Social Worker

NYC Bar Association•New York, NY

65d•Hybrid

About The Position

The City Bar Justice Center (CBJC) seeks a New York-licensed social worker to assist on a part-time basis 15-20 hours weekly for CBJC’s Social Work Program, an interdisciplinary, trauma-informed client support structure for CBJC’s dozen civil legal aid projects. In collaboration with CBJC’s Senior Social Worker and senior leadership team, this role helps to ensure the Social Work Program provides holistic support for clients’ non-legal needs as well as interdisciplinary assistance to CBJC legal teams. The City Bar Justice Center annually provides high-quality, free civil legal services benefiting over 27,000 New Yorkers who lack the resources to hire private counsel. CBJC also relies on partnerships with our affiliate, the New York City Bar Association, as well as with law firms, corporate legal departments, solo practitioners, law schools, the courts, and other stakeholders. In the past year, over 3,000 pro bono attorneys donated services to support clinics and client matter work drawn from CBJC’s dozen civil legal services projects.

Requirements

Minimum two years as a New York-licensed LMSW or LCSW.
Completed Seminar Training Field Instruction (SIFI), or ability to complete SIFI concurrently while supervising MSW students participating in CBJC’s social work practicum.
Minimum of two years of client advocacy experience, including especially experience in crisis management and intervention and experience working with individuals with an array of mental health needs; and experience facilitating linkages to other providers and navigating local, state and federal systems, benefits and agencies for those of limited means (NYC/NYS experience strongly preferred).
Strong clinical and case management skills, including ability to demonstrate an understanding of self-represented litigants’ physical, emotional, psychological, social, structural, and/or environmental risks; and ability to effectively assist staff with crisis intervention, conflict resolution, and de-escalation.
Sound knowledge of victimization dynamics and varied treatment modalities.
Confidence and capacity to navigate medical, legal, and social service systems.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills; workshop facilitation and groupwork skills a plus.
Strong interpersonal skills, and ability to work both independently and collaboratively with a team.
Strong interest in supporting legal services within a courthouse setting.
Strong computer skills across multiple platforms, databases, and applications.
Demonstrated enthusiasm for public interest work, serving those with a lack of resources, and helping historically under-resourced communities and clients that have experienced complex trauma.
Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States. We are not able to sponsor visas for this role.
This role requires substantial in-office presence, with the opportunity for some remote work.
We are looking for a candidate available to start as soon as possible.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in a legal or other interdisciplinary setting is a plus, but not a requirement.
Bilingual English/Spanish highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Support the CBJC Social Work Program’s (“SWP”) delivery of holistic and trauma-informed client services while providing interdisciplinary assistance to CBJC’s legal function.
Maintain an appropriate and sustainable caseload of CBJC legal services clients, coordinating and collaborating with legal teams to provide clients with crisis intervention, appropriate human and social services referrals (e.g., for shelter, medical and mental health care, public assistance), short-term counseling, and service plans and safety and risk management assessments where needed.
Advocate on behalf of clients for public entitlements and other resources with systems and agencies where applicable, and facilitate linkages for clients to access care and other services.
Occasionally facilitate psychosocial education for clients to learn to assess/attend to their needs.
Collaborate with legal teams where appropriate to assess client management and placement practices (including with pro bono volunteers); support challenging client intake/interview and case narration needs and assist staff with crisis intervention, conflict resolution, and de-escalation as necessary; help legal teams reflect on and further develop trauma-informed client interaction skills; and, where applicable, create affidavits and provide other support for clients’ legal cases.
Collaborate with the senior social worker and CBJC leadership to sustain a best-practices program.
Track, manage, and assign client referrals and oversee SWP data management and reporting.
Develop, manage, and maintain SWP community and educational partnerships and the SWP’s student practicum program to further support client and case management needs, including by interviewing students for practicum placement; developing and providing new practicum participants’ onboarding and training; ensuring sufficient supervisory support is in place for up to 6 interns; and helping to oversee CBJC social work practicum students’ process recordings, learning plans, evaluations, and site visits with field advisors.
Facilitate holistic client services best practices, including by providing trainings to legal team staff and volunteers and individual and small group support to promote informed responses to mental health needs and dynamics of trauma, abuse, sexual assault, and other related topics.
Participate in and occasionally facilitate staff meetings, as well as external community and partnership meetings and relevant trainings and seminars.
Various other duties and projects to be determined in collaboration with supervisor.