Domestic Violence Victim Advocate

OUR MISSION

The Family Place empowers survivors of family violence by providing safe housing, counseling, and skills that create independence while building community engagement and advocating for social change to stop family violence.

Position Summary

In this position as Domestic Violence Victim Advocate, you will collaborate with the 301st District Court to provide essential safety planning, advocacy, supportive counseling, and court accompaniment for survivors navigating the legal system in their most vulnerable moments.

You'll serve as a trusted guide and support system, helping clients understand and navigate the court process, seek protective orders, complete intake paperwork for supervised visitation and scheduling, and access victim compensation through the Office of Victim Services. Attend hearings at the 301st District Court to identify potential clients who need advocacy services, provide crisis intervention and needs assessment in the court-based setting, and offer continued communication and support throughout the victim's involvement with The Family Place services. You'll coordinate with court staff to establish effective safety plans that prioritize victim protection, connect survivors to emergency shelter, housing, childcare, legal services, clinical resources, medical services, and transitional compensation, and ensure they have a safe place to wait for hearings with access to free childcare provided by staff and volunteers. Develop strong networking relationships with community agencies, provide ongoing training and consultation on advocacy to court staff and volunteers, and educate the community about the impact of family and sexual violence.

If you have strong crisis intervention skills, understand the legal system and court processes, and want to be the steady, supportive presence that helps survivors navigate the justice system with dignity and safety, this is your opportunity to make an immediate difference at a critical intervention point. This position is Part-time, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 20 hours.

Key Responsibilities

Court-Based Advocacy & Client Services

• Attend hearings at the 301st District Court; work and coordinate advocacy services with litigants as potential candidates; answer parental questions about FLP services.
• Communicate with appropriate Family Place and 301st District Court staff to establish current and effective safety plans, recognizing the victim's safety as the advocate's top responsibility and priority.
• Provide crisis intervention and needs assessment in a court-based setting.
• Accompany victims to court appointments as necessary and when requested by the victim.
  
  

Resource Coordination & Support Services

• Offer victims information, resources, and options regarding their identified needs (e.g., emergency shelter, housing, childcare, legal services, clinical resources, medical services, transitional compensation, etc.).
• Provide information about victim compensation through the Office of Victim Services to help with the application process and connections to other services that include residential and nonresidential services.
• Assist clients with understanding and navigating through the court process, seeking an order of protection, intake paperwork for supervised visitation and scheduling, securing free childcare with the use of staff and volunteers, and a safe place for survivors to wait for hearings.
• Offer continued communication and support throughout the victim's involvement with The Family Place identified services.
  
  

Program Monitoring & Quality Assurance

• Monitor the methods by which referrals for resources are given by agency service providers (e.g., crisis hotline, shelter staff, counseling center or outreach staff).
  
  

Training, Education & Community Collaboration

• Offer ongoing training and consultation on advocacy to agency staff, county court staff, interns, and volunteers.
• Develop strong networking relationships with agencies providing services to clients in need.
• Participate in community education opportunities concerning the issues affecting victims of family and sexual violence.
• Advise victims of the impact of domestic violence on children and support victim's efforts to have children assessed and treated as needed.
  
  

Professional Development

• Participate in employee staff meetings and trainings as scheduled.
  
  

Other Duties

• Perform other related tasks and duties as assigned.