Immediate opening for Child Protective Services (CPS) Systems Advocate

*Mission Statement: *In collaboration with local partners and all affected by abuse, Through These Doors (TTD) creates innovative responses and mobilizes our community to promote safety and challenge systems of oppression and violence.

*Job Summary: *The CPS Systems Advocate is responsible for creating, monitoring, and sustaining systems to strengthen the relationship between TTD and the child protection system in Cumberland County. The goal of the program is to enhance victim safety, increase abuser accountability, and advance TTD’s capacity to achieve its mission related to the issues of domestic abuse, dating violence, human trafficking, and stalking.

This position will be based at the CPS office in South Portland with regular work in TTD’s outreach offices and the community.

Prior experience and training are an advantage, though TTD values life experiences and provides comprehensive training for all new employees to fully perform advocacy functions.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

· Provide safety planning, support, crisis intervention, and information and referral to community resources to victims and survivors of domestic abuse, dating violence, human trafficking, and stalking, with a particular emphasis on victims currently, formerly, or potentially involved in the CPS system.

· Refer and link victims and survivors of domestic abuse, dating violence, human trafficking, and stalking to all TTD services including but not limited to emergency shelter, groups, legal resources, face-to-face interactions, with a particular emphasis on victims currently, formerly, or potentially involved in the CPS system.

· Work with all who reach out to TTD to support and improve their understanding of domestic abuse, dating violence, human trafficking, and stalking, with a particular emphasis on victims currently, formerly, or potentially involved in the CPS system.

· Serve as TTD’s internal resource on the DHHS CPS system, advancing and improving the response of all TTD advocates and educators to victims affected by the CPS system.

· Serve as Cumberland County’s CPS caseworker’s resource on the issue of DV, advancing and improving that system’s response to victims of DV.

Required Role on Helpline

All advocates and educators are required to provide on-call coverage for our 24-hour helpline including covering M-F and weekend daytime and overnight shifts, on a rotation, with frequency of shifts dictated by staffing and volunteer levels. On-call responsibilities include serving on the front lines to answer helpline calls as they come through, completing shelter intakes as needed and providing support to our 16-bed emergency shelter, providing support and guidance for on-call volunteers, and seeking consultation from supervisors regarding complex calls. TTD fully trains all employees to fulfill this role, and additional on-call pay rates apply. When hiring, we consider if candidates will be a strong fit for our helpline, in addition to the role they are applying for.

*Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion *

The goal of TTD’s recruitment and hiring process is to achieve an excellent and balanced workforce with representation and participation from diverse sectors of our society. TTD has a responsibility to our community and to victims and survivors of abuse to actively recruit and hire the best-qualified individuals that it can, and to do so in the context of its commitment to principles of diversity. TTD prioritizes candidates who speak multiple languages and bring a diverse set of skills and experiences to their work.

All qualified applicants shall receive consideration for employment without regard to religious creed, race, color, age, gender, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation. Through These Doors is a nonprofit organization which receives funding from Maine DHHS, MaineHousing, local United Ways, Cumberland County, and your generous donations.