Survivor Advocate-SAP (GF)

Primary Objective

The Survivor Advocate provides victim services to members of the CCC community and serves as a confidential, frontline advocate for survivors of violent crime. This position will primarily serve CCC students, but the Survivor Advocate may also provide services to CCC Faculty and Staff and limited services to those affiliated with a CCC student or staff member.

Essential Duties

• Maintains intake platforms by email and phone, and conducts intakes with potential clients to evaluate legal, medical, mental health, and basic needs and eligibility for services.
• Manages a caseload of 10 to 20 clients who are seeking services related to violent crime and meets regularly with assigned clients.
• Utilizes phone language interpretation to provide services for clients with limited English proficiency.
• Provides accurate information about civil and criminal legal systems and processes, protective orders, public benefits, and victim compensation and helps survivors contemplate their legal and non-legal options for support and safety.
• Supports transportation access and occasionally accompanies clients to court appointments, Title IX hearings, and other hearings to provide support and aid in understanding of proceedings.
• Supports eligible clients in completing and amending Victim Compensation applications.
• Works closely with the Chicago Police Department and State’s Attorney’s Office to assist clients in understanding legal proceedings, obtaining legal reports, and ensuring language access.
• Makes appropriate referrals to the Wellness Center and community-based organizations.
• Works with survivors to create, implement, monitor, and update individual safety plans.
• Maintains case files in a manner consistent with confidentiality under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), FERPA, and HIPAA.
• Remains up-to-date on victims’ rights under local, state, and federal law, including the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act, Title IX, the Clery Act, and the different types of protective and no-contact orders available in Illinois.
• Meets with SAP leadership, CCC staff, and community-based service providers to collect feedback on referral process and service delivery to inform continuous improvement of the centralized victim response protocol.
• Occasionally conducts campus-based outreach to promote awareness about service availability and information about campus and community resources.
• Tracks and reports relevant data for grant reporting in a timely manner.

Qualifications

• Associate degree or higher from an accredited college or university in education, social work, sociology, or a related field.
• One year of experience working with survivors of violent crimes such as gender-based violence, gun violence, sexual assault, trafficking, or other vulnerable populations.
• Bilingual in Spanish preferred.
• Completion of a 40-hour Confidential Advisor or Domestic Violence training program at time of hire or within nine months of hire (funded by SAP).
• Deep understanding of the traumatic impact of violence and the unique challenges faced by student-survivors.
• Demonstrates compassion and a high degree of confidentiality.
• Excellent time management skills.
• Excellent oral communication skills with the ability to listen and respond professionally.
• Strong writing skills with the ability to maintain records and prepare reports.
• Skilled in working calmly under high stress situations with victims and family members in crisis.
• Ability to travel between City Colleges’ campuses.
• Must possess a high level of confidentiality.
• Ability to work within a culturally and linguistically diverse environment.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams) and Zoom.