Social Worker, Chicago

ABOUT THE YOUNG CENTER: 

The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights is a national organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the rights and best interests—safety and well-being—of immigrant children in the United States. The Young Center’s Child Advocate Program (CAP) serves as the federally-appointed bests interests representative for unaccompanied and separated immigrant children in federal custody. Through CAP’s state initiative, we also serve and are appointed by the Superior Courts of New Jersey as independent Child Advocates to children released from federal custody into the New Jersey community. Child Advocates meet with children and learn their stories in order to identify and advocate for their best interests through an interdisciplinary, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive lens. The Young Center’s Policy Program fights for wholesale reform of the immigration system while pursuing immediate changes in policy and practice that center children’s rights and best interests in all decisions. The Technical Assistance Program, the Young Center’s newest program, offers intersectional expertise and critical resources to advocates and service providers working with immigrant children involved in child welfare and other state court systems. 

The Young Center has offices in Houston, San Antonio, and Harlingen, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; Washington, D.C.; Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles, California; and Grand Rapids, Michigan. We also serve children through our programs in New Jersey. 

• Advocate for children’s best interests before government or other interested parties
• Supervise volunteers appointed as Child Advocate for unaccompanied and separated children in federal custody in or near Harlingen and across the United States as needed
• Serve as Child Advocate to a limited number of cases or as needed
• Visit children as needed and communicate with caregivers, family members and stakeholders
• Provide internal case consultation and case support on matters involving child welfare, child development, and trauma-informed practices for the Harlingen     office
• Support the local and national efforts to recruit, train, support, and retain volunteer Child Advocates
• Participate in internal and external working groups
• Meet regularly with local stakeholders (government field staff, facility staff, immigration judges, ICE officers, and legal service providers); collaborate on presentations to local stakeholders; attend case staffings or other stakeholder meetings; and speak about the Child Advocate Program at local, regional, and national events
• Develop and maintain relationships with stakeholders or organizations in the community
• Assist the team in meeting case goals and other deliverables for the government contract and private grants
• Capture accurate and timely data management to inform reports to the government, other funders, and internal Young Center departments regarding children served, case outcomes, program metrics, and current trends
• Participate in a supportive, collaborative work culture that allows for creative, thoughtful, high-quality, and effective interdisciplinary advocacy
• In collaboration with the Managing Social Worker, consult with attorney colleagues for legal analyses and legal advocacy to identify and advocate for the best interests of unaccompanied and separated children
• Under the supervision of the Managing Staff Attorney and with input from the Deputy Program Directors (Attorney and Social Worker), draft and submit best interests determinations to immigration judges, asylum officers, attorneys, and federal agencies incorporating state, federal, and international law and applying social science research and social work best practices, including, but not limited to trauma informed and culturally sensitive approaches
• Actively engage with colleagues and supervisors in developing and editing interdisciplinary best interests determinations
• Under the supervision of the Managing Attorney or Deputy Program Director (Attorney), accompany children to court hearings and interviews related to their immigration case
• Assess which children may need additional supportive and/or mental health services and accompany them to appointments as needed
• Other duties as assigned