POSITION SUMMARY
The Alliance for Children’s Rights is seeking a Benefits Program Legal Assistant to help children in out-of-home care obtain the appropriate type and level of monetary benefits and supportive services. The Legal Assistant will support the program staff attorneys, assist in supervising volunteers, and handle a case load. The applicant must have the ability to work independently and handle multiple tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced environment, as well as be willing to become part of a cohesive team of legal advocates working on behalf of vulnerable children throughout Los Angeles County. The person in this position reports to the Benefits Program Director.
This is a non-exempt, full-time paid position.
ABOUT THE ALLIANCE
The Alliance for Children’s Rights is a nonprofit organization that provides free, holistic legal services and advocacy to youth and families impacted by child welfare and juvenile justice systems in Los Angeles County and works to enact policy changes statewide. Our lawyers, advocates and social workers, together with hundreds of pro bono attorneys and community volunteers, work to ensure young people in foster care and guardianships can overcome barriers to stability and success and access to the education, healthcare, and financial supports they need. Since 1992, we have helped over 150,000 children and young adults. For more information visit: www.allianceforchildrensrights.org.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the direct supervision of the Benefits Program Director, the Benefits Legal Assistant will perform the following responsibilities:
• Conduct client intake and screening.
• Develop bilingual project materials.
• Create trainings materials and present materials at community outreach and trainings.
• Open, close, and maintain case files.
• Gather and analyze documents from various sources to support our cases.
• Handle individual case load by working to resolve benefits disputes informally with the County.
• Train and support law student interns and community volunteers.
• Facilitate communication between clients, program staff, pro bono attorneys, County representatives, Minors’ Attorneys and service providers.
• Coordinate communication with other programs at the Alliance to facilitate a holistic approach to serving clients.
• Database management, mailing client correspondences, and occasionally processing incoming mail at the office.
• Other administrative duties as needed.
WHAT YOUR IMPACT WILL BE
The Benefits Program Legal Assistant plays a critical role in securing funding to support children living in out-of-home care. Benefits are essential to ensure a stable environment for youth and their caregivers. The Benefits Program advocates for the removal of systemic barriers from a perspective of equity and intersectionality. The person in this position has a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children living in foster care and poverty.
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL POSSESS
• Experience in the foster care, Dependency Court and/or child welfare system is helpful.
• Experience with public benefits, administrative advocacy and/or public speaking is helpful.
• Experience with administrative fair hearings and/or administrative writs of mandamus.
• Must be bilingual (Spanish/English).
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
• Strong interpersonal skills and a desire to help people.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Strong communication skills.
• Must be bilingual (Spanish/English).
• College graduate, Paralegal Certification, or equivalent work experience.
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Power Point, Teams, Adobe and Zoom.
• Experience with foster care is helpful but not mandatory.
This job description is of a general nature and is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties of the position.
COVID-19 CONSIDERATIONS:
This position would work typically from our Los Angeles office. However, due to Covid-19, this position will temporarily work remotely from home. This position may be asked to return to work in the office at any time at the employer’s discretion. In office presence will be required as needed at the Director and employee’s discretion to help advance Adoption Program and general Alliance events, for training and collaboration with the Adoption team and to help manage Adoption cases.
Vaccination Requirement
The Alliance is committed to prioritizing and safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our employees, their families, our clients, and members of our community against the COVID-19 coronavirus. In response to COVID-19 and the increased transmissibility with recent variants, and to support a safe environment for everyone, all new Alliance employees must provide original documentation confirming they are fully vaccinated, and or evidence of an approved qualifying medical exemption or religious held belief exemption at the time of hire.
SALARY RANGE
Target starting salary range is $23.07/hr up to $26/hr or an approximate annualized equivalent of $45,000 – $50,700 and is set commensurate with experience. Benefits include generous vacation and paid holidays; comprehensive health plans covering 100% of the employee cost of medical, dental, and vision insurance; life insurance; flexible spending accounts for childcare and health expenses; generous retirement savings plan with organization contributions to your 403(b) after one year of employment; and discounts on fitness memberships and entertainment venues.
TO APPLY
Please email resume and cover letter to Denise Velasquez, Director of Human Resources at dvelasquez@alliancecr.org. Please include in your cover letter any relevant experiences, background, or perspective, professional or otherwise, you have in working with diverse populations and/or towards goals of equity and racial justice. Due to a high volume of interest, we are not able to contact each interested applicant. If selected for consideration, candidates will be contacted to discuss our recruitment process and next steps. No calls please.
The Alliance for Children’s Rights is committed to building and supporting a culturally diverse and inclusive environment that values all staff members’ backgrounds and perspectives in our work. We strongly encourage individuals from all traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, and prohibit discrimination against employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, or any other unlawful basis.
