Client Navigator

JOB TITLE: Client Navigator

EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Full-Time

REPORTS TO: Program Manager

LOCATION: Staten Island Family Justice Center

SALARY: $47,000

ABOUT AAFSC:

The Arab-American Family Support Center (AAFSC) is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization established in 1994 to provide culturally and linguistically competent, trauma-informed social services. Our mission is to empower immigrants and refugees with the tools they need to successfully acclimate to the world around them and become active participants in their communities. While our doors are open to all, AAFSC has developed cultural and linguistic expertise in serving members of NYC’s Arab, Middle Eastern, North African, Muslim, and South Asian (AMENAMSA) immigrant and refugee communities. AAFSC promotes mental and physical well-being and community power. We ensure families are knowledgeable about their rights and equipped to participate in civic society with confidence and security. We help prevent child abuse and work to end domestic- and gender-based violence. We provide the tools for learners of every age to succeed. Finally, we help lift up the voices and needs of under-represented communities and champion gender-, racial-, restorative-, and immigrant justice. 

Job Summary: 

The NYC Family Justice Centers (FJCs) is an initiative of the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence to reduce barriers faced by survivors of domestic and gender-based violence (GBV). GBV can include intimate partner and family violence, elder abuse, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking.  The NYC Family Justice Centers are co located multidisciplinary service centers providing vital social services, civil legal, and criminal justice assistance for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence and their children—all under one roof.  Arab American Family Support Center is co-located at the FJCs and partners with the Mayor’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office, and other civil legal and community-based organizations to provide a safe and welcoming place for victims to receive various services.  AAFSCNY staff at the FJC provides crisis intervention, case management services, advocacy, information and referrals, and practical assistance to survivors, providing client-centered safety assessments and risk management plans.  

Client Navigators will greet clients in the waiting areas and hospitality suites and escort them to a private meeting space where they will explain the FJC service delivery model and conduct a brief initial service need and safety assessment with the goal of connecting the client to the appropriate services at the FJC’s. They will continue to help clients navigate the FJC service model and connect successfully to services and partner agencies.

Essential Duties:

Welcome clients to the FJC and provide a detailed overview of the FJC service delivery model, including confidentiality policies, on-site referral process, and available services.

Screen clients to assess eligibility for FJC services and their service needs, including cultural, linguistic, legal, practical, and safety-related needs.

Call back voicemails left on the FJC’s main phone line and do virtual screenings as needed.

Notify AAFSC Supervisor and ENDGBV/FJC administrative staff of high-risk clients as appropriate.

Address immediate client needs and provide crisis intervention.  If no case manager is available to assign the client to, the Client Navigator will provide safety planning and advocacy as needed.

Work with clients to determine appropriate referrals for case management, mental health counseling, civil legal, economic empowerment, and law enforcement personnel; complete appropriate forms, including the FJC Referral and Consent Forms; and communicate any pertinent information to the partner staff member to help best meet clients’ needs and concerns.

For established FJC clients with an already assigned case manager who come to the FJC as walk-ins, conduct a brief screening and connect them to their assigned case manager. If the case manager is unavailable, conduct a safety assessment and safety plan as needed.

If it is determined that a client is not eligible for FJC services, provide service referrals and warm hand-offs/linkages.

After the initial client screening, maintain communication with clients waiting in the waiting areas and hospitality suite to answer questions, provide information, and provide updates about estimated wait times.

Speak with the AAFSC supervisor and ENDGBV/FJC administrative staff if a client is distressed, if the client asks to speak to a supervisor, and/or if the client is experiencing a physical or mental health emergency.

Collaborate with the reception staff at the relevant District Attorney’s Office to refer appropriate clients and make appointments for them, as needed.

Enter client information into the FJC client application (aka database) on a daily basis, and track additional data or client needs as requested by ENDGBV. 

Support ENDGBV’s ongoing efforts to solicit client feedback regarding FJC operations, including notifying all clients of their opportunity to complete a client satisfaction survey after every FJC visit and contacting clients after their visits to the FJC to complete the surveys and reconnect them to any needed follow-up services as appropriate;

Provide coverage for the Front-Line Advocate, as needed and appropriate.

Adhere to AAFSC and FJC confidentiality practices and protocols; and

Other tasks that enhance the FJCs' mission, as agreed upon by AAFSC and ENDGBV.