DCFS Co-Located Advocate/Legal Advocate

• To provide support to child welfare professionals working with families experiencing past or present domestic violence in order to enhance and strengthen the effectiveness of the child welfare intervention. The Advocate also aims to improve communication and coordination among child welfare and other community-based services and systems.
• To provide legal advocacy to victims/survivors of domestic violence and educate and collaborate with the legal system and community service providers.

• Consultation
  • The purpose of the “consultation” is to help build the capacity of child welfare professionals to adequately understand and interpret the dynamics and impact of the domestic violence on the family and to craft effective interventions that enhance the safety and wellbeing of all members of the family.
• Direct Contact with Families
  • The purpose of “Direct Contact with Families” is to assist and support the family during the child welfare intervention, and to gather and interpret information that forms the basis for the effective intervention governed by an Informed Consent process. 
• Training/Education
  • The purpose of training/education is to increase cross-system understanding of child welfare and domestic violence by specifically focusing on identified topics that enhance the ability of child welfare professionals to meet the complex needs of families experiencing domestic violence and to ensure that the domestic violence community, in turn understands the experiences of families in the child welfare system.
• Community Collaborations
  • The purpose of involving the Advocate in community collaborations is to include the child welfare voice at community tables involving domestic violence and to coordinate a cross-sector team that can collaborate to meet the needs of child welfare involved families

• Help victims/survivors complete Order of Protection forms and navigate court process for Orders of Protection
• Accompany victims/survivors to court, police, state’s attorney to provide support and information regarding Orders of Protection and the Illinois Domestic Violence Act (IDVA)
• Encourage survivors’ continued participation in domestic violence programming through referrals and coordination of victim advocacy with Probation Victim Advocate co-located at the Winnebago County Courthouse/DVAC or other Agency domestic violence program staff
• Make appropriate referrals to community agencies
• Develop and maintain a working relationship with Judicial System service providers
• Develop and maintain a working relationship with local law enforcement agencies
• Develop, distribute and maintain materials on local legal system procedures

• Bilingual Spanish/English preferred
• Skills in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with clients/survivors, staff, other service providers/professionals, and the public
• Leadership and organizational skills
• Ability to be mobile, moving to various offices as needed
• A commitment to the philosophy and program of Remedies Renewing Lives, which includes a commitment to survivors’ and children's issues, sharing a belief in helping to create a society free from violence, and in working in a cooperative environment
• Ability to accept, to understand, and to relate sensitively to people of varied socioeconomic, racial, cultural, and experiential backgrounds
• Basic computer skills
• Demonstrate strong oral, presentation and written communication skills