Bilingual Family Advocate

Title: Bilingual Family Advocate

Mission & Values:

Collins Center is a sexual assault response and advocacy organization that serves Rockingham County, Page County, Warren County and the City of Harrisonburg.  Our mission is to promote healing through compassionate and collaborative services to all affected by sexual harm. We pursue our mission by offering a continuum of specialized services with an emphasis on support, advocacy, counseling, education, and a nationally accredited Child Advocacy Center (CAC).  

Collins Center operates under a set of core values that include being responsive to suggestions, influences, appeals, and efforts to meet our mission; acting with integrity, and adhering to a strong moral code of ethical professional practice; being accountable to our clients, staff, volunteers, donors, partners, and community; maintaining absolute confidentiality in the delivery of our client services, and engendering trust in all our interactions. These values guide our work with each other and with the communities we serve.

Job Description:

The Bilingual Family Advocate is a full-time, salaried position and an important member of the Collins Center team. Provides client services fluently in both English and Spanish. Reporting to the Associate Director and working closely with the Crisis Response and Forensic Interview Program Manager and Therapists, the Bilingual Family Advocate helps ensure that victims of sexual violence who contact Collins Center are offered quality services in a highly coordinated way. 

The Bilingual Family Advocate is responsible for providing advocacy services to child victims and their non-offending family members when sexual abuse and/or serious physical abuse has been alleged. The Bilingual Family Advocate coordinates with Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) partners, including medical, law enforcement, social services, victim/witness program and the Commonwealth Attorney’s office to deliver trauma-informed, comprehensive services. 

The concept of advocacy at its core is to be responsive to the diverse and wide-ranging needs of victims/survivors of sexual violence by addressing the entire scope of their experiences and needs beyond immediate crisis response. 

The Bilingual Family Advocate also plays a key role in supporting the delivery of prevention education programs. This includes assisting with the implementation of curriculum aimed at promoting healthy relationships, safety, and awareness in schools and community settings.

Responsibilities:

  • Provide assessment and advocacy services to victims of sexual violence and their non-offending family members at all stages of involvement with the Collins Center.

  • Communicate with law enforcement and child protective services to schedule forensic interviews and conduct intake calls with the non-offending caregiver. 

  • Ensure a consistent and comprehensive network of support for child victims and their non-offending family by working with the MDT on significant issues or changes related to a case and a child’s well-being, ensuring referrals and follow up services as needed.

  • Collaborate with the Commonwealth Attorney’s office and Victim/Witness Program on cases moving through the judicial system, and keep victims and families informed about the status of criminal proceedings.

  • Ensure victims required to testify receive adequate court preparation services.

  • Maintain thorough case records through timely, and accurate note taking and data entry following individual and/or family advocacy sessions.

  • Utilize data tracking systems to compile statistics for reports to funding sources accrediting bodies.

  • Utilize evidence-informed primary prevention strategies to conduct training and education, incorporating culturally specific, trauma-informed principles;

  • Represent Collins Center in its relationships with community-based organizations that are engaged in coalition/capacity-building efforts, and participate as appropriate in local, state, and national organizations' initiatives to build on common solutions to the root causes of violence;

  • Participate in local and state-wide meetings and attend training and conferences relevant to best practices in advocacy.

  • Participate in Collins Center staff and crisis meetings as scheduled.

  • Provide crisis intervention, including law enforcement, court or medical accompaniment to hotline clients and other victims of sexual violence.

  • Work as a team member with other staff and volunteers in order to achieve the mission of the Collins Center, including participating in community outreach programs, assisting in special events, and/or professional training when needed.

  • Shared responsibility to answer Collins Center phones during business hours and provide hotline support to victims. (After hours, on call hotline support is an optional employment opportunity).

Qualifications and Skills:

  • Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in social work, counseling, criminal justice, psychology, or related subject area or equivalent professional experience in a relevant field.

  • Fully bilingual in Spanish and English. Excellent written and oral communication in both languages required.

  • Understanding of trauma and sexual abuse dynamics and their impact on children and their non-offending family members.

  • Intimate understanding of primary Spanish-speaking communities and barriers to direct victim services preferred. 

  • Direct clinical experience working with children, adults and family members preferred.

  • Ability to assess clinical needs within a diverse victim/witness population and provide and or ensure the provision of culturally sensitive and appropriate services

  • Excellent interpersonal skills; able to effectively communicate with and coordinate between diverse groups and individuals including allied professionals, and primary and secondary victims/survivors.

  • Excellent organizational skills and the ability to work independently and as part of a team.

  • Understanding of the criminal justice system, child protection services, and court procedures.

The Collins Center provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, The Collins Center complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Employment is dependent upon the successful completion of a background check, including criminal and CPS clearances.

Email resume & cover letter to Erin Frazier to apply: erin@thecollinscenter.org