Children’s Advocate

Summary

The Children’s Advocate is responsible for coordinating and providing services for children and parents at Asian Women’s Shelter who have been impacted by domestic violence (DV) and/or human trafficking, including advocacy, case management, educational and recreational activities, and crisis counseling and ongoing emotional support. The Children’s Advocate works collaboratively with the shelter team to maintain, develop, and strengthen the Children’s Program to provide comprehensive services to families at Asian Women’s Shelter.

Organization Description

Founded in 1988, Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS) is a dynamic non-profit organization dedicated to ending domestic violence and promoting the social, economic and political self-determination of women and all survivors of violence and oppression. AWS is recognized as a local, regional, and national leader in its field, known for its commitment to shared leadership, building effective collaborations, and movement-based services and cultural change work. Learn more about the Asian Women’s Shelter at www.sfaws.org.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Case management for children ages 0-18 who have been impacted by DV

• Complete intakes and safety planning with youth coming into the shelter with their parent.
• Provide emotional support, crisis intervention, advocacy, and case planning to children and youth in the shelter, including assessment and development of an action plan.
• Make referrals and advocate for connection to community resources such as in-school and after-school program placement, counseling, medical care, childcare, etc.
• Assess children for abuse and neglect in accordance with the law; work alongside appropriate agencies.
• Support youth and teen programming with current and former Children’s Program participants.

Provide support to parents residing at AWS

• Provide parenting education and support to parents in shelter, including creative, non-violent approaches to discipline, child development, children’s behavioral and mental health, transitions into and out of shelter, supporting children’s healing from violence, etc.
• Promote parent-child relationship building between children and their non-abusing parent.
• Work closely with Adult Advocates to provide coordinated family case management services.

Children’s Program Development

• Work closely with the other Children’s Advocate to maintain, coordinate, develop, and evaluate all aspects of the Children’s Program.
• Coordinate and facilitate children’s group activities, including evening and after-school opportunities.
• Train and support AWS volunteers in working with children.
• Establish and maintain a resource and referral network on various children’s services.
• Maintain up-to-date files on individual children, activities, intakes, and exits in strict accordance with privacy and confidentiality procedures.
• Coordinate special events for children including at AWS’s Lunar New Year Party and Annual Event.
• Coordinate and oversee all donations to the Children's Program in collaboration with the Facility Coordinator.
• Participate in regular Shelter team meetings and consultations.

General Shelter Support & Program Development

• Demonstrate commitment to AWS’s core values and approaches; contribute to a positive and effective teamwork environment.
• Participate in and contribute to staff retreats, meetings, training, and organizational development.
• Help with general shelter support: Respond to emergencies, help with answering phones, including crisis calls, share on-call duties, general upkeep of office and shelter space, help take care of minor repairs, prepare and maintain each room for children’s move-in and move-out.
• Demonstrate regular, predictable attendance and complete appropriate administrative duties.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education and/or Experience: Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from four-year college or university; or one to two years related experience and/or training in direct services/case management, program development and community outreach; or equivalent combination of education and experience in Social Work, Gender Studies, Sociology, Ethnic Studies, Psychology, Public Health, Child Development or related fields.
• Sufficient knowledge and awareness of issues related to domestic violence, human trafficking, child development, trauma, and parent-child relationships.
• Availability to work occasional evening and weekend hours.
• Computer Skills: Knowledge of and ability to perform using Internet software (Chrome, Safari), MacOS (Apple operating system), Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), Google Suite (Gmail, Google Calendar, Docs, etc.), databases (Apricot), and remote collaboration tools (Basecamp, Zoom, etc.). Knowledge of basic office equipment should include: Internet and email, copy, scan and fax machines, telephone and smartphone.
• A valid California driver’s license, proof of automobile insurance, and safe driving record required.
• California Domestic Violence Counselor Training & Certification (Training requirements can be completed post-hire through AWS’s training program).
• Bilingual/bicultural preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• Current and sufficient knowledge and awareness of issues related to Child Development, Trauma, Parent-Child Relationships, Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking.
• Experience working at least 2-3 years with children in a direct service setting (ex. daycare, childcare assistant, etc.)
• Bilingual/bicultural.
• One year of community and/or child welfare experience.

Other Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Ability to work as a member of a team and effectively contribute to shared organizational and program goals. Key skills are a cooperative work style and the capacity to build good working relationships.
• Demonstrated ability to work well with diverse communities (class, education, immigration status, sexual orientation, disability, age, gender identity, race, ethnicity, language, religion etc.).
• Ability to negotiate healthy boundaries with clients.
• Experience in project coordination, establishing priorities, time management, and communication.
• Experience building collaborations with other service providers.
• Knowledge and/or adept learning of communications and social media technologies preferred.

Physical Requirements

• The work environment includes settings of an office environment, shelter home, and community meeting spaces. The noise level in these settings is usually noisy.
• Both standing and sitting are required, with a significant number of hours spent each day sitting, looking at a screen, using a computer and keyboard, phone, and/or video conferencing.