Child Empowerment Advocate
Opportunity: Child Empowerment Advocate
Positions open: Multiple
Program: Center of Healing – Unity for Children
Location: Illinois (Statewide: Adams, Alexander, Bond, Boone, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Coles, Cook, Crawford, Cumberland, DeKalb, DeWitt, Douglas, DuPage, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Greene, Grundy, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lawrence, Lee, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Massac, Menard, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Peoria, Perry, Piatt, Pike, Pope, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Richland, Rock Island, St. Clair, Saline, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Stephenson, Tazewell, Union, Vermilion, Wabash, Warren, Washington, Wayne, White, Whiteside, Will, Williamson, Winnebago, Woodford)
Commitment: Flexible; pre-launch pilot phase (2025–2027)
About Unity for Children
Unity for Children was founded to ask: “Is this the best we could do for a child?” Our mission is to unite communities, professionals, and systems to prioritize children’s safety, healing, and empowerment. We address gaps across legal, social, and health systems to ensure children are not just a priority—they are the priority.
Vision: A future where healing replaces harm and every child has the opportunity to thrive.
Mission: To cultivate unified systems that heal by transforming the approach of communities, professionals, and institutions toward children and families, making healing the norm, not the exception.
About the Center of Healing (Pre-Launch)
The Center of Healing is Illinois’ first statewide initiative where healing drives every system that touches a child. We integrate trauma-informed, child-centered, and healing-focused strategies across legal, social, educational, and health systems to:
Break intergenerational cycles of trauma
Create safer, more stable, and nurturing communities
Strengthen professional capacity and cross-system collaboration
Pre-Launch Note: As a pilot initiative, responsibilities and program structures are still being refined. Advocates will play a foundational role in shaping policies, training, and procedures for statewide implementation.
Role Overview
Child Empowerment Advocates serve as independent, trauma-informed, healing-focused, and child-centric advocates. They are independent from agencies and institutions tasked to conduct investigations to ensure full commitment to children involved in the process. Advocates ensure that children’s voices, emotional needs, and perspectives are prioritized during interactions with courts, agencies, or other systems.
Pre-launch Contribution: Advocates will actively participate in co-developing the program, including:
Collaborating on specialized training modules
Reviewing and refining policies and procedures
Providing feedback on pilot practices and program approaches
Helping define best practices for trauma-informed, child-centered advocacy
Key Responsibilities
Serve as an independent, trauma-informed, healing-focused, and child-centric advocate
Attend investigations or system processes to ensure children’s disclosures, emotional realities, and needs are represented
Conduct crisis assessments and respond appropriately to client or child crisis needs (tier-dependent)
Actively participate in peer consultation and program development
Perform a variety of casework duties, including obtaining, analyzing, and evaluating data necessary to implement child-centered advocacy services
Review agency, court, and advocacy center policies with a trauma-informed lens
Collaborate with Unity for Children staff and experts to co-develop best practices and pilot initiatives
Promote healing-centered solutions that support long-term safety, stability, and empowerment for children
Participate in planning, training, and pilot activities focused on advocacy and systemic change
Contribute to program development by co-creating training modules and refining policies during the pre-launch phase
Perform other duties as assigned
Specialized Training
All advocates will complete in-house specialized training program prior to engaging directly with children or systems. Training ensures every advocate.
Pre-launch note: Training modules are co-developed with trauma experts, child advocacy specialists, and cross-system professionals to ensure the program reflects best practices and addresses the specific needs of children across Illinois.
Minimum Qualifications & Requirements
Trained Advocate (Bachelor’s-level or equivalent):
Bachelor’s Degree in social work, psychology, human services, education, or related field, or equivalent experience
Experience with children exposed to trauma preferred
Common Requirements for All Advocates:
Strong problem-solving, organizational, written, oral, and communication skills
Demonstrated awareness of multiple cultures and understanding of cultural impact on service delivery
Vehicle, insurance, and valid driver’s license
Integrity, ethical conduct, and a child-first approach
Background check (mandatory)
Ongoing professional development in trauma-informed, child-centered practices
Benefits of Volunteering/Joining
Directly impact children’s healing and empowerment across Illinois
Help shape the first statewide initiative where healing drives systemic change
Collaborate with trauma experts and professionals across multiple sectors
Gain hands-on experience in child advocacy, crisis response, policy review, and trauma-informed best practices
Play a foundational role in co-developing training, policies, and pilot initiatives
Unity for Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All gifts and volunteer contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.