Temporary Forensic Social Worker, Legal Clinic, Immigration Law Unit - Bronx, NY

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The Immigration Law Unit of The Legal Aid Society is a recognized leader in the delivery of legal services to immigrants in all five boroughs of New York City and surrounding counties within the New York District of the USCIS. The Unit provides low-income New Yorkers with free comprehensive immigration services ranging from deportation defense to adjustment of status to legal permanent residence and citizenship applications. The Unit specializes in the intersection between immigration and criminal law and works collaboratively with all practice areas to serve the society's diverse immigrant clients through a comprehensive service model. Unit staff represent immigrants before USCIS, immigration judges in removal proceedings, and the Board of Immigration Appeals, as well as in federal court on habeas corpus petitions, petitions for review, administrative and judicial appeals, and other matters.

The Legal Aid Society's Civil Practice is seeking a Temporary Legal Clinic Forensic Social Worker (MSW) to join the Immigration Law Unit (ILU). The ideal candidate would have a strong work ethic and a deep commitment to public interest.

ILU provides full legal representation to non-citizens every day and we believe that full legal representation is the best practice. However, in these times when demand for immigration legal services is tremendous, ILU has developed a successful limited scope legal clinic model. With ILU Legal Clinic clients, the Temporary Legal Clinic Forensic Social Worker would provide social work services primarily to non-citizen youth and families and would also collaborate closely with ILU's Youth Project, which provides full-scope representation for this non-citizen population.

The Forensic Social Worker will be part of an inter-disciplinary legal team that includes attorneys and paralegals, working closely to address the needs of unaccompanied minor children, adults with children, and other clients to secure the best-case outcomes.

This position is funded through a temporary grant and the continuation of the position is dependent on funding availability. If funding for the position is not continued, the Temporary ILU Forensic Social Worker will be eligible to apply for other internal positions or be transferred into a comparable position.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide short-term crisis intervention and clinical assessments of non-citizen youth and families
• Make social service referrals to developmentally appropriate mental health and substance use treatment services, facilitate admission to psychiatric hospital or detoxification, link client's emergency housing, and help clients to access social networks and support to reduce isolation
• Provide educational advocacy and assist with school enrollment
• Assist clients in obtaining health insurance
• Review psychiatric records
• Advocacy with courts, USCIS, asylum offices, either orally or in writing, to present client issues and mitigating circumstances
• Participate in consultations with attorneys and joint attorney-client meetings
• Attend staff intake meetings and case conferences to provide general guidance on issues affecting the broader ILU caseload
• Assist with referrals to appropriate psychiatrist/psychologist for evaluation
• Maintain client records within an electronic database and provide data for grant reporting
• Participate in and provide support for data collection, periodic pilot projects and new initiatives
• This position may require off-site work and evening hours
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• A MSW degree and New York State certification in social work (LMSW) 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, MICA, physical illnesses and physical disabilities, mental illness, 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
• Must be bilingual in Spanish and English (oral and written fluency)
• Commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people and immigrants

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: $81,195 - $120,690

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 jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

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.

Bronx - Civil Practice Neighborhood Office