Family Mediation and Evaluation Volunteer
OPENING DATE: 05/27/22
CLOSING DATE: Continuous
JOB TYPE: Volunteer
LOCATION: Hennepin County, Minnesota
DEPARTMENT: Human Services and Public Health
THE POSITION
Hennepin County's Human Services and Public Health Department is seeking volunteers in the Family Court Services area to assist with aligning resources for family mediation and other court related matters. In this role you'll be able to build and enhance professional skills, receive training opportunities, gain personal and professional growth working with diverse population of clients, develop interviewing and de-escalation skills, and receive satisfaction by helping the community.
Please click here to apply for this unpaid, volunteer opportunity.
Location and hours:
Currently, this volunteer role is remote due to COVID-19. Once the COVID-19 emergency declaration is lifted, this role might be located on-site at the Family Justice Center, 110 South Fourth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Supervisors will provide as much advance notice as practicable. This role will volunteer for at least one 3-to-4-hour shift per week during the business hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for at least one year.
About the volunteer position type:
This is an advertisement for an unpaid, volunteer position.
All new volunteer opportunity offers are conditional based on the volunteer being fully vaccinated for COVID-19. After a conditional volunteer opportunity offer is made, the volunteer must show proof of full vaccination prior to their start date. The volunteer must also attest they are vaccinated by completing a form on the first day of volunteering. Reasonable accommodations to this vaccination requirement will be considered upon request by a volunteer for medical or religious reasons as required by applicable law.
In this volunteer position, you will:
- Assist diverse families with children who have disputes regarding custody and parenting time.
- Direct one-on-one client contact with parties requesting self-referred mediation services.
- Respond to clients’ mediation requests via online request, phone calls, and in-person walk-ins.
- Complete screening/intakes with prospective clients in a respectful, sensitive, and compassionate manner.
- Provide clients with basic resources regarding Family Court processes.
- Perform administrative functions including filing, maintaining accurate documentation, and keeping shared office spaces organized.
Nice to have:
- Ability to:
- Display maturity and patience with difficult clients who may be emotional and/or escalated.
- Work with individuals and family of diverse backgrounds.
- Work independently on a daily basis, but communicate effectively as part of a team with other volunteers and Family Court Services staff.
- Proficient knowledge of Microsoft Office software such as Word, Excel, and Outlook.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Attention to detail.
About the department:
Human Services delivers a variety of services to individuals or families that assist with basic needs or encourage client change around specific objectives. We work with individuals as well as systems and communities in order to develop policy and advocate for the people we serve. The people we serve, and our communities are connected. By helping one, we help the other.
Invitations to interview will be based upon an assessment of experience. Final candidates will be required to complete a background check.