Outreach Youth Advocate

Find a rewarding job with The Spring of Tampa Bay! We provide safe spaces and empowering services to survivors of domestic violence and their children.

Job Overview

Provides empowerment-based advocacy, safety planning, supportive counseling, crisis intervention and service management to teen dating violence survivors and youth who are secondary victims of domestic violence. Provides information, referrals, and counseling to participants. Provides crisis intervention and referral services to phone callers. Assists with youth programming in the community as needed.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Provides advocacy to individual youth participants by appointments or walk-in as needed to assess the lethality of the situation, develop a safety plan and ongoing safety planning
• Assesses the participant's individual strengths and needs, identifies strengths and challenges present

• Offers options and assists the participants in selecting from the options available.
• Provides information on victims rights, crimes compensation assistance and relocation and criminal justice systems.
• Coordinates and refers to services with appropriate community resources and other agency programs such as Clinical Youth Services, Kids' Team at Shelter, DV/CW program, Rural programming, law enforcement, education applications, mental health and substance use intervention services.
• Provides crisis counseling and referrals to youth (or parents) that seek services from outreach or other community programs.
• Completes intake documents and procedures.
• Attends agency meetings and all other meetings as assigned.
• Service planning, goal setting, management and documentation meets statewide program standards.

• Assists participants with arranging for transportation to appointments as needed.
• Maintains participant files and ensures data is entered into database while meeting agency documentation expectations and requirements

• Maintains, compiles and submits written records required for statistical monthly reporting and outcomes of services rendered required by grant contracts.
• Consults with supervisor on a regular basis, regarding all agency, participant, and service management issues.

• Facilitates victim support group(s) as assigned.
• Initiates and maintains contact with referral sources and contacts in the community geared towards victim services, including school personnel.

Occasional duties or projects which may be performed at irregular intervals

• Assist with training new, staff, volunteers, and interns, as assigned.
• Covers front desk as needed.
• Co-facilitation of Youth focused groups and youth peer-support programming.
• Co-facilitation Victim Services programming.
• Supports other advocate with training and presentations to youth and community partners as needed.
• Attends various community meetings as appropriate (Healthy Teen Network, School Health Advisory Committee, etc.)
• Answers Outreach phone voicemail and returns calls providing safety planning, information, referral, and links/schedules for services, as needed.
• Assists participants on other advocates cases as needed.
• Assists with community presentations and trainings as requested
• Assists with data collection for research and/or scholarly studies.
• Performs other related duties as requested.

Accountability: Areas in which the position is accountable/responsible

• Participant Service: Maintains participant satisfaction and quality of services.
• Records: Maintains complete and up to date participant files by entering data into WS, master list, and files as soon as possible after all contact. Assists with statistical reporting and other assessments as required.
• Quality: Maintains best practices in curriculum, program-planning, implementation, documentation and statistical outcome reports.
• Public Relations: Represents the agency in a professional manner at all times.

Supervision Responsibility:

• None

Business-Related Contacts:

• Representatives of various community resources/agencies including, but not limited to: Local schools, community agencies, Department of Juvenile Justice/Juvenile Diversion, Child Welfare Agencies, Participants and family members.

Prohibited Functions:

• Does not respond to requests from the
• Does not provide any service which could be interpreted as practicing

Education/Training/Experience

• Bachelor's degree and two years of experience preferred. Experience working with youth strongly preferred.
  
  

Specialized or technical educational requirements:

• Has a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of domestic violence, teen dating violence, service programs, confidentiality and privilege.
• Computer literate
• Experience facilitating groups preferred
• Experience in public speaking preferred

Certification or Licensing Requirements

• FCADV Competency-Based Core training plus an additional 6 hours of individualized training (30 hours total) to qualify for privilege status; must successfully pass written test
• Valid Florida Driver's License with at least two years driving experience, active automobile insurance and an acceptable Motor Vehicle Report.
• Must be able to pass and maintain a Level II background check
• Requires on-going 16-hours of DV related training after the first

Physical Demands

• While performing the duties of this job the employee is regularly required to hear, talk, stand, sit, walk, use hands and Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
• The physical demands described here 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

Work Environment:

• The work environment is normally that of an office atmosphere with a moderate noise
• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential

Additional Remarks:

This position requires the following:

• Flexibility with schedule.
• Demonstrated maturity and good judgment.
• Ability to handle crisis situations calmly and with expertise.
• A self-starter and the ability to perform with a high degree of autonomy and as part of a team.
• Must be flexible with schedule, hours include some evenings and weekends. Schedule may in part be determined by community requests and program needs.
• Ability to exercise independent judgment and decision making.
• Excellent organizational, analytical and time management skills.
• Excellent verbal and oral communication and presentation skills.
• Maintains professionalism at all times, in all situations.
• Reliable transportation required.

Behavior Expectations:

The expectation is that each team member demonstrates knowledge of our company culture code and works in a way that aligns with our 15 fundamental behaviors. Our Guiding Principles are at the beginning of our culture code guidebook,

We are...

Survivor-Focused and Empowerment Based. The diverse voices of survivors inform the decisions we make. Survivors are encouraged to heal and move forward at the pace they set.

Collaborative. Collaboration with our community partners helps create better outcomes for survivors while also ensuring knowledge of the services we provide.

Diverse & Inclusive. Our team reflects the diversities of our community and the survivors we serve. We establish spaces and services that are supportive of all people.

A Great Place to Work. People love to work here. We develop the potential of our staff and support their growth as leaders in this work.

Honest & Ethical. We are transparent. We deliver on our promises. Each dollar we receive is used for its intended purpose and its greatest good.

A Safe Space. Safety leads each interaction with survivors.

Advocates. We tirelessly advocate for survivor safety, abuser accountability, and improving the overall system in our community.

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