Social Worker

The University Of Chicago; United States; On-site; USD 85,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work day per week

Job summary

The University of Chicago Law School seeks a Social Worker for the Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic. The role involves advocacy, psycho-social assessments, and coordination of services for clients facing criminal charges and immigration matters.

You will supervise law and social work students, draft reports, and ensure clients’ continuity of care with community resources in a fast-paced clinical setting. Remote work one day per week is available.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in social work strongly preferred.
• Active Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) license strongly preferred.
• Experience working with vulnerable populations strongly preferred.
• Experience navigating the legal system and courts strongly preferred.
• Experience teaching/supervising students preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provides social work support to Mandel Legal Aid Clinic and its clinics.
• Attends meetings, conducts client interviews, and gathers social histories.
• Drafts social histories and mitigation reports, and testifies as needed.
• Connects clients to community services and follows through on court requirements.
• Supervises law and social work students and conducts evaluations.

Skills

Psycho-social assessment

Client liaison

Crisis intervention

Court testimony

Collaboration

Education

MSW degree

LCSW license

MSW with licensure

Job description

Department Law: Clinic - Staff

About the Department The University of Chicago Law School occupies a unique niche among this country's premier law schools. Located on a residential campus in one of America's great cities, UChicago Law offers a rigorous and interdisciplinary professional education that blends the study of law with the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. Students, faculty, and staff form a small, tightly knit community devoted to the life of the mind.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Director of Clinical and Experiential Learning, the Social Worker works with clients of the Law School’s Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic who are facing criminal charges, navigating the immigration system, or involved in other litigation. Mandel Clinic clients often face challenges such as housing instability, job instability or unemployment, substance abuse or mental health problems, and familial or educational issues. The Social Worker advocates for clients, conducts clinical evaluations, writes mitigation reports and similar documents, and connects clients and families to supportive services in their communities. The Social Worker also supervises law and social work students who are working in the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic.

Responsibilities

• Provides social work support to the Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, including primarily the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Clinic, the Federal Criminal Justice Clinic, the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Clinic, the Employment Law Clinic, the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, and the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic.
• Attends meetings with clients, experts, and others with the supervising attorney(s) and student teams, conducts interviews with clients, family, and community members, acts as a liaison with social service organizations, gathers clients’ social histories, and performs psycho-social assessments of clinic clients as needed.
• Drafts social history reports, mitigation reports, release plans, and treatment plans, completes paperwork for client files and client cases, and testifies in court regarding findings and recommendations as needed.
• Connects clients and clients’ family members to needed social services and resources in the community, follows clients through their legal cases to ensure court-mandated requirements are met, and provides therapeutic intervention for clients in crisis.
• Provides post-disposition services to clients who may have ongoing psycho-social or other needs, as determined by the legal team.
• Develops plans for treating, documenting, and proving clients’ emotional injuries in civil rights cases involving police abuse and consults on issues related to the impact of environmental contamination on affected communities.
• Builds and maintains relationships with the University of Chicago’s Crown School of Social Service Administration, other University of Chicago entities such as those within the University of Chicago Medical Center, and community service providers.
• Attends and/or facilitates local and regional committee meetings, conferences, and seminars with community service providers or relevant partners.
• Assists clinic attorneys and law and social work students in processing vicarious trauma.
• Supervises law and social work students (at least 4 social work students in their first- or second-year placement) and completes evaluations for social work student supervision requirements.
• Teaches clinic seminar classes and provides general advice to law faculty and law students relating to social work topics.
• Uses broad knowledge and experience to develop and coordinate programs related to emotional, social, and financial care. Programs may involve family-centered services, treatment and education of youth, employment and financial support, or health insurance and provider services.
• Serves as a liaison between schools, families, and community agencies.
• Maintains relationships with various social worker departments within the University as well as community agencies at the local and state levels.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Work Experience: Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
• Certifications: ---

Preferred Qualifications

• Education: Master’s degree in Social Work, from an accredited institution, strongly preferred.
• Active Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) license strongly preferred.
• Experience: Experience working with vulnerable populations strongly preferred.
• Experience: Experience providing services to both juveniles and adults strongly preferred.
• Experience: Experience navigating the legal system and courts strongly preferred.
• Experience: Experience writing assessments, social histories, or similar work product strongly preferred.
• Experience: Experience teaching/supervising students preferred.

Preferred Competencies

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work efficiently individually and as a part of a team.
• Ability to request and maintain records.
• Ability to research and write mitigation reports, assessments, and the like.
• Ability to exercise discretion and confidentiality while handling sensitive situations.

Working Conditions

This position is available for one day of remote work per week contingent on the needs of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic and student supervision needs. Ability to travel by car within the regional area and Chicagoland area. Ability to work evening and weekend hours with advance notice, as needed.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (required)
• Professional writing sample (preferred)

Job Family

Healthcare & Medical Services

Role Impact Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours 37.5

Drug Test Required

No Health Screen Required

No Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No Pay Rate Type Salary

FLSA Status Exempt

Pay Range $85,000.00 - $95,000.00 The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible Yes The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination. Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form. All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position. The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.

About the University

The University of Chicago is an urban research university that has driven new ways of thinking since 1890. Our commitment to free and open inquiry draws inspired scholars to our global campuses, where ideas are born that challenge and change the world. We empower individuals to challenge conventional thinking in pursuit of original ideas. Students in the College develop critical, analytic, and writing skills in our rigorous, interdisciplinary core curriculum. Through graduate programs, students test their ideas with UChicago scholars, and become the next generation of leaders in academia, industry, nonprofits, and government.

To learn more about the university click here http://www.uchicago.edu/