For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement. This position is also being announced to applicants eligible to apply through Merit Staffing procedures under 25-DC-12645756-MS.

Duties

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team within the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia that is responsible for interviewing victims and witnesses and adult victims with special needs - assessing and evaluating minors ranging in age from toddlers to late adolescents, as well as adult victims or witnesses with special needs who present a broad range of psychological, physical, and other related problem areas; provides crisis intervention, and case review sessions and counseling prior to testifying in criminal hearings and trials; working with other staff members of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit, law enforcement, social services, and advocacy personnel on individual cases and general issues pertaining to offenses against minors and minors as witnesses; referring victims of and witnesses to crime to appropriate social service resources. Typical work assignments will include: Interviewing victims and witnesses who are minors, or adults with special needs; assessing and evaluating victims' competency for court. Coordinating and participating in "kids' court" for minors and adolescents who are scheduled to testify at civil and criminal trials. Using basic psychological theories, principles, and specialized methodologies and techniques in a variety of settings and circumstances where the interviewer must formulate solutions to significant psychological and other problems resulting from offenses against child crime victims, special needs victims and witnesses. Providing recommendations to team of professionals located in social service organizations, governmental or community entities, and to members of the Inter-Agency Team in reaching appropriate decisions on further investigation and/or intake. Preparing appropriate documentation for each forensic interview in compliance with MOU and CAC policies governing child sexual abuse investigation, prosecution, and prevention. Referring recommendations to the multi-disciplinary team on matters such as the need for crisis-intervention and sensitive forensic interviews of victims and witnesses to ascertain both emergency and long-term needs. Maintaining case files and statistics, and coordinating with key individuals in many different agencies (i.e., Victim Witness Advocates, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Assistant Corporation Counsel, members of the Sex Offense Unit, Youth Division and Youth Services of the Metropolitan Police Department, Court Social Services, Department of Human Services social workers, Medical and Mental Health personnel at Children's National Medical Center), and provide different services to crime victims and witnesses. Developing service action plans for immediate and ongoing services as indicated by the needs assessment and within the Attorney General's Guidelines on the Victim Witness Protection Act of 1982 Provides advocate services and case management on assigned cases. Collecting appropriate statistical information, analyzes esoteric data, and preparing reports, including a myriad of written and oral presentations. Attending case review meetings, committee meetings, task force meetings, council meetings, or community group meetings to address issues related to child/adolescent abuse and providing guidance, recommendations and other information or insight that may be useful to the inter-agency team. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. NOTE: This position requires the ability to receive and retain a Top Secret (TS) security clearance.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
• This position requires the ability to receive and retain a Top Secret (TS) security clearance.

Qualifications

To qualify as a GS-12 Forensic Child Interview Specialist, you must meet one of the basic requirements; and possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal Service. Basic Requirement: Degree: behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. A full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in behavioral or social science disciplines. OR Combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. OR Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. Specialized Experience: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service, which provided the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position. Examples of such specialized experience include: Interviewing and assessing victims and witnesses including children and victims and/or witnesses with special needs to determine competency for court; providing crisis intervention; preparing appropriate documentation for each forensic interview in compliance with MOU and CAC policies governing child sexual abuse investigations, prosecutions, and prevention; disseminating data to law enforcement, social service organizations, governmental or community entities, and other appropriate personnel; developing service action plans for immediate and ongoing services in accordance with victim assistance professional standards; referring victims and witnesses to the appropriate social service resources while ensuring cooperation and their availability for trial; collecting appropriate statistical information, analyzes esoteric data, and preparing reports, including a myriad of written and oral presentations; developing criteria for implementing program initiatives to heighten awareness of offenses against minors/adolescents, and to prevent child abuse and also designed to train members of the staff, attorneys, law enforcement personnel, social workers and other professionals in forensic interviewing; provides victim advocate services and case management for other assigned cases; attends committee meetings, task force meetings, council meetings or community group meetings to address issues relative to child/adolescent abuse and victim advocacy; coordinates and participates in "kids' court" designed to provide support and assistance to minors or have special needs who are scheduled to testify at criminal hearings and trials. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)- The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in the announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)-The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Education

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see http://www.ed.gov
OR
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

Contacts

• Address US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia 601 D Street NW Washington, DC 20530 US
• Name: HR Operations USAO-DC
• Email: [email protected]