The Criminal Law Reform Unit ("Law Reform") of the Legal Aid Society's Criminal Defense Practice is seeking a social worker to join the unit's Decarceration Project. The social worker will provide direct support to clients of the Decarceration Project, particularly its specialized Women's Pretrial Release Initiative.

The Women's Pretrial Release Initiative secures the release of cis and trans women who are detained pretrial in New York City and connects them to gender-specific alternatives to detention. The Initiative offers early intervention, trial and appellate bail advocacy, structuralized social services, and comprehensive support. Service connections include mental health services, substance abuse services, housing and employment resources, and a host of other community support services. The Initiative is housed within Law Reform's Decarceration Project, which fights to make pre-trial detention the exception, not the rule, by working alongside CDP attorneys in all five boroughs to provide litigation support on bail applications and appeals.

The primary responsibilities of this position are to provide advocacy, support, and case management to clients assisted by the Women's Pretrial Initiative, and to provide social work support to other law reform clients on an as-needed basis. The social worker in this position will also have the opportunity to support CDP's policy advocacy by providing social work expertise and to provide other technical social work support and expertise to Law Reform as needed.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Complete service plans and bail packages to advocate for the release of individuals who are being detained pretrial in New York City jails
• Interview clients, performing a thorough bio-psycho-social assessment. During this process, crisis intervention, brief treatment, or short-term counseling may also be performed. These interviews will take place both in person and through video conferences at the Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers Island or other locations where clients are incarcerated, as well as in the office or other community setting
• Identify and review collateral sources of information, including interviewing family members, friends, teachers, social workers, community members, and others; and requesting and reviewing client records (i.e. educational, medical, psychiatric) in order to document specific arguments in court
• Advocate in court on behalf of clients to judges and court personnel
• Provide technical assistance and advice to support the unit's strategic law reform initiatives, including policy advocacy and client-centered strategic litigation initiatives
• Provide ongoing supportive services to clients of the Women's Pretrial Release Initiative, both incarcerated and in the community, including but not limited to supportive counseling, crisis intervention, and case management as related to the client's engagement with the legal process and any court mandates
• Other duties as assigned. The position will at times be providing support and coverage for the social workers in the various borough offices whose work includes referrals from the respective Decarceration attorneys

• Significant experience with client populations that may experience physical illnesses and physical disabilities, mental illness, intellectual and developmental delays, and have histories of substance use/abuse
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Excellent organizational skills
• Ability to interface professionally and effectively with judges, district attorneys and correctional personnel in a formal setting
• Ability to work collaboratively with attorneys and other social work professionals in a team model
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment toward shared team goals
• A demonstrated interest in working with marginalized clients and their families involved in the criminal legal system
• Broad understanding of or experience with the New York criminal legal system
• Candidates must have an MSW degree and NYS certification in social work (LMSW required)

SALARY TRANSPARENCY

The posting reflects the range of potential salaries for the role. The specific salary offers will be dependent on candidate qualifications, including collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range/ Salary: $78,853 to $109,327

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The leadership of The Legal Aid Society believes in attracting and retaining exceptional talent committed to serving our clients. We offer a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Salaries for our unionized jobs are governed by our Collective Bargaining Agreement. Please visit our Careers page for additional information. Salary and benefits information will be available to applicants, when and if an offer is made.

HIGHER EDUCATION AND LOAN FORGIVENESS

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs.

Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice.To learn more, click the links below.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The leadership of The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients, to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us.

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online. We do not accept paper submissions. Please visit our Careers Page to review all current job postings, and instructions on the application process. For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email .

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one's internal deeply-held sense of one's gender which may be the same or different from one's sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one's name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please submit these documents as a single combined PDF when you apply via the LAS (Legal Aid Society) Recruitment Portal.

• Cover letter
• Resume