Know Your Rights Specialist

Know Your Rights Specialist

Job Title:        Case Specialist

Supervisor:   UCP Grant Supervising Attorney 

Program:        Immigrant Youth Advocacy Program

Status:            Full-time, Non-Exempt (35 hours a week)

Location:        Philadelphia, PA (HYBRID)

Salary:            $48,000 - $50,000 (commensurate with experience)

HIAS Pennsylvania’s Mission: Driven by the Jewish value of welcoming the stranger, HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) Pennsylvania provides legal, resettlement and supportive services to immigrants and refugees from all backgrounds in order to assure their fair treatment and full integration into American society.

HIAS Pennsylvania is one of the largest non-profit immigration legal service providers in Pennsylvania. The organization assists low income immigrants with adjustment of status, removal defense, family unification, citizenship, and other forms of humanitarian relief. HIAS Pennsylvania prioritizes providing services to vulnerable populations including survivors of interpersonal violence and unaccompanied youth.

HIAS Pennsylvania’s Immigrant Youth Advocacy Program: HIAS Pennsylvania’s Immigrant Youth Advocacy Program is the statewide leader in providing legal services to immigrant children and youth. This work includes providing legal services to youth facing removal proceedings in Immigration Court; those involved in the domestic child welfare system; and to unaccompanied children in the custody of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in facilities in Pennsylvania.

General Position Description

HIAS Pennsylvania seeks a Know Your Rights (“KYR”) Specialist to work with our Immigrant Youth Advocacy Program. The KYR Specialist will provide informational presentations, legal screenings, and referrals to detained unaccompanied youth in Pennsylvania, will manage the data and record-keeping required by our grant, and will assist with case work. 

Primary Responsibilities

Conduct Know Your Rights presentations, individualized screenings and pre-court orientations in appropriate language (most commonly Spanish);

• The KYR Specialist will travel to facilities in Lehigh County and/or Philadelphia at least once a week, and in peak times up to three times a week to meet with detained youth and provide a Know Your Rights presentation which advises youth of relevant immigration procedures and options. The Specialist will also provide individualized legal screenings to evaluate each case and discuss options with youth and will write up these intake assessments.

Maintain clear and detailed records of clients and services performed to facilitate ongoing grant compliance activities;

• The Specialist will be charged with keeping accurate records for each child who enters and is released from the programs we serve. Responsibilities include daily data entry into various platforms as the facility populations change. The Specialist will monitor and track presentations, intakes, court appearances, and referrals. The Specialist must adhere to any data collection requirements of the funder. 

Refer cases of released youth to legal service providers around the country;

• After youth are released, the Specialist will communicate with legal services organizations in their new locations, and also with youths’ families, to help find free or low-cost legal services.

Assist HIAS PA attorneys in providing direct legal representation to youth;

• The Specialist will assist HIAS PA attorneys with document translations, filling out forms, intakes, arranging meetings, and other tasks involved in client representation. The Specialist will connect released clients with social services resources when possible, and provide ongoing case management to certain youth.

Administrative and clerical work related to legal services for locally detained and released unaccompanied minors;

• The KYR Specialist will assist with clerical work such as sending out referral letters, checking court dates, processing check requests, and photocopying. 

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate should also have a strong interest in working with youth as well as experience serving children, victims of trauma, or other vulnerable populations. The Know Your Rights Specialist should be passionate about HIAS PA’s mission and roots and have a demonstrated ability to work with diverse collaborators and stakeholders.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree (strongly preferred) or equivalent combination of education and work experience required;
• Spanish proficiency is required;
• A valid U.S. driver’s license and ability to drive required;
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills in English and Spanish;
• Experience working with youth, immigrants, trauma survivors or other vulnerable populations preferred;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Excel applications, and database management;
• Excellent organizational and time management skills;
• Ability to work independently/collaboratively in a team and work with diverse professionals and human service workers;
• Ability to pay close attention to detail;
• High degree of skill in doing detailed reporting;
• Passion for working in a diverse community;
• Sensitivity to working with diverse populations.

Other Information:

HIAS PA is currently working on a hybrid model. HIAS Pennsylvania requires all staff be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with the exception of those who have medical or religious beliefs exemptions.