New York Social Worker

The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights invites applications for the position of Social Worker to be based in New York. The Social Worker will supervise volunteers appointed as independent Child Advocate for unaccompanied and separated immigrant children and will also serve as direct Child Advocate for particularly complex cases. In addition, the Social Worker will provide internal case consultation and case support on matters involving child welfare, child development, and trauma for colleagues in the New York office. The Social Worker will help recruit, train and supervise bilingual and bicultural volunteer Child Advocates—teachers, law students, social workers, community members— who will work one-on-one with children. The Young Center team is a passionate and collegial group of professionals—attorneys, social workers, and administrative staff—committed to ensuring that children receive the full protection of federal immigration law, domestic child welfare law and international human rights law.

Duties and Responsibilities. The Social Worker’s primary responsibilities will be:

• Supervise volunteers appointed as Child Advocate for unaccompanied and separated children in federal custody in New York.
• Serve as Child Advocate for particularly complex cases.
• Visit children as needed, speak with parents, family members and stakeholders, draft case summaries.
• Collaborate with attorneys on legal analyses and legal advocacy to identify and advocate for the best interests of unaccompanied and separated children.
• Provide internal case consultations and case support on matters involving child welfare, child development, and trauma for the Young Center’s New York office.
• Help recruit, train and supervise volunteer Child Advocates for the Young Center Child Advocate program serving children in the New York area.
• Develop relationships and coordinate with stakeholders serving unaccompanied children in the New York area.
• Assist with monthly reporting, attend stakeholder meetings, participate in working groups, and take on other program responsibilities as needed.
• Guide the local office in implementing self-care strategies.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements

• Master’s degree in social work
• Critical thinking and organizational skills
• Ability to work collaboratively
• Strong writing skills
• Aptitude and thoughtfulness in how to work with children
• Proficient with Microsoft Office
• Proficient in Spanish (oral and written)

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience, professional or lived, with children, trauma survivors, or immigrants/refugees
• NY licensure or the ability to become licensed strongly encouraged
• Ability to take initiative and work independently
• Enthusiasm for working with volunteers and children
• Passion, tenacity and optimism for the issues affecting immigrant children, and their families
• Experience in self-care strategies

Physical demands: Physical demands include regular attendance; keyboarding; sitting for long periods (at least 5 hours a day); driving. Ability to use computer, telephone, and copy machine. Ability to travel by plane, car and other conveyances within U.S.

Job offer is conditioned on clearance of fingerprint criminal background check, child abuse and neglect check (CANS) and tuberculosis test.

The Young Center is an "at-will" and equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in its hiring practices and actively seeks a diverse applicant pool. Young Center encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, or veterans’ status. Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process No applicant will be penalized for requesting an accommodation. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application.