Office of Client Advocacy and Access (OCAA)
 
Agency Attorney II
 
Director, Immigrant Eligibility & Access
 
 
 
The New York City Human Resource Administration (HRA) is dedicated to fighting poverty and income inequality by providing New Yorkers in need with essential benefits such as food assistance and emergency rental assistance. As the largest local social services agency in the country, HRA helps over 3 million New Yorkers annually through the administration of more than 12 major support programs.  HRA works to ensure that all New Yorkers are able to meet and sustain their basic needs including housing, to overcome employment barriers, develop the skills and credentials necessary to enter the labor market, and to retain employment, and to have access to appropriate medical services.
 
 
 
The Office of Client Advocacy and Access (OCAA) promotes equal access to HRA benefits and services for all New Yorkers, particularly members of traditionally underserved populations and populations with unique needs. Currently, OCAA addresses the needs of four specific vulnerable populations: people with disabilities, members of LGBTQI communities, the Limited English Proficient (LEP) population, and immigrants. OCAA will move toward a comprehensive model, expanding the reach of Client Advocacy to address broad access issues common to multiple special populations, as well as barriers unique to specific populations. Additional populations include, but are not limited to: formerly incarcerated individuals, youth and young adults, older adults, and veterans.
 
 
 
The Office of Client Advocacy and Access (OCAA) is recruiting for an Agency Attorney Level II to function as the Director, Immigrant Eligibility & Access, who will:
 
 
 
•Promote access and equal opportunity to social services and benefits for those in the immigrant community throughout New York City; collaborating with HRA program areas to assess existing policies and procedures and make recommendations to improve service delivery for those in the immigrant community.
 
 
 
•Analyze broad array of federal, state, and local laws, rules, regulation, and guidance affecting DSS and the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Affairs to think creatively about how to address these issues.
 
 
 
•Provide legal analysis, opinions, and advise on complex immigration and public benefits law matters throughout DSS program areas, conducting legal and other research as necessary.
 
 
 
•Assist in supporting citywide compliance on mandates of public benefits eligibility for non-citizens.
 
 
 
•Collaborate with the Law Department, other agency counsel, and policy and technical staff from City agencies and outside entities as needed to assist in strategy and handling legal questions and responses and to implement key policy goals and projects.
 
 
 
•Serve as subject matter expert in crossover between immigration and public benefits law, and advice DSS/HRA/DHS program areas on common immigration documentation, policies, rules, and updates.
 
 
 
•Serve as key point person and expert to program areas and external stakeholders, including the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and legal services and community-based organizations on issues related to immigrant eligibility for public benefits and immigrant access, a highly specialized and technical area that has critical policy implications across the Agency.
 
 
 
•Consult and liaise with advocates, legal services organizations, the Mayor’s Office, and other City, State, and other external groups on immigrant eligibility for DSS/HRA/DHS benefits.
 
 
 
•Assess individual program area needs that pertain to immigrant eligibility and provides technical expertise to support the program area in providing better services to the immigrant community.
 
 
 
•Work collaboratively with DSS program areas to develop and monitor DSS policies and service provision to immigrant clients.
 
 
 
•Liaise between DSS’s programs and community partners, key leaders and organizations, including immigrant-serving community-based organizations and other City and Mayoral agencies to address barriers that immigrant clients face; provides updates on DSS initiatives, language and immigrant access, and to responds to questions.
 
 
 
•Manage, scheduling and co-chairing Immigrant Access Work Groups with advocates and managing projects to improve access that emanate from these meetings.
 
 
 

· Supervise staff in provision of immigration information and assistance to HRA and DHS front line staff.

 
 
 
•In collaboration with the Executive Director of Advocacy and Access and immigrant eligibility team, develop priorities and goals for the team, tracks projects and monitors outcomes.
 
 
 
•Ensure ORIA provides timely and accurate technical support in response to complex inquiries from staff that need help determining whether an immigrant client is eligible for public benefits and analyzing those inquiries to understand where deeper training is needed and what changes to procedures need to be made; helps streamline processes to ensure requests are processed quickly and accurately.
 
 
 
•Ensure cases from legal services providers are correctly processed and benefits are appropriately administered; liaises with legal services providers to clarify procedures and provides guidance regarding agency policies to community stakeholders.
 
 
 
•Direct Immigrant Eligibility Team in developing the tools to analyze patterns and trends in immigrant eligibility issues and in the analysis of those issues in order to assess, recommend, and help implement changes throughout the agency.
 
 
 
•Help conceive, launch and/or manage new programs to improve immigrant access (examples include new NYCitizenship Program, housed in ORIA, which the Director of Immigrant Eligibility and Access oversees and which is staffed by a community coordinator who conducts targeted outreach to HRA clients and links them to free citizenship services; and the City’s new AmeriCorps Service Corps program, of whose members also engage with external stakeholders around ORIA, LGBTQI and Disability Affairs’ issues).
 
 
 
•Oversee the NYCitizenship Program at DSS/HRA, including continuing to advocate to secure permanent funding, supervising NYCitizenship Program staff, and continue to streamline process for HRA clients to access naturalization services.
 
 
 
•Liaise with New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance on immigrant eligibility matters.
 
 
 
•Evaluate DHS’s service provision to immigrant clients and assesses how immigrant clients are being served by the agency.
 
 
 
Minimum Qualification Requirements
 
1. Admission to the New York State Bar; and either "2" or "3" below.
 
2. One year of satisfactory United States legal experience subsequent to admission to any state bar; or
 
3. Six months of satisfactory service as an Agency Attorney Interne (30086). 
 
Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.
 
In addition to meeting the minimum Qualification Requirements:
 
To be assigned to Assignment Level (AL) II, candidates must have one year of experience at Assignment Level I or two years of comparable legal experience subsequent to admission to the bar, in the areas of law related to the assignment. To be assigned to AL III candidates must have two years of experience in Assignment Levels I and/or II or three years of comparable legal experience subsequent to admission to the bar, in the areas of law related to the assignment.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Salary Range: $71, 423- $82,137 (Annual)
 
New York City offers an excellent and comprehensive benefits package.
 
For consideration, please go to http://www1.nyc.gov/jobsand search for Job ID # 415598 to apply.
 
SUBMISSION OF A RESUME IS NOT A GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE AN INTERVIEW.
 
HRA/DSS IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.