What are the responsibilities and job description for the Investigator, Families Together and Healthy Together position at Children's Law Center?

Who We Are

Children's Law Center is a mission-driven organization focused on providing high-quality legal services to children and families in DC. As an organization, we envision a world in which all children have a strong foundation of family, health and education and are free from poverty, trauma, racism and other forms of oppression. Our mission is to do this work together with DC children and families, Children's Law Center uses the law to solve children's urgent problems today, improve the systems that will affect their lives tomorrow and strengthen our community so that change endures. A key part of our mission is to challenge and reduce ways in which racism and other biases - structural and interpersonal - prevent each of us, our organization and the systems in which we work from providing children a strong foundation from which to thrive.

Our greatest assets are our people. We recognize that people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives fuel our ability to provide the best outcomes for our clients and our community. Staff members at Children's Law Center advance the organization's mission through their leadership, result-oriented mindset and commitment to cultural humility. We are looking for individuals who like to be challenged to grow both personally and professionally and value the opportunity to make a difference in their community. Children's Law Center's continued success depends on recruiting and retaining individuals who possess and exemplify these attributes.

Program Description

Children's Law Center (CLC) has a long history of working with parents and caregivers to help them solve problems that threaten a child's health, safety and well-being. By providing legal services at the right time, attorneys can lift burdens of poverty that often drain a client's capacity to care for their child. Through our new Families Together program, Children's Law Center will expand the range of legal assistance provided to parents and caregivers.

Families Together supports pregnant persons, parents and caregivers in achieving their goals for their families, with the long-term outcome of mitigating the risk of child welfare involvement and ensuring children can remain safely at home. When appointed, Families Together attorneys also achieve positive outcomes for children by representing their best interests in contested custody disputes.

Healthy Together is a medical-legal partnership for DC's children. Children's Law Center partners with Children's National Health System, Mary's Center and Unity Health Care to provide legal services to children and families who have health-harming legal needs. Through the partnership, Children's Law Center advocates for landlords to adhere to the law and fix housing conditions that harm a child's health, ensures school systems provide appropriate, quality educational programs to students with disabilities and holds government agencies and health insurance providers accountable for providing medical necessary services to children. By focusing on critical social determinants of health and working side-by-side with the community, Healthy Together reduces the health inequities and racial disparities that many of our client families face.

Job Summary

This position is a dual-program role focused on providing support to lawyers representing children and families receiving services through CLC's Medical-Legal Partnership Healthy Together and its Families Together Program. The position involves assisting lawyers with all aspects of their representation, including locating and gathering records, serving subpoenas, interviewing witnesses, visiting schools and locating appropriate social services for children. The investigator may prepare written reports and testify in court.

Within the Healthy Together program, the investigator supports lawyers in a variety of legal areas including special education, housing and health care. Investigators frequently meet with client families and attend case-related meetings at schools, with housing providers or with local social service agencies. The investigator supports the Families Together attorneys by interviewing clients and witnesses, assisting in investigative tasks, attending court proceedings and providing other support as needed on a variety of civil legal matters.

Role Responsibilities

Provide Investigative and Advocacy Support to Attorneys

Follows all ethical rules of conduct while investigating (i.e., proper identification, confidentiality, etc.).
Locates and identifies information and services for clients and case work.
Prepares written records requests for information maintained by government entities, medical, corporate and other non-governmental records; and then undertakes further investigation as needed to obtain such information / records.
Interprets and summarizes information contained in records and research and identifies relevant facts / information for attorney review.
Prepares and serves subpoenas and similar documents.
Files court filings and requests and obtains court records.
Observes meetings, hearings, client visits and interviews and prepares written reports for attorney use.
Conducts school and housing investigations and interacts appropriately with parties to obtain information and respond to specific inquiries from attorneys.
Takes detailed notes.
Identifies and locates witnesses.
Participates in and conducts interviews.
Helps prepare exhibits for court hearings.
Prepares for and testifies in case-related hearings.
Assists with emergency assignments.
Provides client advocacy support to clients in collaboration with attorneys.
Conducts prescreen interviews of potential clients and assists with intake line duties.

Manage Assignments and Works Collaboratively with Attorneys

Demonstrates the ability to work effectively and efficiently on multiple assignments from multiple attorneys simultaneously.

Maintains communication system that ensures attorneys are kept apprised of progress on assignments and deadlines are met.

Consults attorneys and supervisor when prioritizing assignments and when unexpected delays or scheduling conflicts arise.

Works well under pressure.

Manages time efficiently to complete case work, meet assignment deadlines and meet other CLC responsibilities.

Maintains case information in electronic and hard copy files in an orderly manner.

Records all case activity in case management system in timely manner.

Exhibit Critical Thinking Skills to Complete Assignments and Problem-Solve

Seeks guidance from attorneys and / or supervisor about assignments, legal terms, case theory and court procedures when needed.

Demonstrates the ability to understand basic legal and ethical concepts.

Identifies relevant facts in cases and potential issues that arise when completing assignments.

Identifies practical ideas and solutions to address problems that arise in casework.

Adapts to situations and case emergencies as they arise.

Synthesizes and summarizes records, reports and evaluations.

Demonstrates thoughtfulness, care and precision in work.

Identifies training needs and offers ideas for trainings and further education.

Uses creativity and resourcefulness to solve problems.

Demonstrates good judgment.

Exhibit Excellent Communication Skills in Interactions with Parties and CLC Staff

Interacts effectively in person, by telephone, and in written correspondence with lawyers, clients, witnesses, court personnel, co-workers and other business professionals.

Acts in a respectful, professional manner and is responsive to client and attorney needs.

Perceives, understands and relates well to others with different backgrounds from one's own.

Prepares thoughtful, high-quality written documents that exhibit careful preparation and attention to detail.

Exhibits strong listening skills.

Asks questions to elicit desire information to support case work.

Responds appropriately and in a timely manner to communications and assignments.

Exhibit Strong Interpersonal Skills in Case Work and Interaction with CLC Staff

Works effectively and efficiently with others and supports team members to address client and CLC needs.

Willingly accepts assignments and demonstrates a strong work ethic.

Demonstrates commitment to advancing client goals.

Identifies areas for improvement and demonstrates willingness to accept feedback.

Be an Active Member of the CLC Community

Attend and participate in all Healthy Together staff meetings, CLC investigator and staff meetings, relevant CLC Trainings and Staff Meetings.

Regularly attends and participates in staff-wide meetings, department meetings, relevant trainings and other CLC functions.

Volunteers and helps with CLC projects and fundraising / donation activities.

Qualifications

Experience working with low-income persons and children and / or teens preferred.

Excellent organizational and time management skills.

Excellent problem-solving skills and resourcefulness.

Strong interpersonal, communication and relationship-building skills.

Strong oral and written communication skills.

Ability to gather information from a wide variety of persons and settings.

Demonstrated capacity to work independently and collaboratively.

Strong independent judgement and decision-making skills.

Commitment to social, economic and racial justice.

Self-reflective, open to feedback and supervision.

Initiative and tenacity to complete assignments.

Tact and discretion for handling confidential casework.

Bilingual English / Spanish communication skills strongly preferred.

Required Skills and Experience

Valid driver's license.

Organizational Competencies

Cultural Humility - an openness to self-reflection and to understanding and respecting other cultural experiences and points of view and viewing individuals as experts in their own culture and experiences.

Giving and Receiving Feedback - the ability to be self-reflective, give and receive appreciative, coaching, constructive, interpersonal and evaluative feedback.

Conflict Management - a process which is designed to guide individuals and groups from the moment of conflict to the implementation of an identified solution. This process incorporates skills and techniques, including recognizing points of conflict, identifying the facts and feelings involved to get to the root of the issue, investigating equitable solutions, implementing and evaluating solutions, and supporting and guiding others throughout the process.

Salary and Benefits

The salary for this position is $50,000 annually. Children's Law Center offers a generous benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, and short- and long-term disability insurance; employer-provided retirement contributions; flexible spending plans; and vacation, sick, holiday, family and medical leave. You can find more details about Children's Law Center's comprehensive benefits package at https : / / childrenslawcenter.org / get-involved / careers / employee-benefits / .

Candidates who indicate bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish will be asked to complete Spanish language testing. After hiring, full-time employees in this role who are proficient in Spanish are eligible for a $5,000 bonus.

Children's Law Center is a 501(c)(3) organization. Employees with federal student loan debt can apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. For more information, go to https : / / myfedloan.org / borrowers / special-programs / pslf.

Application Instructions

To apply, please submit a resume via CLC's careers page (https : / / childrenslawcenter.org / get-involved / careers / ).

Children's Law Center is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment. If you believe that you need accommodation to search for, or apply for, one of our positions please send an email to Jobs@ChildrensLawCenter.org. In your email, please include the accommodation you are requesting and the job title you are applying for. It may take up to three business days to receive a response to your request.

Hybrid Working Conditions

Children's Law Center is currently operating on a hybrid work schedule. Employees are required to work in-person from Children's Law Center's office a minimum of two days per week. At least one of these days must be either Tuesday or Wednesday. The hybrid work schedule is subject to change based on organizational needs and / or best practices for health and safety. Hybrid work expectations may vary depending upon role responsibilities.

Work Authorization

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. Children's Law Center is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.

Background Checks

Candidates who receive a conditional offer of employment will be subject to a background check.

Children's Law Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunities for all applicants and existing employees. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to ancestry, age, color, disability, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law, ordinance, or regulation. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. We invite you to visit our website to learn more about our company and our career opportunities (https : / / childrenslawcenter.org / get-involved / careers / ).

DEI Statement

Children's Law Center is dedicated to building a world that is inclusive in approach and has equal opportunities and equitable outcomes for all. Our organization is committed to developing and supporting a robustly diverse, equitable, inclusive and anti-racist community, where all members can create and feel a sense of belonging. Through our collective deliberate efforts, we work toward racial and social justice for children and families in DC.

Salary : $50,000

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