Please ensure that your application is submitted in response to the job posting no later than May 2, 2024!

JOB PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW 

The Franklin County Municipal Court is one of Ohio’s largest and busiest municipal courts. The Court has 14 judges in its General Division and one judge in its Environmental Division. Judges preside over civil, criminal, and traffic cases, and conduct both jury and non-jury trials. The Pretrial and Probation Services Department consists of approximately 100 employees. The mission of Pretrial Services is to promote community safety and pretrial success through research-informed recommendations, and supervision services that maximize court appearance, remove barriers to fair and efficient justice, and promote harm reduction. The mission of Probation Services is to promote community safety by reducing recidivism, changing offender behavior, and fostering accountability through the effective use of evidence-based practices. The department consists of pretrial, investigations, and supervision services divisions. Supervision structures are determined by risk and need and include all types of cases that the judges of the Court refer to. The Probation Staff operates specialized caseloads including domestic violence, sexual offenses, soliciting, mental health, work release, and electronic monitoring.  The probation staff strives to stay current and relevant with the ongoing goal of being an evidence-based organization.

A Victim Assistant is under the general direction of the Chief Probation Officer and the immediate direction of the Probation Assisted Victim Empowerment Division (PAVED) Supervisor. A Victim Assistant’s primary role is to serve as the contact person within the Department to facilitate the continuity of care for victims of crime. The Probation Department supervises Domestic Violence cases involving partner abuse, child abuse, and sexual offenses. This position may require the Victim Assistant to work various hours outside the posted hours during the work week and to be on call certain evenings and on the weekend. This is unit dependent and advance notice would be given.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION         

• Promote, model, and abide by the Vision, Mission, policies, and procedures of the Probation Department
• Maintain accurate, current, and thorough documentation and records.

• Serve as a liaison between the Department of Probation Services and the City Attorneys Domestic Violence & Stalking Unit to compile case information for domestic violence or related cases.

• Contribute to a strong, supportive, and productive team environment.

• Maintain a partnership with the City Attorneys Domestic Violence & Stalking Unit, identify cases that would be appropriate, provide active outreach and follow up for post-sentencing attention.

• Assist with the reporting, collection, and analysis of data.

• Inform victims of the disposition of the case in which they are involved, probation conditions imposed upon the defendant by the Court, and case status.
• Obtain statements from victims of alleged violations by the probationer and advise the victim of the steps to take after an apparent violation of court orders and/or probation conditions. Victims are referred to the City Attorney's Domestic Violence & Stalking Unit when appropriate.
• Conduct case assessments and develop and implement case plans for assigned cases.
• Encourage victims to prepare a safety/emergency plan and assist them, in conjunction with the City Attorneys Domestic Violence & Stalking Unit, in obtaining Temporary Protection Orders; provide information on filing for Civil Protection Orders.

• Greet and interact with the public including Judges, attorneys, clients, and community partners.

in a professional manner.

• Accompany victims to court for Probation Revocation Hearings in cooperation with the assigned Probation Officer.
• Assist victims in facilitating requests for the modification of No Contact Orders and/or Stay Away orders, through careful interviewing, problem-solving, and safety planning. Coordinate with assigned Probation Officers to track and notify the victims of the scheduling of a Miscellaneous Hearing and attend if requested.

• Maintain sensitive and confidential information of the Court and Probation Department
• Possess strong organizational skills.
• Refer victims to community resource agencies for support, resources, and counseling services.
• Ability to work well under pressure.

• Maintain electronic and manual filing systems as well as administrative logs.
• Assist in the location and development of additional resources for victims.
• Provide training for Probation Department staff and other Court employees about PAVED and Victim Services.
• Collect and submit grant statistical information and other reports as required.
• Conduct reports and enter data in various Court Management Systems.

• Conduct in-person and over-the-phone interviews and gather accurate information.
• Gather and interpret pertinent case-related information.
• Perform other tasks as assigned and may fulfill roles of other positions in other departments of the Court as needed. 

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

• High School diploma or equivalent required.
• Possess or obtain notary public certification.
• Proficiency in operating a personal computer and using, or being able to learn, Microsoft Office products such as Word, Outlook, and Excel, and the Court's case-management software.
• Ability to adapt, remain flexible, and open to change.
• Demonstrate dependability and reliability.
• Excellent time management and ability to multi-task and prioritize work to perform effectively in a high-volume, fast-paced environment.

• Ability to appropriately receive and follow supervisory feedback, coaching, and direction.

• Strong organizational and communication skills

• Pleasant personality, ability to deal with potentially difficult people, ability to interact and maintain effective working relationships with judges, employees, attorneys, litigants, law-enforcement officers, and others conducting business with the Court.
• Conscious of and sensitive to the diversity within the Court’s jurisdiction, and able to interact professionally with this diverse population of people from many different geographic, socioeconomic, religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds regularly.
• Professional appearance and demeanor, particularly a positive attitude appropriate for the position and the work environment as a representative of the Court
• Demonstrate punctuality and maintain an excellent attendance record.

• Ability to work collaboratively and proactively identify needs within the team without prompting.
• Proficiency in the operation of office equipment such as a personal computer, keyboard, transcription equipment, multiline phones, scanner, copier, and fax machine

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• An associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, paralegal certification, or other advanced schooling that included coursework in the social sciences.
• Certification as a Victim Advocate through the National Organization for Victim Assisting or other related professional organization.
• An understanding of legal terminology, legal procedures, and the criminal justice system; previous relevant experience in the justice system or with a victim advocacy group or agency

• Additional consideration will be given to individuals who are fluently bilingual in Spanish and English with a college-level vocabulary in both languages, the ability to communicate complex information in both English and Spanish, and/or who speak a language commonly used by people of Somalia for whom English is a second language or who are proficient in American Sign Language.

BENEFITS

The Franklin County Municipal Court offers an excellent benefits package that includes medical, prescription, vision, dental, and life insurance; short-term disability; generous vacation, sick and personal leave; 11 paid holidays; longevity service payments; sick-leave reciprocity; employee assistance and deferred-compensation programs; tuition reimbursement; and credit-union membership.

Court employees are members of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System which provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for public employees. The Court pays the required employer’s share of 14 percent of the employee’s salary. Court employees do not have Social Security taxes withheld from their paychecks because they are members of OPERS.

COURT EXPECTATIONS OF EMPLOYEE

The Court expects employees will adhere to all court policies, guidelines, practices, and procedures; act as role models both inside and outside the Court; perform duties as workload necessitates in a timely, accurate, and thorough manner; be conscientious about meeting department productivity standards; and communicate regularly with supervisors about department issues.

AT-WILL AND EQUAL-OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Employees of the Court are at-will employees and serve at the pleasure of the Court; they are not in the classified civil service system and are not members of bargaining units.  The Court is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on age, gender, religion, race, color, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability, military status, or genetic information.