Introducing the Family Advocacy Program!

 Seeking Volunteers for the new Family 

Advocacy Program!

Advocates for Victims of Abuse, a.k.a. Humboldt Ava are very pleased to announce an exciting new program. In a first-ever collaboration of its kind in Nevada, AVA and the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) have entered into a collaborative agreement to establish the Family Advocacy Program for Humboldt and Lander Counties!
The Family Advocacy Program is to enable AVA to provide volunteers as requested by DCFS to assist in providing an array of services to support youths and families who are involved in the Child Welfare System.
Want to help make a difference in a child’s life? Help victims become survivors? Be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves? We need you!

We are seeking individuals interested in volunteering for this amazing new program!
To be eligible, volunteers must be:
• Age 21 or over (depending on type of volunteering sought. Please see below for examples. Advocates must be 21 or older).
• Submit to state and federal background checks, Central Registry Screening for Child Abuse, and fingerprinting.
• Must not have been convicted of a DUI in the past 5 years or fined for used of a cellular or mobile device while driving within the past 3 years.
• Must adhere to strict confidentiality rules and laws and follow all mandatory reporting requirements for Nevada.
• 3 references (must not be related to you).
• Must be able to effectively communicate via written and oral communication, be familiar with email and basic computer skills.
• 25 hours of pre-service training is required, some of which can be done via independent study. 12 hours training annually is required. Some recent training in the required areas may be used for pre-service training hours. Proof of training must be provided.
• Volunteer schedule is extremely flexible- YOU tell US when you can volunteer and what type of volunteering you feel comfortable with! A minimum of 3 hours a month is requested.
If someone would like to volunteer but does not meet all these requirements, it does not automatically exclude you from volunteering! There is an array of volunteering that may be done with AVA. In order to work with clients as a Volunteer Advocate, all the above standards must be met. 
Other ways to volunteer is to assist with outreach awareness, grant writing, social media and other forms of public relations, fundraising, and administrative assistance. Volunteers fluent in Spanish are very much needed!

With the Family Advocacy Program duties will vary and include, but are not limited to, supervised visitation, home visits, safety management services, parenting classes, collecting clothing, toys, household items, etc. donations needed by foster and kinship families, office assistance, and assisting in raising awareness and outreach about foster parenting and child abuse and neglect.
Applications must be completed by anyone wanting to volunteer. They can be found at our website at http://www.humboldtava.com (in word format or downloadable in PDF form to complete online) or email us at humboldtava@sbcglobal.net to request one.

We look forward to hearing from YOU!