Social Worker, Crisis Counselor

Title: Social Worker

Agency/Program: Secret Garden

Status: Non-Exempt, Full Time Hours Per Week: 35

Salary: $50,000 - 56,000 Annually

Supervisor: Program Director, Secret Garden

Start Date: Immediately

Benefits Package: 100% Employer paid Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Matched Retirement Plan, Paid vacation, Sick days, Personal days, Paid National Holidays, and more.

Schedule: Monday through Friday, 9AM to 5PM, after hours on call as needed Equipment Operated: Computer/Laptop, Printer, Scanner, Phone, Adaptive Devices, etc.

Work Environment: This position will spend time at the program site and have an independent (private) office.

Travel: A minimum three days on-site per week and as needed. Remote work is arranged on the rest of the working days including meetings.

Barrier Free Living (BFL) is dedicated to helping New Yorkers with disabilities live independently in the community. Through its various programs, BFL provides a broad range of residential and nonresidential services to disabled survivors of domestic violence, transitional shelter to the disabled homeless, and outreach to physically disabled individuals with mental health and/or chemical addiction issues. Services include case management; housing placements;

independent living skills training; occupational therapy; short and long-term individual counseling; advocacy within the medical, mental health, child welfare, law enforcement, and criminal justice systems; and referrals to outside services.

One of Barrier Free Living’s longest-standing programs is the community-based domestic violence program, otherwise known as Secret Garden, which provides case management, safety planning, occupational therapy, short and long-term individual trauma-informed counseling, advocacy within the medical, mental health, child welfare, law enforcement, and criminal justice systems, and referrals to outside services. These services are provided at Secret Garden’s main office, as well as at Family Justice Centers located in the five boroughs.

This position reports to the Program Director of Secret Garden. The Social Worker is part of a diverse team providing direct services to survivors in the form of safety planning, crisis intervention, advocacy and counseling in individual and/or group settings.

• Provides individual and group counseling to survivors of domestic violence who are living with a physical, psychiatric, cognitive, sensory and/or neurodevelopmental disability
• Conducts telephone screenings of calls from the domestic violence hotline
• Provides crisis intervention and other services required to assist survivors
• Completes individualized service plans for survivors related to ongoing recovery, benefits and housing assistance needs, safety planning, and other emerging issues; also ensuring appropriate follow-up activities related to service plan goals and benchmarks
• Participates in staff/program meetings and trainings, partner program meetings, and conferences
• Ensures timely and accurate entry of case notes and other related program statistics and reports as requested. This includes client related documentation and the necessary forms
• Conducts outreach and educational presentations to other service providers, policymakers and the general public
• Provides front desk, chat, and hotline coverage as required

• LMSW/LCSW preferred, MSW with pursuing licensure/permit within 3 months of employment
• Counseling and case management experience in the field of domestic violence and persons living with disabilities preferred
• Spanish fluency preferred
• SIFI certification preferred
• Ability to work in team, collaborative, multidisciplinary and crisis management environments
• Awareness of anti-bias and trauma informed care preferred
• Computer skills required
• Strong abilities to advocate on behalf of survivors
• Effective written communication and interpersonal skills

BFL provides equal employment opportunity to all applicants, with employment based upon personal capabilities and qualifications without discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, pregnancy, alienage or citizenship status, marital status, creed, genetic disposition or carrier status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.