Description of Position:
The Family Advocate works together with Clinicians to provide families with services that are comprehensive and address their advocacy and basic needs. Under general supervision, this position performs diversified social services for children and families, assisting clients in obtaining necessary services and linking with appropriate community resources.
Duties and Responsibilities:
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Conduct initial interview with families to identify needs and develop a preliminary plan for implementation.
- Review cases with clinical team or supervisor and receive direction and assistance in resolving difficult situations
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Facilitate linkages to non-traditional services and support systems
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Facilitate linkages with community providers
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Serve as liaison between clinic, family and other community agencies serving the family to ensure the most effective and appropriate delivery of services
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Participate in community and other professional training and education activities, seminars, workshops in pursuit of professional growth and development
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Perform all other appropriate and related duties as assigned
COMPETENCIES:
Must demonstrate the following competencies:
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Diversity and Inclusion:
Employees must make every effort to:
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Treat others with respect
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Practice cultural humility
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Elicit and welcome different points of view
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Integrity:
Act ethically with honesty and consistency regardless of the situation. Employees must make every effort to:
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Be accountable for his or her own actions
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Make decisions based on what is better for the families and employees
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Build and maintain trust among co-workers and our families
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Uphold honesty in all actions
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Excellence:
Commitment to deliver outstanding practices in both managing the organization, service delivery, and collaborating with partners. Employees must make every effort to:
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Utilize data and research to provide the highest quality of care
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Regularly participate in professional development to stay abreast of most recent and progressive practices
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Promote continuous quality assessment and improvement
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Communication:
The ability to express oneself clearly and professionally both in writing, conversations, and in nonverbal communication with others. Employees must make every effort to:
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Speak clearly and in an organized manner that can be easily understood
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Express ideas concisely and respectfully
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Summarize or paraphrase his/her understanding of what others have said to verify understanding and prevent miscommunication
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Hold herself or himself accountable for pitch, speed, tone and volume of voice while speaking
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Show understanding of professional and cultural implications of body posture, stance, gestures, proximity to listener, facial expressions and appearance
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Write clear and concise sentences devoid of grammatical and spelling errors
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Tailor writing style to the audience of the message
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Write in a respectful and tactful manner
SKILLS:
Must be able to demonstrate:
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Proven ability to follow clinics protocols as well as making independent decisions in the best interest of the families while working both in the office and in the field
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Proven ability to communicate with families as well as with other providers such as police investigators, attorneys, court advocates and judges among others
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Knowledge of community resources commonly needed to support victims of crimes and proven ability to identify and link families and individuals to the appropriate community resources
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Proven ability to navigate the court system to support victims of crime i.e. support individuals getting restraining orders against perpetrators-support victims during forensic interviews etc.
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Demonstrated ability to maintain healthy boundaries between personal and professional responsibilities to be able to function in a high stress job
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Proven ability to manage conflict appropriately and advocate for victims of violence
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Family Engagement:
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Knowledge of person centered care
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Appropriate guidance and facilitation skills of families in the context of the culture, health status, and health needs
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Technical:
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Knowledge of basic group skills
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Basic negotiation skills
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Ability to delegate tasks, responsibilities, etc.
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Excellent time management skills
Qualifications:
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Bachelors degree in Behavioral Health services and/or Criminal Justice preferred
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High School Diploma or GED required
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Valid Driver’s license
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Direct clinical and administrative experience working with children and families, especially those presenting with and risk and crisis assessment skills
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Minimum 2 years of experience working with children and families providing case management or care coordination services
- Bilingual (Spanish/English) fluency in both written and oral communication