2851 MEADOW LARK DRIVE S A N D I E G O , T E L 8 5 8 5 6 9 C A 2 0 1 9 9 2 1 2 3 F A X 8 5 8 5 6 9 7 1 5 1 www.speakupnow.org June 26, 2014 VOICES FOR CHILDREN, INC JOB DESCRIPTION SUPERVISOR, CHILD ADVOCACY VOLUNTEERS Board of Directors FY2012-2013 Rochelle Bold, Chair Haeyoung Kong Tang, Vice Chair Ann Parode Dynes, Secretary David Bialis, Treasurer Lauree Sahba, Past Chair Gina Ellis Lisette Farrell Anthony Farwell Cynthia Purcell Garrett, Esq. Kevin Harris Maria Herman Marina Marrelli Dick Pfister Jori Potiker Jill Skrezyna Michelle Weinger Lise N. Wilson, Esq. Title: Reports to: Status: CASA Advocacy Supervisor Program Manager Full-time, Exempt ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW The mission of Voices for Children is to transform the lives of abused children by providing them with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs). VFC believes that every child deserves a safe and permanent home, and to that end, our vision is to provide a CASA to every child in foster care who needs one, monitor every court file in the system, and advocate to improve the lives of San Diego County’s foster children. Recruited, trained, and supervised by VFC, our volunteer CASAs interface with key agencies, legal counsel, and community resources to identify and protect the best interests of each foster child. CASAs act as fact finders for the juvenile court judge to ensure decisions are based on the most current and pertinent information about each child’s Community Advisory Council situation. CASAs also provide emotional support as they guide their case children through the complex foster care system. CASAs strive to ensure that each child’s unique David E. Archambault, Chair Doug Arthur needs are met. Kathryn F. Ashworth, Esq. Joye D. Blount Janice P. Brown, Esq. Ilia Terrazas Dickey Mindy Fletcher Nathan Fletcher Dick Freeman Craig A. Irving Richard Kelley David Marino Patsy Marino Susan McClellan Dr. John Mendlein Hon. James Milliken Tom Murphy Eleanor Navarra Sheryl Scarano Cecil H. Steppe Katie Sullivan Joan Waitt Pamela S. Wygod Dale E. Yahnke, CFA, CFP® OVERVIEW OF THE POSITION By 2016, as part of our Serve Every Child vision, Voices for Children will triple the number of children it serves with CASAs. This exciting and ambitious plan will ensure that the children who need CASAs the most, get them. At its heart, Serve Every Child is a call to action for our community. We will ask thousands of San Diego citizens to make a commitment to becoming a CASA. This will require the rapid expansion of our program team: a group of highly talented professionals who supervise and support our volunteer child advocates. Advocacy Supervisors play a vital role in ensuring the very best outcomes for abused and neglected children. Our Advocacy Supervisors are from diverse backgrounds with degrees ranging from criminal justice to early childhood education to political science to rhetoric to African Sharon M. Lawrence, Esq. American studies. Our staff has worked as congressional aides, as teachers, in law firms, President/CEO in customer service, in athletics, in volunteer management and in a wide range of social service positions. Members of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association June 26, 2014 Page 2 Despite this diversity, Advocacy Supervisors share common characteristics: they are bright and professional, insightful about human behavior, open to learning, comfortable in the courtroom and in a non-profit work environment, and persistent and strategic in their advocacy efforts. Their time is spent interacting with our volunteers and with professionals in the child welfare community, editing and revising reports to the court, and of course, dealing with a myriad of administrative tasks. The ideal candidate shares these characteristics, has a bachelor's or master’s degree and at least two years of professional experience. The ideal candidate also has a strong background in volunteerism. This is a full time 40+ hours per week position with some night and weekend hours required. CASA ADVOCACY SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES: The goals of the Advocacy Supervisor position include: (1) ensure that children assigned to CASAs receive the advocacy they need; (2) ensure that the children's best interests are presented to the Juvenile Court; (3) ensure that the needs of the volunteers are met and that the volunteers are satisfied; (4) ensure that the policies and procedures of VFC are followed by all volunteers; and (5) promote the mission of Voices for Children in the community. Specifically, Advocacy Supervisors will:              Maintain substantial knowledge regarding the CASA concept, Voices for Children policies and procedures, juvenile dependency law, special education law, and the Health and Human Services Agency. Maintain an ongoing caseload involving a total of approximately 50 CASAs and provide supervision and support to those CASAs. Establish at least monthly contact with all CASAs and maintain detailed records concerning all contacts with CASAs and other parties involved in a child's case. Conduct annual evaluations with each volunteer and provide a written record of the evaluation in the volunteer file. Conduct a monthly "small group" meeting for volunteers. Attend and support CASAs at Treatment Team meetings, Team Decision Making meetings, and Individualized Education Program meetings. Participate in development and evaluation of volunteer training and continuing education curriculum. Review and approve accuracy and appropriateness of court reports and related communications to the Court and other agencies. Maintain accurate records concerning upcoming court dates. Maintain knowledge about court policies and procedures and act as a liaison with the juvenile court. Attend court hearings in place of or to support volunteers as necessary. Serve as on-duty supervisor with the VFC pager in rotation with other program staff. Participate in case intake, case review, and the case matching/volunteer June 26, 2014 Page 3     assignment process. Conduct file reviews and manage outlying court offices in rotation with other supervisors. Provide support to the Volunteer Recruitment and Training staff as needed in the exercise of their duties. Act as an instructor for volunteer training. Participate in the volunteer candidate screening and selection process. Physical demands  Able to lift 25 lbs  Able to bend and stoop  Able to sit for prolonged periods of time  Able to sit at a desk and view a computer screen for up to two hours  Able to speak into and use a telephone for long periods of time Work environment  Professional office environment  Fast paced working with multi-level distractions Special conditions  Able to drive and travel in the San Diego region  Able to work extended hours as needed, with some nights and weekends required APPLICATION PROCESS: Our hiring process is extremely competitive. In addition to your cover letter and resume, you must submit an essay of no more than 500 words describing a difficult decision you have made recently & how you made that decision. All candidates will also undergo a background check, including a DMV record review, FBI and DOJ fingerprinting, and a check of the Child Abuse Central Index. Our hiring process includes an initial phone interview and all hires undergo at least three in person interviews with panels of current VFC employees. We offer a competitive salary with full benefits. Please apply via our careers site at the following link: http://jobsco.re/1sIDbl9. Please note: you can only upload one file; you can include your essay in the same file as your resume. Please also remember to include a cover letter. Thank you! Voices for Children is an Equal Opportunity Employer.