Summary

1.0 FTE. Monday - Friday 8am-4:30pm. No holidays or weekends. On-Call rotation after training period is completed.

Job Description

POSITION SUMMARY: The forensic interviewer is responsible for conducting forensic interviews of children and developmentally disabled adults suspected of having been sexually and or physically abused, neglected, and/or witness to violence. The forensic interviewer is part of a collaborative team that works together to ensure that the child victim is interviewed in a child-friendly environment that puts the child’s comfort and needs first, with the goal being to reduce the number of interviews and lessen the trauma for the child. Promotes & advocates for programs offered through the Lancaster County Children’s Alliance. Collects and maintains agency data and case tracking system.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Qualified individuals must have the ability (with or without reasonable accommodation) to perform the following duties:

• Conducts sensitive and thorough video-recorded forensic interviews according to the standards of the National Children’s Advocacy Centers (NCAC), National Children’s Alliance (NCA) and other national training organizations with children who are possible victims of abuse, neglect, and/or witness to violence. Attends basic and advanced forensic interview training; and attendance/participation at trainings deemed relevant by direct supervisor and/or Board members.
• Prepares for, attends, and presents testimony in court hearings including both civil and criminal court, providing written documentation and expert testimony on aspects of the interview process as well as testimony as a fact witness on specific interviews in individual cases. Keeps current with research related to issue of abuse to support the legal defensibility of forensic interviews and abuse disclosures.
• Conducts High Risk Behavior Assessments for children and adolescents when there are risks of child sex trafficking. This includes completing an additional 40 hours of training related to human trafficking and remaining current in research and issues related to human and child sex trafficking.
• Participates in the Pennsylvania State Chapter of Forensic Interviewers for trainings, peer review, and support.
• Acts as a community liaison with all involved agencies and promotes the Lancaster County Children’s Alliance model of child abuse intervention.
• Maintains skills in age-specific competencies, related to children, in areas of child abuse, family violence, child development, memory and suggestibility of children.
• Maintains records of interviews and keeps statistics for case tracking purposes.
• Facilitates team decision-making to ensure child safety, family case planning and legal integrity of the case. Demonstrates effective communication and collaboration with partner agencies, and clients to ensure quality of service delivery.
• Facilitates a psycho-educational group for Non-Offending Caregivers, providing written documentation, assessments and recommendations.

SECONDARY FUNCTIONS: The following duties are considered secondary to the primary duties listed above:

• Provides coverage for non-traditional hours as necessary.
• Participates in the on-call responsibilities for this position as required.
• Other duties as assigned.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

MINIMUM REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in Social Work or a related field.
• Three (3) years experience working with children and families.
• Expertise in child abuse and family violence.
• Experience working with teams.
• Knowledge or experience in family systems.
• Well prepared and comfortable working with victims of trauma.
• Ability and proficiency in conducting forensic interviews.
• Demonstrate critical thinking skills.
• Skill in networking between agencies and professionals as well as the ability to work and think independently when conducting forensic interviews.
• Good organizational and writing skills – working knowledge of computers, data bases and ability to enter and track statistics.
• Ability to provide training on concept of Child Advocacy Centers

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• One (1) to two (2) years experience as a forensic interviewer.

COGNITIVE REQUIREMENTS

Attention/Concentration: The following level of ability is essential for the jobholder to focus on certain aspects of current experience and reject others.

• The position requires strong concentration skills. The individual must have the ability to voluntarily sustain concentration to a task over an extended period of time as a result of an effortful and usually deliberate heightened and focused state of attention.

New Learning and Memory: The following level of ability is essential for the jobholder to learn and retain material.

• A large portion of this position required reliance on verbal memory and new learning. Efficiency in processing of verbal information, either in written or spoken form, is a major requirement and prerequisite of the job. The individual must be able to attend to and process multiple bits of information simultaneously. The individual must be able to organize and categorize this information effectively so that later recall is feasible.

Problem Solving, Reasoning and Creative Thinking: The following level of ability that is essential for the jobholder to think (in order to solve a problem) by combining two or more elements from past experience or imaginative thought.

• The position requires much autonomy of thought and problem solving. The individual must be able to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems. The individual must be able to think abstractly, which is manifested in the ability to form concepts, use categories, generalize from single instances, apply procedural rules and general principles, and be aware of subtle or intrinsic aspects of a problem. The development of hypothesis and potential solutions to problems involves careful interpretation, analysis and diagnosis. The individual must be able to collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. The individual must be able to think creatively with a degree of inventiveness, experimentation and intuition. They must be able to deal with a variety of concrete and abstract variables.

APTITUDES: The following are essential requirements of the position in relation to job-worker situations. These items describe how a worker must adapt, adjust, conform or act.

Leadership, control and planning: Ability to accept responsibility for leadership, direction, control, planning, negotiating, organizing, directing, supervising, formulating practices, or making final decisions.

Performing under stressful conditions: Ability to perform under stress when confronted with emergency, critical, unusual, or dangerous situations, or in situations in which working speed and sustained attention are critical aspects of the job. Is subject to danger or risk, or to tension as a regular, consistent part of the job.

Variety and change: Ability to perform a variety of duties, often changing from one task to another of a different nature without loss of efficiency or composure involving significant differences in technologies, techniques, procedures, environmental factors, physical demands, or work situations.

Communication: Ability to exchange information with others clearly and concisely; to present ideas, facts and technical information.

Interpersonal relations: Ability to maintain relationships that facilitate task accomplishment; to cooperate and resolve conflicts; to recognize needs and be sensitive of others.

EQUIPMENT USAGE REQUIREMENTS

Equipment/Tools: Computer, Phone, Copier, Printer, Fax, Office Supplies

Software: Microsoft Office Products

Machinery/Equipment: Ability to learn how to operate closed circuit television and video recording system.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Rarely 0-10%; Occasionally 11-35%; Frequently 36-70%; Continuously 71-100%

Body Position/Movement:

• Sit: continuously
• Stand: Occasionally
• Walk: Frequently
• Bend: Rarely
• Push: Rarely
• Pull: Rarely
• Kneel/Squat: Rarely
• Reach: Rarely
• Twist: Rarely
• Balance: Rarely
• Climb: Frequently

Lifting: Degree of physical exertion is:

Light, exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to move objects.

Sensory Abilities specifically required:

• Vision
• Hearing

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

WORKING CONDITIONS:

Exposure to hazardous conditions/ materials is negligible.

Disclaimer: This job description is not intended and should not be construed to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with the job. It is intended to be a reflection of those principal job elements essential for recruitment and selection, for making fair job evaluations, and for establishing performance standards. The percentages of time spent performing job duties are estimates, and should not be considered absolute. The incumbent shall perform all other functions and/or be cross-trained as shall be determined at the sole discretion of management, who has the right to amend, modify, or terminate this job in part or in whole. Incumbent must be able to perform all job functions safely.

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Disclaimer

LGH Full Time Posted on 06/16/2023