SOCIAL WORK INTERN - GENERALIST

About Cabrini Green Legal Aid

Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA) was established in 1973 to serve the legal needs arising from the lack of opportunity, criminalization of poverty, and racial inequity experienced within Chicago"s Cabrini Green public housing community. Since then, CGLA has grown beyond a single neighborhood to become a citywide, countywide, and statewide leader in proactively filling the void of legal representation, wraparound services, legal information and resources, and advocacy exclusively for low-income individuals negatively impacted by the criminal legal system. Any engagement with the criminal legal system can greatly disrupt an individual, family, and community"s quality of life.

CGLA is distinguished among legal aid service providers locally, throughout Illinois, and nationally as having expertise in legal matters related to the direct and collateral consequences of the criminal legal system. Since 2014, we have been the sole legal aid services provider serving Cook County with the distinction of focusing exclusively on individuals and families who have been adversely impacted by the criminal legal system in all legal program areas : criminal records, emerging adults, criminal defense, housing law, and family law. We provide direct legal services, advocate for policy reforms, and provide legal information and resources to other legal aid organizations, pro bono attorneys, and the general public. We also support our clients holistically with wraparound social services from our social workers. Our policy and advocacy work is not performed as a separate entity; rather it is informed by our legal services and the lived experiences of our Leadership Council, an Advisory Group made up of former CGLA clients and community members directly impacted by the criminal legal system.

CGLA's Mission, Purpose and Vision

Mission : We provide holistic legal services that include social support services and advocacy for individuals and communities negatively impacted by the criminal legal system.Purpose : CGLA exists to remove barriers to equity in the criminal legal system.Vision : A more just and equitable criminal legal system.

Position Overview

The Social Work Intern is primarily responsible for providing responsive and intensive case management to clients across all of CGLA's legal programs, managing a caseload in addition to other duties as assigned. In addition to providing direct services, the Social Work Intern engages with CGLA's network of partner agencies and other social service organizations to achieve successful client outcomes. The Social Work Intern at CGLA serves as part of an interdisciplinary team, addressing the holistic needs of our clients as they receive legal services from CGLA staff attorneys. By targeting the root causes of legal problems, Social Work Intern addresses key domains related to engagement with the criminal legal system to assist in achieving the legal goal and to support the client throughout their legal case.

Essential Duties

Program Responsibilities

Engage effectively with both clients and attorneys as an integral part of CGLA's interdisciplinary team approach to serving clients, including intake processes and case conferencing. Engage with clients and the assigned attorney to define legal goals and outcomes. Learn and demonstrate knowledge of procedural posture for legal cases to best support clients and attorneys. Contribute to mitigation packets, provide ongoing support in court, and participate in conferences related to the client's legal case. Assist in the implementation and periodic revision of the evidence-based holistic assessment model for CGLA clients. Support a continuous quality improvement plan for monitoring and enhancing the quality of services being provided by the Client Support Services program at CGLA. Maintain client confidence and protect operations by keeping information confidential. Support operations by following policies and procedures; participating in quality reviews; reporting changes as needed. Perform other duties as assigned.

Direct Client Engagement

Provide support and guidance to clients with diverse needs throughout the duration of their legal case, from initial intake through case closing via client appointments, court dates, phone calls, and home / community visits. Assist client with goal setting in other areas of life to serve the ultimate legal goal. Work closely with clients and service providers at each agency they are engaged with and systems stakeholders, advocating for clients to receive the best possible services and care. Offer timely and direct services such as support, guidance, and effective social work interventions for the client, presented to attorneys on the legal team. Provide emergency support to clients in crisis during internship hours; communicate with clients plan for crisis outside of internship hours. Educate and support family members of clients as required by case.

Caseload Management

Manage cases to address client needs across five areas : legal standing, economic stability, housing stability, family connectedness, and substance use and mental health stability. Maintain accurate client records, case notes, and data tracking, and complete periodic reports.

Resource Management

Connect clients to partner social service agencies. Build and maintain partnerships with external organizations and stakeholders such as IDOC and CCDOC and community-based organizations through outreach and regular meetings to develop holistic network dedicated to meeting client's needs in support of the legal goal as assigned. Track and share community resources with the CSS Team.

Other Duties

Perform other duties as assigned.

Education

Pursuit of master"s in social work.

Required Skills

Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both in writing and orally. Comfortable speaking to small and large groups. Exemplary interpersonal skills; comfortable working with a diverse population. Be self-driven, highly energetic, and innovative. Ability to work within a fast-paced, team-centered environment. Ability to manage and prioritize competing needs.

Supervisory Responsibility

None.

Required Hours

Can be flexible based on intern's needs. Most CGLA employees work Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

Travel Requirements

Travel to various City of Chicago court houses, and occasionally to suburban Cook County court houses, is required. Travel to client homes and external agencies to provide community-based services is also required. The Social Work Intern is not required to have a car but must be able to regularly move throughout the city via public transport or carpooling with others on the team.

Working Conditions

Clients will work in a hybrid setting composed of work in the community, at court houses, in the CGLA office and remote work. In person work will be performed in Cook County, Illinois. Remote work is performed virtually at the intern's home or approved off-site work location.  A remote work location must provide ample privacy to protect client information. Intern must have reliable internet access to work remotely.     If working in the office, the intern must be able to work in an open office setting with moderate noise levels and follow all COVID-19 safety protocols.

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