Child Welfare Advocate

Austin, TX

Full Time

SAFE Futures

Entry Level

Child Welfare Advocate

SAFE Futures aims to support survivors who are involved with child welfare systems while they are navigating these complex systems. The Child Welfare Advocate will provide ongoing education and training to SAFE clients and families involved in the family court system, concerning the dynamics of domestic and sexual violence and the co-occurrence of family violence and child maltreatment. The Child Welfare Advocate will also be responsible for providing short and/or long-term advocacy and support to survivors of family/domestic violence, human trafficking and/or sexual assault who have open Child Protective Services cases.

About SAFE:

SAFE’s mission is our name: Stop Abuse For Everyone. We achieve our mission by acknowledging and responding to the intersection of child abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking, and domestic violence.
The SAFE Alliance grew out of the courageous work of the Center for Battered Women, the Austin Rape Crisis Center, and the Austin Children’s Shelter, all respected, women-led human service agencies created by volunteers and informed by survivors who needed support, safety and justice.
With over 20 programs and 400 staff, we have been serving the Austin community and beyond for over 30 years.
The SAFE Alliance strongly encourages members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ+ identified people, gender-nonconforming people, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and people who speak a language in addition to English.

About this position:

We need two (2) people to fill the role of Child Welfare Advocate. This is a full-time, exempt position to be located at our Grove campus. This position will be a hybrid of in-person and in community work. We will pay you an annual base salary of $44,000-$46,000 dependent upon experience.

Key Duties:

Serve as a resource providing advocacy and case management support to survivors of violence who have open Child Protective Services (CPS) case in Travis County.
Ensure that advocacy, education and case management services are client-focused and cooperatively planned, implemented and evaluated.
Provide quality decision making which is client focused when working within Agency/Child Protective Services/Family Court Systems.
Conducts ongoing training for SAFE clients related to protective parenting, domestic violence, safety planning, and understanding CPS involvement and requirements.
Maintains accurate documentation and program statistics/evaluations to meet requirements of both the agency and grant reporting requirements. Complies with timelines with monthly statistical reports for all relevant parties.
Communicate effectively, instills trust and displays a high level of resilience when coordinating with all stakeholders:
- Travis County Family Court Judges and staff, Child Protective Services staff, Survivors of violence and their children, as well as other involved collaborating agencies.
Provide presentations, training and education to clients involved in the family court system, concerning the dynamics of domestic and sexual violence, the co-occurrence of family violence and child maltreatment, parenting strategies, trauma-informed services and available community resources.
Develops training curricula, workshops and small group education and/or makes recommendations that meet instructional goals and objectives.
Formulates training outlines and determines instructional methods, utilizing knowledge of specified training needs and effectiveness of such methods as individual training, group instruction, lectures, demonstrations, conferences, meetings, and workshops.
Participate professionally on internal and external workgroups and task forces which coincide with issues surrounding the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse/neglect, in support of positive systems change and to advocate for survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their children.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work or other related field required; four years of experience in social services may be substituted for education, or a combination of education and experience.
One year experience, required in:
- the field of Family Violence caused by Domestic Violence, Sexual Abuse & Exploitation, Human Trafficking and/or Child abuse and the intersection of the Child Protective Services system and/or the legal system.
- in the coordination and/or delivery of social service programs, victim advocacy, conflict resolution, guidance counseling.
One year of professional and client training or community education experience, preferred.
One year experience, preferred in:
- in civil or criminal legal services related to Family Court or Family Protective Services.
- providing one-on-one advocacy to domestic violence survivors.
Demonstrate appropriate skill level and capability in the operation of computers and general Microsoft Office Suite & software programs.
Pass all required criminal history background checks (including an FBI fingerprint check if applicable).
All employees are required to comply with policies regarding COVID-19, which may be subject to change. COVID vaccines are still highly recommended, and we encourage employees to get vaccinated if they are able.
Must have a valid Texas driver’s license and provide Department of Public Safety proof of driving record acceptable to agency insurers for the past three years, or have reliable transportation.
Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred.

About our benefits:

Full-time employees receive employer paid health insurance, short-term disability, and life insurance. *
Optional dental, vision and pet insurance. *
403(b) retirement plan with an employer match, and 15 days of Paid Time Off (PTO), 4 Personal Holidays, 8 Paid holidays, and more. *
We’ll provide you with an amazing work environment where you’ll get to make a difference every day.

Please note: All new employees, regardless of employment status will be required to start their employment on either the 1st or 16th of the month and will be required to attend a three-day new employee orientation that is held both in-person and virtually the first three days of the month.

*Benefits are prorated based on date of hire and hours worked. Eligibility is dependent upon FTE, status, etc.

For the most up-to-date and comprehensive list of our job openings, please visit our career page.

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