Document 6443587

2851 MEADOW LARK DRIVE
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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
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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:
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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
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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.