Organization: Bay Area Legal Aid's (BayLegal) mission is to provide high quality legal assistance regardless of a client's location, language, or disability. BayLegal is the largest provider of free civil legal services to low-income residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, with regional offices serving seven counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. BayLegal's approximately 100 staff members provide wraparound legal services in housing preservation, domestic violence and sexual assault prevention, economic security, consumer protection, and healthcare access.
Position and Responsibilities: We seek an energetic, self-reflective, and empathic social worker who brings social justice values to our work with youth who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness. Youth served by this program experience high rates of sexual exploitation, abuse and neglect, and mental health related issues. Our advocacy efforts on behalf of our youth clients include health access, benefits (e.g. foster care benefits, SSI, CalWORKs, and General Assistance), immigration, permanency, housing, restraining orders, access to foster care, guardianships, and education. This position is based in Oakland, but includes travel throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
Social workers and attorneys work collaboratively for case assessment, strategy, and management within an attorney-social worker team model. The social worker will have client contact in various settings, including, but not limited to home, school, and shelters. The social worker will support clients in identifying their needs, setting goals, and developing a structured plan for achieving those goals through appropriate evidence-based clinical practices. The social worker may also:
• Provide crisis intervention and crisis counseling
• Develop emergency safety plans and long term case plans in collaboration with the youth/attorney/social worker team
• Advocate for clients in multi-disciplinary team meetings, including IEPs, and clinical provider meetings
• Conduct psychosocial needs assessments and prepare written reports and treatment plans in support of the client’s needs and goals
• Write assessments and make recommendations
• Attend hearings to support client and occasionally testify
• Help clients transport to important meetings and appointments
• Work closely with client's care team, when applicable
• Help client apply to housing programs and provide follow up with respective agencies
• Support clients' application to various public benefits
• Depending on licensure status, the social worker may assist with supervision of social work students or interns
Qualifications:
Required
• Advanced degree in social work, social welfare, marriage, family and child counseling, child psychology, child development, counseling psychology, or social psychology
• Demonstrated interest and ability in working with children, youth, and low-income, diverse communities
• Excellent verbal, interpersonal, writing, client interviewing, and organizational skills
• Ability to work independently and be self-motivated
• An interest in laws pertaining to child advocacy, juvenile dependency, health access, and benefits eligibility
• Valid driver's license and access to a car
• Experience with diverse cultures and communities
Preferred
• Academic or professional background in child abuse and neglect
• Licensure (e.g. LCSW, LMFT) or progress towards licensure (e.g. ASW, MFT Intern or Trainee)
• In-depth knowledge of, and experience with, social services agencies and mental health providers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties
• Experience working with Commercially Sexually Exploited Minors (CSEM) and an understanding of the community resources available to this populations
• Experience working with homeless youth in a variety of settings
• Experience collaborating with the Child Welfare System
• Bilingual
Applications: Bay Area Legal Aid thrives on our diversity and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a culturally diverse workplace and strongly encourage women, persons of color, LGBTQ individuals, veterans, persons with disabilities, and persons from other underrepresented groups to apply. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible, and no later than August 26, 2016. Please send cover letter, resume, references, and writing sample to: Farshta Alli, Director of Human Resources at [email protected]. Please reference "Social Worker Summer 2016" in your application.