APPLICATION DEADLINE
Review of candidates will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.
ABOUT LEGAL SERVICES FOR CHILDREN
Founded in 1975, Legal Services for Children (“LSC”) is one of the country’s first non-profit law firms dedicated to providing free legal representation and social work services to children. Our mission is to ensure that all children in the San Francisco Bay Area are raised in a safe environment with equal access to a meaningful education and other services that are necessary to thrive and grow. We believe that youth deserve positive alternatives to unnecessary placement in foster care, juvenile justice facilities, and immigration detention.
LSC started the interdisciplinary approach that is considered a best practice in juvenile law today. We deploy attorney-social worker teams to assist Bay Area children who need to access the legal system to stabilize or improve their lives. LSC’s attorneys represent children in legal matters that involve guardianship, dependency, school discipline, immigration, and other civil legal matters. Our social workers provide crisis intervention, case management, counseling, and psychosocial assessments. LSC staff also engage in policy and advocacy projects aimed at advancing the rights of children.
To promote social justice and best serve our clients, LSC is committed to maintaining a diverse staff and providing services with cultural humility. We are committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion and ensuring a workplace where staff can flourish and grow professionally. We strongly encourage candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities and historically oppressed groups including People of Color and LGBTQ individuals to apply. Bilingual/bicultural candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
ABOUT THE POSITION
Through our Detained Immigrant Children’s Project (DICP), we serve children who are unaccompanied and in the custody of Office and Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Our clients are resilient young people fleeing poverty, intrafamilial and community violence in their countries of origin seeking safety in the United States.
This social worker will:
• Provide social work services to children and youth immigrants detained in Northern California by ORR and/or formerly detained, as part of our DICP team.
• Provide culturally appropriate and trauma-informed services as part of our attorney-social worker interdisciplinary team.
• Provide Know Your Rights (KYR) presentations and legal screenings to children and youth in ORR detention and legal referrals to children upon release.
• Weekly data entry tracking the provision of services.
LCSW clinical supervision will be provided.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• MSW from an accredited school of social work.
• Fluency in English and Spanish. Candidates who are not able to read, write and speak fluently in both English and Spanish will not be considered.
• Valid California Driver’s License - weekly (potentially bi-weekly) travel to ORR facilities is required. This position will primarily require travel to Fairfield, CA (Solano County).
• Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including at least one booster.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Experience serving immigrant communities and individuals who are survivors of abuse, human trafficking, and systemic oppression. Ability to work collaboratively with co-workers, government agencies, social service providers and other stakeholders.
• Lived experience with the systems that impact our clients.
• Strong clinical skills and a commitment to providing culturally competent services.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and prioritize workload in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience and comfort with speaking to youth in both individual and group settings.
• Experience with MS Office applications, including Excel and Word.
• Energy, optimism and passion for the issues affecting youth in detention and child immigrants.
This position will be eligible for a “hybrid” model in which the person can work some of the time outside of the office. This position is based in San Francisco and requires presence in the area with the ability to come to the office and other locations in the Bay Area. Primarily, this position requires in-person facility visits, in particular near Fairfield, California, 1-2 days per week, which can be balanced by working from home or in the office. Zip Car and/or mileage reimbursement is provided for travel to facilities.
This position is in a bargaining unit represented by IFPTE Local 20.
SALARY & BENEFITS
This is a full-time, exempt position. Salary is commensurate with experience, ranging from $71,500-79,500. Benefits include fully paid health insurance for employees and partially paid for child dependents (medical, dental and vision), eligibility to participate in a 401k, as well as pre-tax qualifying FSA and transit expenses. LSC’s dedicated staff team enjoys generous paid leave (vacation, sick, holiday).
APPLICATION PROCESS
Please send cover letter, resume and contact information for three references to [email protected], with “Social Worker” in the subject line. In your cover letter, please address the following in order for your application to be considered:
LSC’s clientele is extremely diverse, and the majority of our clients are low-income youth of color. To ensure that our agency is best serving these children, LSC strives to promote an evolving set of behaviors and attitudes amongst our staff, as well as policies that enable us to work effectively in all cross-cultural situations, with clients, with our coworkers, and with the community. We see this as a commitment to enhance the provision of our services to all clients; to raise the level of positive client outcomes; and to create an inclusive and respectful workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued. How do you think your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, have prepared you to contribute to our commitment to cultural humility and diversity amongst our staff? Feel free to think broadly about your response to this question, applying various aspects of your life and personal experiences.
• MSW from an accredited school of social work.
• Fluency in English and Spanish. Candidates who are not able to read, write and speak fluently in both English and Spanish will not be considered.
• Valid California Driver’s License - weekly (potentially bi-weekly) travel to ORR facilities is required. This position will primarily require travel to Fairfield, CA (Solano County).
• Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including at least one booster.
Please send cover letter, resume and contact information for three references to [email protected], with “Social Worker” in the subject line. In your cover letter, please address the following in order for your application to be considered:
LSC’s clientele is extremely diverse, and the majority of our clients are low-income youth of color. To ensure that our agency is best serving these children, LSC strives to promote an evolving set of behaviors and attitudes amongst our staff, as well as policies that enable us to work effectively in all cross-cultural situations, with clients, with our coworkers, and with the community. We see this as a commitment to enhance the provision of our services to all clients; to raise the level of positive client outcomes; and to create an inclusive and respectful workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued. How do you think your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, have prepared you to contribute to our commitment to cultural humility and diversity amongst our staff? Feel free to think broadly about your response to this question, applying various aspects of your life and personal experiences.