Forensic Social Worker, Juvenile Rights Trial Office (Citywide)

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Company: Legal Aid Society

Location: New York, NY 10025

Description:

The Juvenile Rights Practice has immediately openings for Forensic Social Worker positions in several of the Practice's Trial offices. Forensic Social Workers are integral members of the interdisciplinary team with lawyers, paralegals, and other supporting roles that support the legal representation of children, youth and young adults in matters before NYC Family Courts and Criminal Court Youth Parts; including child welfare, youth justice, public defense, PINS (Persons-In-Need-of-Supervision), custody, guardianship, visitation and termination of parental rights cases.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Essential Duties
  • Assess client and his/her/their family
  • Conduct brief, comprehensive assessments
  • Negotiate care and treatment plans
  • Determine client's wishes
  • Interview client, family members and other planning resources
  • Educate client and others regarding the court process, options, timeframes, etc.
  • Provide crisis intervention and short-term counseling
  • Consult with lawyers in determining client's position
  • Mediate family conflicts and negotiate services
  • Conduct agency and home visits
  • Research practice issues, service modalities and resources
  • Maintain ongoing contact with other agencies involved on cases
  • Review and evaluate service plans and agency records
  • Refer to appropriate agencies for ongoing services
  • Provide court testimony
  • Participate in agency planning conferences
  • Evaluate appropriateness of other agencies' interventions
  • Develop alternate dispositional plans and court recommendations
  • Prepare affidavits and other documents
  • Other duties as assigned


QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:
  • A MSW degree and NYS certification in social work (LMSW) license must be obtained within 6 months of hire
  • Experience working with children, youth, and families in community or court environments
  • Ability to work within and value a collaborative team model
  • Excellent interpersonal, communication and organizational skills
  • Forensic experience a plus
  • Strong assessment skills with experience in working with diverse client populations including individuals with trauma histories, co-occurring disorders, substance abuse disorder and mental illness
  • Excellent written and communication skills
  • Ability to work with diverse populations


Preferred qualifications:
  • Proficiency in languages other than English desired, but not required


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.

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