics.

3. Ability to manage emotional dynamics in high stakes conversations.

4. Ability to build rapport and maintain neutrality.

5. Excellent oral and written communication skills, able to adapt language for clarity and developmental level.

6. Practices active listening skills and able to detect non-verbal cues and emotional responses.

7. Must have good computer skills, familiarity with Microsoft Office

8. Knowledge of local community resources and social service delivery systems.

9. Skilled in providing crisis intervention services to victims and/or their families.

10. Good organizational skills

11. Skilled in working with a population diverse in ethnicity, race, religion, socioeconomic background, physical and/or mental ability, sexual preference, and gender identify/expression.

12. Ability to work well with a complex network of MDT partner agency personnel (social services, law enforcement, medical, mental health, and prosecution).

13. Ability to uphold ethical and legal confidentiality standards and recuse oneself on cases if any conflict of interest exists (friend, family, etc.)

QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Education and experience:

a. Associate’s Degree related to social work, education, criminal justice, nursing, psychology plus three (3) years of experience working with children (or)

b. Bachelor’s Degree related to social work, education, criminal justice, nursing, psychology plus two (2) years of experience working with children (or)

c. Master’s Degree related to social work, education, criminal justice, nursing, psychology plus one (1) year of experience working with children.

2. Demonstrated competency in conducting forensic interviews, advocacy, and child abuse investigations.

3. Annual- 24 hours of approved continuing education in the field of child maltreatment and/or forensic interviewing required per year, including trauma-informed practices.

4. Documentation of a minimum of 35 hours of national or state recognized forensic interviewer training. Observation of 50 Forensic Interviews prior to conducting live interviews with supervisory assistance. Satisfactorily complete 3-5 mock interviews with supervisory staff and demonstrate competence with Forensic Interviewing skills prior to conducting solo interviews without supervisor present in a monitoring capacity.

5. Able to work and participate in weekly training and supervision meetings in Farmington and Gallup and attend 2 formal sessions of peer review twice per year.

6. Must have reliable transportation and be eligible to become a driver for Childhaven (Age 25 or older, hold a current and valid NM Driver’s License, and maintain a clean driving record).

7. Must pass local, state, and federal background checks (including fingerprints)

8. Must obtain and maintain CPR/First Aid, CPI certification and VOCA VAT/CVRC training.

9. Abide by state licensing regulations and standards, and Childhaven policies and procedures.

10. Bilingual (Spanish/English or Navajo/English) preferred.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $20.00 - $22.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Education:

• Associate (Required)

Experience:

• Working with children: 2 years (Required)

Language:

• any languages in addition to English (Preferred)

Location:

• Farmington, NM 87401 (Preferred)

Ability to Commute:

• Farmington, NM 87401 (Required)

Willingness to travel:

• 25% (Required)

Work Location: In person