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Putnam County

Personnel Department

FORENSIC INTERVIEWER/COMMUNITY OUTREACH WORKER

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS: Incumbents of this position conduct developmentally age-appropriate interviews of children who are alleged victims of sexual assault, physical abuse, and/or have witnessed family violence, when requested by law enforcement agencies, Child Protective Services, or the District Attorney’s Office. The Forensic Interviewer is a neutral person who is called upon to elicit details of the alleged abuse as part of the investigative process. When not assigned as the Forensic Interviewer on a case, the incumbent oversees community outreach and prevention initiatives. Performs related work as required.

TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES: (Illustrative Only)

  • Conducts sensitive and thorough forensic interviews of children and adolescents of alleged sexual and/or physical abuse;
  • Coordinates the scheduling of client interviews with all team members (Child Advocacy Center staff, law enforcement, the District Attorney’s Office, Child Protective Services staff, Women’s Center representatives, etc.);
  • Conducts outreach to clients prior to the interview to explain the process and determine if the client requires special accommodations;
  • Facilitates and participates in team case reviews and core team meetings;
  • Ensures all case data is entered into secure data tracking system;
  • Organizes and participates in community awareness events and abuse prevention presentations;
  • Develops, schedules, and provides educational presentations to the public and trainings for agencies, the faith-based community, law enforcement, health providers, etc.;
  • Develops and implements public awareness campaigns centered around Commercial Sexual
  • Exploitation of Children and child abuse prevention, and creates newsletters, pamphlets, posters, exhibits and audio-visual presentations for both projects;
  • Coordinates and facilitates peer review meetings with the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) members;
  • Attends specialized trainings and peer review meetings as needed to stay current on best practices and trends in field;
  • Responds to subpoenas and testifies in court when requested;
  • Oversees and coordinates the Children’s Expo and Safety Fair and other related community events;
  • Develops and manages social media outreach for the Child Advocacy Center;
  • Serves as a member of the Multidisciplinary Team;
  • Adheres to professional ethics and standards in the performance of duties at all times;
  • Performs a variety of related activities as required.

Typical Work Activities are intended only as illustrations of possible types of work that might be appropriately assigned to an incumbent of this title. Work activities that do not appear above are not excluded as appropriate work assignments, as long as they can be reasonably understood to be within the logical limits of the job.

FULL PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGES, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: Good knowledge of child protective and law enforcement agencies and their roles in investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases; good knowledge of Federal, State and local laws, rules and regulations pertaining to child abuse; good knowledge of programs and services available for child abuse victims; working knowledge of child development, memory, recall, trauma, domestic violence, sexual abuse, cultural differences, and linguistics; working knowledge of social media platforms and of personal computers; ability to be team-focused and work well with partner agency members; ability to obtain and evaluate data; ability to write clear and accurate reports and records; ability to establish and maintain cooperation with the public and other governmental and private agencies; ability to interface with the local media; resourcefulness; courtesy; tact.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

  1. Bachelor’s degree in psychology, social work, education, counseling, human resources, criminal justice or related field; or
  2. Bachelor’s degree and one (1) year of professional work or clinical internship experience in the areas of child welfare and/or youth development; or
  3. An equivalent combination of training and experience as described in a) and b) above.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

  1. 40 hours of nationally recognized forensic interview training or willing to receive training within six months of date of hire.
  2. Must submit to and pass a criminal background check and child abuse registry check.
  3. Must be able to travel out of town for training, work related purposes and be available to work irregular hours, as needed.
  4. Possession of a valid, unrestricted, appropriate level driver’s license, and acceptable driving record are required at time of appointment and must be maintained throughout employment.

PLEASE NOTE: Your degree must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education.

 

11/19; 7/21; 12/21; 10/24

Competitive Class

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Mission Statement

Our mission is to administer, in a fair and equitable manner, the provisions of New York State Civil Service Law and Putnam County Civil Service Rules with respect to the offices and employments in the classified service of Putnam County and the civil divisions therein, which include the towns, villages, school districts, libraries and special districts.

It is Putnam County Personnel Department’s responsibility to ensure Putnam County taxpayers of a public workforce qualified for their jobs pursuant to the principles of selection according to merit and fitness as set forth in Article 5, §6 of the New York State Constitution.

  • Paul Eldridge

    Personnel Officer