POSITION SUMMARY
The Alliance for Children’s Rights seeks a dedicated Social Worker for our Caregiver Support Project and Caregiver Helpdesk, providing front line support to caregiving families in the foster care and guardianship systems. The Social Worker reports directly to our Social Work Program Director. A candidate with previous experience advocating for youth or families in the child welfare or juvenile justice system is preferred. This is a full-time exempt position.
ABOUT THE ALLIANCE
We are 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 together to ensure that those we serve have the tools to overcome barriers to stability and success and can access the education, healthcare, and financial supports they need. Since 1992, we have helped over 165,000 children and young adults. For more information visit: www.allianceforchildrensrights.org.
WHAT YOUR IMPACT WILL BE
Reporting to the Social Work Program Director, the Social Worker will:
• Provide case management services to caregiving families, including foster and adoptive families, current and prospective guardians, and families with children informally placed in their care, with a focus on assessing needs and identifying appropriate services and resources
• Identify critical resources for clients, caregivers, and family members that will help provide stability and wellbeing
• Identify relevant public benefits and assist caregivers throughout the application process to ensure timely access
• Refer caregivers to outside agencies when appropriate and ensure linkage to available services
• Connect with Los Angeles County social workers when needed to ensure proper support and referrals are provided
• Staff our Caregiver Helpdesk at the Edmund D. Edelman Children’s Court, both in-person and remotely
• Coordinate with case management assistant
• Identify appropriate needs for direct grant supports to caregiving families, and work with case management assistant to fulfill direct grants to meet needs of caregiving families
• Review program data for continuous learning, development, and accomplishment of the program’s goals.
• Train and provide guidance to social work student interns
• Conduct community outreach and education programs and coordinate with service providers and other community partners
• Work with Alliance development and communications staff to assist with communications and grant goals, reports, and applications to support our work with caregiving families
• Open, maintain, and close electronic case files
• Perform other duties as assigned
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL POSSESS
• Master’s Degree in Social Work required
• 3-5 years of professional experience in social work required
• Demonstrated proficiency with public benefits (CalFresh, CalWORKs, WIC, General Relief, Medi-Cal, Medicare, SSI, SSD, Unemployment, Childcare) strongly preferred
• Knowledge of the child welfare system
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice
• Spanish fluency required
This job description is of a general nature and is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties of the position.
Experience and Skills
• Ability to network and establish successful connections with government and community-based organizations to create resources for both families and staff
• Ability to provide trauma-informed and culturally competent social work services
• Excellent written and oral communication and active listening skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with clients, attorneys, child welfare agencies, the judiciary, community partners, colleagues, and members of the public
• Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to work independently and manage competing tasks in a fast-paced environment
Other Considerations
This position is assigned to our Los Angeles office, with in-person presence required at the Children’s Court for Los Angeles County and our Los Angeles office once or twice a week as needed to facilitate training and departmental activities. Otherwise the [title] may elect to work remotely from home, although may be asked to return to work in the office at any time at the Alliance’s discretion.
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
This is an exempt, full-time paid position, with target starting annual salary in the range of $68,000 – $75,000 DOE. 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 company contributions to your 403(b) after one year of employment, and discounts on fitness memberships and other activities.
TO APPLY
Email resume and cover letter to Denise Velasquez, Director of Human Resources at dvelasquez@alliancecr.org. 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.
