Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Spanish-English In-Office Children's Activity Volunteer

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Locations: YWCA Silicon Valley, Linda Haskell Empowerment Center, 375 South Third Street, San Jose, CA 95112 and/or
YWCA Satellite Office, 298 South Sunnyvale Ave, Suite 105, Sunnyvale, CA 94086

Director: Director of Support Services

Supervisor: Bilingual Spanish-English Crisis Counselor

Purpose:

• Facilitate/co-facilitate activities, including group activities, for children, including Spanish-speaking children, while their parents attend a Support Group or counseling/therapy session that:
• Create a safe/predictable environment in which children can begin to heal from exposure to domestic violence.
• Foster children’s social, educational and emotional growth/development and model/stimulate positive
• interactions.
• Provide children with opportunities to build positive relationships, social and conflict resolution skills.

Major Responsibilities:

• Arrive 20-30 minutes before the activity/group starts to prepare the activities and set-up the room for use.
• Help create a safe and predictable environment by letting the children know the start and end time of activities,
• where their parent is during the activity, and when it is time to clean up (15 minutes before the end).
• Support children in the completion of their homework and/or provide children with choices of creative and developmentally appropriate activities; may include play, art, movement/music, depending on your skills/interests.
• Engage in active and respectful listening, and interact with warmth, compassion and empathy.
• Interact with sensitivity to the needs of children affected by trauma.
• Create a safe, respectful, and healthy space for healing by building trust and effectively balancing the diverse needs of children.
• Ensure all areas used during the activity/group are cleaned at the end. Increase children’s responsibility by involving them in the clean-up process throughout the activity/group, as they move between activities, and at the end.
• Meet for up to 30 minutes at the end of an activity with the supervising employee/MFT Intern/MFT Trainee to report any incident or information disclosed by a child and/or to discuss any observations on the children.
• Work in compliance with all legal requirements, and organizational and departmental policies, procedures and standards. Complete all required documentation within requested time frames.
• Maintain Counselor/Victim Privilege of Confidentiality as legally required under California Evidence Codes.
• Mandatory: Immediately report to a supervising employee, the Supervisor, and/or the Director, any known or suspected instance of child abuse/neglect, elder abuse, and dependent adult abuse.

Required Qualifications:

• Fluent Spanish-English speaking, writing, and reading skills. Knowledge and understanding of diverse Latino/a cultures.
• Experience working with children, preferably outside of a personal family environment.
• Ability to work with/support children of different ages and at different developmental stages.
• Interest in, and a commitment to, continuous learning about children and domestic violence.
• High level of emotional intelligence, maturity, and empathy, and a nurturing personality.
• Ability to be non-judgmental, open, honest and calm, and maintain professional boundaries.
• Ability to listen actively and respectfully, and respond with warmth, compassion and empathy.
• Ability to work as a member of a team, be open to feedback, and seek guidance, direction and input from others.
• Ability to practice cultural humility, i.e. maintain an interpersonal approach that is other-oriented in relation to aspects of cultural identity that are most important to the person. Ability to work with/support children from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
• Commitment to developing knowledge, skills and abilities to better connect with individuals and communities, and to gaining more insight into personal biases and identities. This includes, and is not limited to, treating all people with respect and dignity, recognizing and appreciating cultural differences, and working to interact with greater cultural sensitivity.

Training & Other Requirements:

• Completion of the CA State-mandated Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Counselor 65hr Training (hosted by the YWCA).
• Completion of additional training /orientation sessions to develop personal comfort level with facilitating/co-facilitating activities/group activities with children.
• Clearance on a background check, including DOJ & FBI fingerprinting.
• Completion of all policies and procedures documentation.
• Submitted documentation that confirms an absence of active Tuberculosis.
• Maintain Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Counselor Certification by completing 8 hours of Mandatory Continuing Education and Training (MCET) within each 12month period from the date of completion of the Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Counselor 65hr training.

Time Commitment: Minimum of 100 hours of service (post-training).
Volunteer one time or more each week. Select from the following two options:

• Group Activities: 3:30pm - 5:45pm, Wednesdays, YWCA Silicon Valley, San Jose
• Group Activities: 5:00pm - 7:15pm, Thursdays, YWCA Satellite Office, Sunnyvale

Individual Activities are randomly scheduled Mondays through Fridays, daytimes and evenings, based on victim/survivor need.

YWCA Silicon Valley is an equal opportunity provider and does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender/gender identity/gender expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, creed, immigration status, socio-economic status, familial/marital status, veteran status, medical status, being differently-able, or any other basis prohibited by law.

July 2016