Social Work Intern

Center for Disability & Elder Law•Chicago, IL

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Center for Disability & Elder Law (CDEL) provides free legal services to low-income seniors and people with disabilities. CDEL’s clients—individuals often marginalized by age, disability and poverty—may have difficulty accessing the legal system. CDEL strives to provide access to the legal system to help our clients to assert their legal rights and live better lives. CDEL’s organizational structure consists of a modest in-house staff which supports a network of hundreds of volunteer attorneys, students and paralegals. CDEL staff and its volunteers provide legal representation in a wide range of civil practice areas including guardianship, simple estate planning, landlord/tenant, consumer debt and fraud, and real estate. CDEL seeks Social Work Interns to work with CDEL’s attorneys to help provide holistic services to CDEL’s clients. This position will help support seniors and people with disabilities, particularly with housing, public benefits, health care, and case management needs. The Internship is unpaid. However, CDEL will work with schools offering externship credit, as well as any funding options available for Interns through schools or outside agencies.

Requirements

Must be currently enrolled in a Masters of Social Work program
Experience and competence working with people from diverse backgroundsincluding but not limited to race, gender, identification with the LGBT+community, culture, age, language, and ability level.
Dedication to working in an interdisciplinary setting with a strong commitment tocollaboration and teamwork.
Interest in or experience in implementing social work skills in a law setting.
Strong interest in case/client work.
Commitment to social justice
Excellent oral and written skills.
Internet and computer skills, including familiarity with Microsoft Office.

Nice To Haves

Spanish fluency preferred, but not required.

Responsibilities

Assess clients’ needs in both in-person and phone interviews.
Facilitate direct referrals to appropriate services and organizations, such ashousing assistance organizations, employment assistance services, casemanagement services, and mental health services.
Consult with CDEL attorneys and staff on behalf of clients, including analysis ofsocial work and mental health issues impacting clients and identification ofservices to resolve issues which arise during the legal representation.
Participate in case acceptance and evaluation meetings and other legal trainingto learn about our work.
Assist CDEL staff in making informed decisions about case management issues,including assessing client’s capacity to benefit from proposed services.
Conduct in-house training and education for CDEL staff on mental health, socialwork, and related issues.
Manage client case load under supervision.
Connect with community organizations to learn about their services and share information about CDEL's services.
Build CDEL's referral resource list in the areas of food assistance, housing, and mental health.