SSI Social Worker

Bay Area Legal Aid•San Francisco, CA

8d•$65,860 - $106,724•Hybrid

About The Position

Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) is a non-profit law firm. Our staff provide free civil legal services to individuals and families living in poverty throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our community-based service model includes a wide range of access points, including legal hotlines, six physical offices, and community-based advocacy clinics and intake points. We practice in multiple inter-related legal substantive areas to prevent and stop homelessness, increase economic stability, protect low-income consumers, expand access to healthcare, and enhance safety for survivors of interpersonal violence. Our clients include the working poor, families with children, foster youth, seniors, immigrants, veterans, individuals impacted by the criminal and juvenile legal systems, and persons with disabilities. The core of our community-based practice is working alongside our individual clients to protect their legal rights, resolve immediate crises and remove legal barriers to long-term stability and escaping poverty. BayLegal is also uniquely positioned to identify patterns of illegal practices and engage in opportunities to protect the legal rights of low-income communities and increase efficiency and effectiveness of public services through broader advocacy and impact litigation. BayLegal’s San Francisco Social Security Disability/SSI Advocacy Team is a collaborative, interdisciplinary legal team that includes attorneys and social workers who assist unhoused San Franciscans with physical, mental, and cognitive disabilities in obtaining Social Security Disability, SSI, and CAPI benefits. The team engages in community outreach and works closely with the San Francisco Human Services Agency, community-based organizations, and healthcare providers to support clients in securing benefits and achieving long-term stability. Position: BayLegal seeks a passionate, self-reflective, and empathic social worker to work with unhoused or recently housed San Franciscans with disabilities who are being represented by BayLegal in their claims for Social Security disability benefits. Social workers and attorneys at BayLegal work collaboratively in case assessment and strategy, forming an interdisciplinary team to support clients. The primary role of the social worker is to engage clients through ongoing outreach, including home visits, and support clients, as they are ready, to connect to and maintain health care. The social worker also helps clients navigate the homelessness response system, connects clients to resources including income and health benefits, and supports clients to attend critical appointments related to their legal case. Social Security cases can last months to years, providing the opportunity for building strong rapport with clients and helping them work towards their goals. In addition to experiencing the trauma of housing instability and homelessness, our clients are often coping with physical and mental health disabilities, substance use, domestic violence, and poverty. We seek someone who is skilled at working within the frameworks of harm reduction, stages of change, and motivational interviewing to help clients navigate these different issues, engage with their legal case, and increase their economic and housing stability. This position is located in San Francisco and requires almost daily travel on foot and public transit throughout the city/county to best serve our clients where they are. As a member of BayLegal's regional practice, there may also be travel within BayLegal's broader service areas for training, organizational meetings, and broader advocacy.

Requirements

Advanced degree in social work, social welfare, marriage, family and child counseling, counseling psychology, or social psychology or three years of equivalent experience.
Familiarity with and experience working within the frameworks of harm reduction, stages of change, and motivational interviewing to work with clients.
An interest in being part of an interdisciplinary team with attorneys to support clients.
An interest in issues pertaining to homelessness, economic justice, disability, and social determinants of health.
Comfortable working in a variety of environments, including SRO Hotels, shelters, and health clinics, and environments with pets as the majority of our clients have dogs as support animals.
Commitment to complying with all BayLegal funding requirements, and firm standards, policies, and practices.
Current proficiency, and ability to improve proficiency, in technological equipment, hardware, and software necessary to perform duties of the position.
Must be fully vaccinated or be willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccination by date of hire and be fully vaccinated to be considered. Proof of vaccination required.
Humility in working with colleagues and clients, and individuals of all identities, experiences, and perspectives.
Excellent verbal, client interviewing, and organizational skills.
Strong personal work ethic and ability to organize time, manage diverse activities, and meet critical deadlines with minimal supervision.
Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to work collaboratively with a dynamic team.
Curious and self-directed with an ability to anticipate what needs to be done.
Ability to simultaneously manage multiple projects while maintaining a firm grasp of individual project details.

Nice To Haves

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, housing support services, and behavioral health providers in San Francisco County.
Experience working in a variety of settings in the field with individuals with physical and mental health disabilities, survivors of domestic violence, and those impacted by complex trauma and homelessness.

Responsibilities

Support clients in identifying their needs, setting goals, and developing a plan for achieving those goals through appropriate evidence-based clinical practices.
Travel to and meet clients in various settings, such as home, shelters, street, public benefits offices, medical clinics, and hearings.
Regularly engage clients through outreach to assess interest in obtaining health care, and help clients identify physical, behavioral health care, and substance use treatment needs, connect clients to care, provide case management to prioritize, set, and follow up on health care appointments – includes accompanying clients to appointments as needed.
Provide crisis intervention and crisis counseling, develop emergency safety plans, and long-term plans as a team with the client and attorney.
Help clients connect to housing support services and refer clients for help to maintain housing. All BayLegal’s unhoused San Francisco SSI Advocacy clients have been prioritized for housing by the city’s Coordinated Entry system.
Support clients' applications for Social Security disability benefits by assisting with some forms, appointments, supporting clients at hearing and other interviews. Assist and follow up with applications for other benefits programs, such as County Adult Assistance, CalFresh, and MediCal.
Develop relationships and engage in collaboration with a range of public and private community partners, including governmental agencies, medical and behavioral health care providers, and community-based organizations, to ensure integrative services and address systemic barriers facing BayLegal's client community;
Engage as part of a multi-disciplinary team in other tasks and projects that further BayLegal's mission and operations as a non-profit.
Collaborate with social workers across BayLegal to provide consultation and agency-wide training as needed.

Benefits

100% employer covered medical, dental, and life insurance for employees and up to 60% for dependents
BayLegal student debt reimbursement program
long term disability insurance
employee assistance program
wage differentials for multi-lingual employees whose non-English language skills are regularly used in the provision of work tasks and pass a request test of fluency and/or proficiency
dependent childcare employer contribution program
employer paid CA Bar license and/or social work license fees
401k retirement plan with BayLegal contribution following first year
15 holidays each year
vacation (starting at 13 days and increasing with additional years of employment)
3 floating holidays each year (days chosen by employee)
sick leave
parental leave