Children Youth and Families Counselor Advocate
Company Overview
Safe Passage is a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the aftermath and prevention of domestic violence and relationship abuse. Safe Passage provides services to address survivors’ holistic needs for recovery and physical safety. Services include trauma-informed counseling and support groups for survivors, families and children, community education, and individual and policy advocacy.
Our Mission: Safe Passage is dedicated to creating a world free of domestic violence and relationship abuse. We support survivors and their families. We engage our community. We advocate for systemic change.
Safe Passage is an organization made up of survivors, women, men, trans folks, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and LGBQT+ people. Oppression and violence disparately impacts us and we strongly encourage people from these and other impacted communities to apply. We aspire to foster a work environment that is inclusive as well as diverse. Survivors come from all different backgrounds, and so do our employees. We encourage you to apply if you believe you have the skills and experience to thrive in this role and contribute to our mission at Safe Passage.
Position Summary
The Children Youth and Families Counselor Advocate (CYFCA) (Spanish-English Bilingual) develops and implements programming at Safe Passage that addresses the needs of children and youth witness/survivors of domestic violence and non-offending survivor parents in the community setting. The CYFCA provides practical, emotional and educational support through engagement in therapeutic and recreational activities, modeling healthy relationships and non-violent conflict resolution using a multicultural empowerment model.
Essential Functions
Counseling & Advocacy
● Provide assessment, intervention and counseling to people who are experiencing or have experienced domestic violence through individual counseling, hotline response, and emergency walk-in intervention, with particular emphasis on child survivors and their non-offending parent/guardian.
● Facilitate culturally responsive support groups designed to support and empower survivors who are experiencing domestic violence.
● Provide advocacy and referrals on issues related to housing, public assistance, immigration issues, employment, education, children’s issues and others based on individual needs.
● Design and implement culturally relevant, competent, and responsive services based on needs of the Children, Youth and Families.
● Work in tandem with other agency staff on the planning and coordination of community events (Back to School Backpack Drive, Winter Wonderland, etc.,)
● Establish and maintain relationships and collaborate with other service providers and agencies serving Children/Youth survivors to ensure integrated support for survivors and their children who have experienced or witnessed domestic violence.
● Be a resource for other Safe Passage staff who are serving Children and Youth survivors.
● Provide childcare by appointment for individual client sessions and groups. Program Administration
● Maintain timely and accurate data documenting all services provided via the agency database.
● Maintain client confidentiality and privacy in accordance with best practice and agency policy.
● Provide supervision as assigned to interns and/or volunteers working with children, youth, or families.
● Prepare contributions to reports for management, board, and funders regarding program services .
● Receive programmatic supervision and evaluation from the Community Program Director as well as clinical supervision with the licensed mental health counselor advocate.
● Collaborate with other staff and leadership to ensure consistency of program standards and agency policy compliance across the agency.
● Conduct regular inventory and purchasing of arts and crafts supplies to be used for groups and childcare.
Expectations of all employees
In the performance of essential and general job responsibilities, all Safe Passage employees are expected to:
● Demonstrate commitment to Safe Passage’s mission and principles of diversity, inclusion, and empowerment.
● Represent Safe Passage in a professional and competent manner to clients, organizational partners, and other stakeholders.
● Perform quality work within deadlines.
● Work effectively as a team contributor on all assignments while contributing to a positive working environment for staff and volunteers.
● Work independently while understanding the necessity for communicating and coordinating work efforts with other employees and organizations.
Work Hours and Schedule
35 hours/week, majority of hours are 9am-5pm Monday through Friday with one evening per week and the occasional weekend commitment. This position has a hybrid working option, with at least 3 days in office and other days off-site.
Hiring Requirements
Education: Associates Degree in human services, child development or similar field. Candidates with non-traditional educational pathways and commensurate life/work experience are encouraged to apply.
Required Qualifications:
● Bilingual (Spanish) language proficiency.
● Understanding of the potential impacts of trauma during childhood as well as issues affecting children and parents.
● Ability to support survivors in crisis with empathy while maintaining professional boundaries.
● Minimum of 2 years experience working with children. Internships are accepted as experience.
Tools & Technology Requirements
High level of proficiency and comfort utilizing and troubleshooting technology, including but not limited to: PC systems, google suite (gmail, drive, calendar), zoom and web conferencing, electronic databases, and cloud-storage programs.
Benefits
Safe Passage is a supportive, collaborative workplace that fosters growth in its employees, both personally and professionally. We strive to hold an environment that encourages growth, creativity, and flexibility. We are advocates for livable wages, self-care and work-life balance, and our compensation package reflects this. Employees receive 3 weeks of accrued vacation for the first year, 4 weeks starting year 2, and 5 weeks after 9 years, prorated for part time. We provide three personal days, and ample holiday and sick time. Benefits include health and dental insurance, and a 401(k) plan with agency match. Safe Passage works to earn its position as a justice-centered employer of choice in Western MA. Safe Passage provides a bilingual pay premium of $1/hour for staff who possess language competency that is likely to be utilized in their position.