Social Worker; DV Office of Parental Representation

The Travis County Office of Parental Representation (OPR) is a multidisciplinary civil public defender’s office that provides holistic representation to parents in litigation with Child Protective Services. At OPR, we fight alongside parents to protect their families from CPS. We believe in representing parents with dignity while working to reduce the trauma experienced by families. Parents deserve help instead of shame.

We use a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates social work into legal representation.

Our social workers utilize a trauma informed approach to advocate for clients. OPR social workers advocate for clients experiencing hardship, including all aspects of mental health, substance use, domestic violence, poverty, and housing instability. Our advocacy focuses on every part of a client’s life so that they can achieve family reunification.

OPR social workers provide services to clients to include intensive case management, biopsychosocial assessments, crisis intervention, danger assessments, safety planning, treatment evaluation, diagnoses review, and community resource connection. OPR social workers work with clients and attorneys to develop case goals and monitor progress. OPR social workers utilize existing community resources to address the socioeconomic, mental health, and basic needs of clients and their families, providing the client with psychoeducation, child development education, trauma informed advocacy, and general education on other life skills.

OPR is seeking a social worker dedicated to serving individuals experiencing domestic violence. Domestic violence is a widespread issue that has the potential to impact an individual in every aspect of their life and environment. OPR encounters individuals who are perpetrators and survivors of domestic violence.

• Intensive case management experience with underserved populations.
• Experience with holistic approaches to advocate on behalf of indigent clients.
• Expansive knowledge of addressing trauma and domestic violence (perpetrators and survivors).

* The position may be filled before the closing date. Applications will be reviewed and selected candidates will be contacted on a rolling basis. *

This is a job classification within the Social Services job family. This classification is distinguished from other social services classes due to the social work functions and services provided to clients. This classification performs case management, psychosocial and/or needs assessments, develops client service plans and accesses community resources to assist clients. This classification may require a flexible work schedule in order to meet the needs of the department.

• Conducts client and/or family psychosocial and/or needs assessment and obtains maximum benefit from all available sources.
• Develops and implements client/family individualized service plans and monitors progress. Conducts periodic and final assessments to determine progress, client barriers, follow-up needs and client outcomes.
• Provides brief counseling and crisis intervention to individuals and/or their families to resolve crisis, prevent future crisis and promote progress toward self-sufficiency and individualized service plan goals and outcomes.
• Provides short or long-term case management and service coordination in manners and settings conducive to best client outcomes. Utilizes community resources to assist client in learning to live as a self-sufficient member of the community, including, but not limited to, medical resources, local, state and federal agencies, community-based agencies and other resources.
• Participates in community collaboration for resource development and elimination of duplication of services.…