The posting
The Juvenile Rights Practice (JRP) is seeking an experienced Forensic Social Worker to work on immigration needs for Juvenile Rights clients. The Forensic Social Worker (FSW) is part of an interdisciplinary team of lawyers, paralegals, and other supporting roles that will work on the legal representation of children, ages 0 to 21 years, who are before NYC family courts on child protective, PINS (Persons-In-Need-of-Supervision), juvenile delinquency, and termination of parental rights petitions. The FSW will handle citywide immigration matters with an interdisciplinary team. The FSW will provide social work services primarily to undocumented New York City youth and unaccompanied immigrant JRP clients. The FSW will also advocate with the New York Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) and foster care agency personnel to meet the social, health and mental health needs of JRP immigrant clients.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES
- Provide short-term crisis intervention and clinical assessments of immigrant youth and children represented by JRP
- Make social service referrals to developmentally appropriate mental health and substance use treatment services, facilitate admission to psychiatric hospital or detoxification, and help clients to access social networks and support to reduce isolation
- Provide educational advocacy and assist with school enrollment
- Assess eligibility and refer clients for specific benefits available to undocumented individuals and families
- Assist clients in obtaining health insurance where necessary
- Review psychiatric records
- Advocacy with courts, USCIS, asylum offices, either orally or in writing, to present client issues and mitigating circumstances
- Provide training to JRP staff on topics such as interdisciplinary collaboration, suicide prevention, mental health diagnoses, children and youth development, and youth-specific services
- Participate in consults with attorneys and joint attorney-client meetings
- Attend staff intake meetings and case conferences to provide general guidance on issues affecting the broader JRP caseload
- Assist with referrals to appropriate psychiatrist/psychologist for evaluation
- Support organizational initiatives to create a uniform practice across all boroughs
- Collaborate and communicate in an interdisciplinary environment
- Participate in training modules and contribute to the professional development of interdisciplinary teams
- Other duties as assigned
QUALIFICATIONS
Required qualifications:
- An MSW degree and New York State license in social work (LMSW) preferred, or MSW degree and ability to obtain New York State LMSW within 6 months of hire
- Strong diagnostic skills with experience working with children and adolescent clients with the following special needs: special education, mental illness (MICA), physical illnesses and physical disabilities, intellectual and developmental delays, and clients with histories of childhood sexual and physical abuse, survivors of trafficking and other forms of violence and trauma, as well as with histories of substance use
- Ability to interface with court personnel, immigration judges, school personnel, and NYC Admin for Children’s Services (ACS)
- Ability to negotiate with community-based treatment providers and governmental agencies, including child welfare agencies, the Department of Education, HRA
- Ability to quickly develop treatment plans
Preferred qualifications:
- 2+ years of relevant experience, including working with immigrant populations or trauma-informed care is strongly preferred
- Experience in and/or commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people, immigrants, and children strongly desired
- Ability to manage a reasonable volume of cases and solve problems creatively
- Excellent interpersonal, communication, organizational and court advocacy skills
- Proficiency in other languages, particularly Spanish language, is strongly desired
- Ability to work in and value collaborative team model
- Prior employment with Legal Aid, a plus
SALARY AND BENEFITS
The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.
Salary Range: $83,631 - $125,627
The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Click here to read more about benefits.
Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness
The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below.
studentaid.gov
hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs
WORK AUTHORIZATION
All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)
HOW TO APPLY
All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:
- Cover Letter
- Resume
For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email [email protected].
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one’s name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.
OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.
