Salary/Non-Exempt: $43.2692/hourly
Part Time: Monday to Friday (12 hours per week)
*** Clients/Families we serve reside in the South Los Angeles, Compton, Watts and Lynwood area.
SHIELDS’ mission is to develop, deliver and evaluate culturally sensitive, comprehensive service models that empower and advocate for high-risk families in South Los Angeles.
The Jericho Vocational Services Center (JVSC) utilizes a “one-stop” model for providing vocational and educational training, mentoring, case management, supportive and linkage services to create successful transitions to employment and career pathways. Jericho provides services for any Los Angeles County resident 18 years and older. Additionally, our Jericho program specializes in vocational services tailored for individuals impacted by the criminal justice system.
SHIELDS for Families is a non-profit community-based organization dedicated to developing, delivering, and evaluating culturally sensitive, comprehensive service models that empower and advocate for high-risk families in South Los Angeles for over 30 years. SHIELDS has been instrumental in informing legislation, piloting service models that work, and implementing programs that have real success. SHIELDS programs have helped save millions of County dollars, reduced the amount of time children and families spent “in the system”, and has helped break the cycles of untreated mental health, child abuse, poverty, and substance abuse. Today, SHIELDS is a nationally and internationally recognized organization that offers award-winning programs in Los Angeles’ most challenged communities.
The organization has grown to serve more than 10,000 families each year, employing more than 350 full-time staff, with an annual budget of more than $30 million from federal, state, and local funding sources. SHIELDS operates 38 programs and serves as the lead agency with four collaborative networks. Programs are collaborative and comprehensive, spanning across three main divisions including community and family, behavioral health, and supportive services.
Job Summary
Provides onsite Legal Services to CALCRG participants that eliminate legal barriers to re-entry and employment and achieve financial security, stability and self-sufficiency.
Primary Duties
- Provide legal representation across a wide array of practice areas, including criminal record remedies, suspended driver’s license, clearing traffic tickets, public benefits, housing, employment, and employment occupational license denials, immigration issues, pending criminal charges and other civil legal cases as needed on behalf of individuals who were formerly incarcerated;
- Process and receive referrals for re-entry participants with legal concerns.
- Provide onsite legal services through existing partnerships with legal clinics to support with legal issues.
- Process court filings, copies of legal proceedings and other legal documentation.
- Develops and implements legal care plans.
- Coordinate reentry and traffic legal clinics;
- Provide workshops and technical assistance to clients on civil legal barriers imposed by the criminal justice system and the rights and options available to mitigate them;
- Develop relationships and engage in collaboration with a range of public and private community partners, including governmental agencies, courts, and community-based organizations, to ensure integrative services and collaboratively address systemic barriers to reentry;
- Document progress notes and completed legal services, resolution of legal need documentation.
- Knowledge of departmental policies, procedures, and organizational relationships.
- Interpersonal skills to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with diverse individuals and at various organizational levels.
- Works closely with the Program Administrator and Program Manager to provide feedback on successful legal services strategies to help achieve program goals and objectives.
These specifications are general guidelines based on the minimum experience normally considered essential to the satisfactory performance of this job. Individual abilities may result in some deviation from these guidelines.
* Must be an active member, in good standing, of the State Bar of California.
* Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited law school.
* Prefer experience working with reentry populations.
* Experience handling a variety of legal matters impacting vulnerable populations.
* Substantive knowledge of providing legal support in the areas of re-entry and or other legal barriers to employment.
* Ability to review several diverse reference sources, select and synthesize data for reports and other forms of correspondence.
* Ability to work with interruptions while maintaining positive communication with staff and clients.
* Knowledge of the organization and composition of letters, minutes, reports, charts and spreadsheets
* Ability to use diplomacy and discretion, when giving out information and referring and directing callers and visitors.
* Ability to create presentations, charts, graphs, databases, and spreadsheets.
* Ability to follow, apply, interpret, and explain instructions and/or guidelines.
* Ability to determine work priorities.
* Ability to make decisions and take appropriate actions.
* Ability to meet schedules and deadlines of the work area.
* Ability to communicate effectively.
* Ability to type and use word processing software
* Current California driver’s license, valid car insurance and registration.
* COVID-19 vaccination required. May request medical or religious exemption if applicable.
If you require reasonable accommodation of a disability in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to 323.242.5000, Ext. 1258 or by email to scardenas@shieldsforfamilies.org.
At SHIELDS for Families, our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee promotes equity and inclusion within our programs, workforce, and the communities we serve. Our DEI Committee harnesses the power of our diverse workforce, utilizing their varied backgrounds and experiences to enhance our programs. By employing culturally sensitive and comprehensive service models, we aim to provide the best support possible to the families we serve.
