Job Title: Domestic Violence/Adult Protective Services Co-location Advocate | Program: Clinical Services Reports to: Adult Protective Services Manager Schedule: Monday-Friday; Varies Classification: Full Time-Exempt Job Classification: Advocate Education: Bachelor's Degree

SUMMARY: The Domestic Violence/Adult Protective Services Co-location Advocate will provide support to adult protective services professionals working with families experiencing past or present domestic violence in order to enhance and strengthen the effectiveness of the adult protective service intervention. This partnership specifically targets the shared goals of the domestic community and ADP to end violence in Illinois families, reduce risk, ensure seniors and adults with disabilities safety, enhance the safety of adult survivors from the perpetrator, increase offender accountability, support parental strengths and protective capacities, promote safety, stability, and wellbeing and to improve outcomes for seniors and adults with disabilities experiencing domestic violence. The Advocate also aims to improve communication and coordination among APS and other community-based services and systems. The Co-location Advocate works closely with all programs and reports to the Adult Protective Services Manager.

JOB SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Consultation

· The purpose of the “consultation” is to help build the capacity of adult protective services professionals to adequately understand and interpret the dynamics and impact of the domestic violence on the victim and to craft effective interventions that enhance the safety and wellbeing of all members of the family.

· Through the “consultation” role, the Advocate provides expert, “in the moment” guidance, advice, interpretation, professional opinions, and strategies related to domestic violence based upon the information gathered at the point of the consultation.

· The Advocate provides consultation to APS investigative, intact, and permanency APS specialists. During consultations the Advocate can provide but is not limited to guidance, advice, interpretation, professional opinions, and strategies.

· Offer information about domestic violence in general

· Guide questions for the APS investigative specialist/case manager/supervisor to ask and information to gather.

· Identify the dynamics of domestic violence present in the particular home.

· Identify each parent/adult as either the non-offending parent or the domestic violence perpetrator.

· Identify immediate safety risks to the senior and adult survivors, and the potential safety risk in the future.

· Identify the potential options for safety strategies, such as going to a domestic violence shelter or obtain an Order of Protection.

· Identify the perpetrator’s pattern of coercive control and abusive tactics, and power and control.

· Identify the survivor’s strengths and protective efforts, and collaboratively build interventions that enhance these strengths.

· Identify “precautionary measures” that the non-offending parent/caretaker took.

· Analyze the impact of the perpetrator’s violence on the senior or adult and risk of harm.

· Understand the impact of the domestic violence on the parenting/caretaking practices of the non-offending parent/caretaker and on the relationship between them and their family member.

· Determine high risk indicators for intimate partner homicide.

· Contribute toward the creation of APS safety plans to reflect the necessary domestic violence considerations to enhance the safety of the seniors or adults with disabilities.

· Assist in establishing safe conditions for APS team members.

· Provide input and assistance regarding service referrals.

Direct Contact with Victims

· The purpose of “Direct Contact with Victims” is to assist and support the victim during the APS intervention, and to gather and interpret information that forms the basis for the effective intervention governed by the Informed Consent process.

· When engaging in “direct contact with victims,” the advocate can provide, information about APS, support and education on domestic violence, domestic violence safety planning, crisis intervention, advocacy, expedited access to domestic violence services, referral to other community or social services.

· “Direct contact with victims” can occur in the partner APS agency or CCSS office.

· The Advocate is not providing individual or group counseling, or long-term ongoing services to the victim. Rather, these services can be provided by other CCSS programs or another agency by a separate domestic violence advocate or service provider.

· The Advocate performs all job functions in a professional manner.

· The Advocate performs all job functions consistent with confidentiality regulations, ethical practices and CCSS agency polices and mission.

· The Advocate promotes a positive and pleasant attitude conducive to the workplace that enhances and furthers the Mission, Vision, and Values Statement.

· Other duties as assigned.

Trainings/Education

· The purpose of training/education are to increase cross-system understanding of APS and domestic violence by specifically focusing on identified topics that enhance the ability of APS professionals to meet the complex needs of seniors and adults with disabilities experiencing domestic violence and to ensure that the domestic violence community, in turn understands the experiences of seniors and adults with disabilities in the APS program.

· Any training that the Advocate provides will be approved by DCFS’s Department on Training, and should go through the process of qualifying for Continuing Education Credits when possible. The trainings will complement both the training that DCFS’s Domestic Violence Intervention Program provides and the training that the Quality Improvement Center provides on the “adult and child survivor centered approach”

· The Advocate can provide training to, APS staff (investigation, intact, permanency), partner domestic violence staff, and other community partners/stakeholders.

· The Advocate can train on topics, including but not limited to, dynamics and impact of domestic violence, unique needs of seniors and adults with disabilities, safety planning, strategies, the impact of perpetrator’s violence on seniors or adults with disabilities, and DV/APS best practices.

· APS personnel may be offered the opportunity to participate in part or all of the 40 Hour Domestic Violence training.

· Opportunities for co-trainings between the Advocate and APS staff will be developed.

Community Collaborations

The purpose of involving the Advocate in community collaborations is to include the APS voice at community tables involving domestic violence and to coordinator a cross-sector team that can collaborate to meet the needs of seniors and adult with disabilities.

Each community has different stakeholders’ initiatives that have already started and are ongoing. The Advocate will engage in these ongoing efforts and/or create new community stakeholders’ teams as necessary