Victim/Witness Advocate - Police

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Class Title
Victim/Witness Advocate - Police
Class Code
5946
Salary
$62,940.80 - $88,587.20 Annually
Classification Description Summary

Under direction, performs a wide variety of duties involved in providing support to and serving as an advocate for the rights and protection of victims of crimes; assesses each individual victim’s needs and works together with other community resources to fulfill those needs including shelter, counseling, referrals, food, property return, general advocacy, and support; and works on application, reports, and documents directly related to grant funding for positions.

Essential Functions

The following duties are typical for this classification. Incumbents may not perform all of the listed duties and/or may be required to perform additional or different duties from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices.

Provide support to and serve as an advocate for the rights and protection of victims of crime; provide advocacy by phone and/or in person to victims of crime.

Assist victims of crime when requested by law enforcement at crime scenes, hospitals, or other safe location; provide support, referrals, and information to victims including crime victims' rights and victim compensation information/application; send appropriate literature to victims via mail.

Contact victims on a follow-up basis to provide additional information, case status, and resource materials and referrals; keep victims informed with accurate information regarding the status of their case.

Complete case intake forms on each contact; document the services provided and referrals made; conduct thorough case management on all cases advocacy is provided to include follow-up contacts.

Prepare statistics regarding program operations; prepare quarterly reports on advocacy provided.

Work closely and interact with detectives, patrol officers, supervisors, service providers, other advocates, other governmental agencies, and the general public to ensure victim's rights and needs are addressed.

Provides support on all tasks related to the grant related to the position to include but not limited to, providing information for application, quarterly reports, and other relevant documents.

Perform duties outlined within the scope of work, as included within the executed award document.

Perform related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

The following generally describes the knowledge and ability required to enter the job and/or be learned within a short period of time in order to successfully perform the assigned duties.

Knowledge of:

Operations, services, and activities of a victim/witness advocacy program.

Effective interviewing, listening, and counseling skills.

Community resources and the availability of those resources.

Case management principles and practices.

Principles and procedures of legal, grant, and financial record keeping.

Methods of research, case analysis, and report preparation.

English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Office procedures, methods, and equipment including computers and applicable software applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and databases.

Pertinent federal, state, and local codes, laws, and regulations.

Characteristics of victims of crime.

Ability to:

Provide support to and serve as an advocate for the rights and protection of victims of crimes.

Interpret and explain various procedures and case flow.

Listen and respond to victims with empathy.

Exercise patience and understanding in dealing with victims with mental and physical disabilities, substance abuse problems, and economic barriers.

Gather and analyze case data and information and evaluate options.

Interpret, understand, and apply federal, state, and local policies, laws, and regulations; ensure adherence to applicable laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to ethics and advocacy and grant management.

Maintain accurate and complete files.

Respond to requests and inquiries from the general public.

Assist in the development and implementation of procedures for assigned area of operation.

Work independently on cases and with victims.

Plan and organize workload.

Work in a team based environment to achieve common goals.

Coordinate multiple projects and complex tasks simultaneously.

Meet the physical requirements to safely and effectively perform the assigned duties.

Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.

Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Education and Experience Guidelines -Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Education/Training:

A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in criminal justice, social work, or a related field. An equivalent combination of related experience in social work, counseling, or victim advocacy working to meet the needs of victims of violent crime may be substituted on a year-for-year basis for the Bachelor’s Degree.

Experience:

Three years of increasingly responsible social work, counseling, or victim advocacy experience, of which a minimum of 18 months of the experience must include providing advocacy for and working to meet the immediate needs of victims of violent crime, preferably within a law enforcement setting.

License or Certificate:

Possession of an appropriate, valid driver's license.

Supplemental Information

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT
The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

Environment: Work is performed primarily in an office and field setting with travel to various locations; incumbents are required to provide on-call services on a rotational basis.

Physical: Primary functions require sufficient physical ability and mobility to work in an office setting; to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time; to occasionally stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, reach, and twist; to lift, carry, push, and/or pull light to moderate amounts of weight; to operate office equipment requiring repetitive hand movement and fine coordination including use of a computer keyboard; and to verbally communicate to exchange information.

Other Requirements

Local 39 Non-Supervisory

G24

Last Update: 11/2022

JD 11/2022

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