SOAR Paralegal, Delaware Law School

Widener University is currently seeking a SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery) Paralegal for its Delaware County site of the Health, Education, and Legal Assistance Project: A Medical -Legal Partnership (HELP: MLP) at Delaware Law School. SOAR is a national initiative supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that increases timely access to Social Security disability benefits for people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, who are unable to work due to severe and persistent disabilities, which often co-occur.

Reporting to the Executive Director, the SOAR Paralegal will be responsible for assisting people experiencing housing instability with accessing Social Security disability benefits. The SOAR Paralegal will work as part of an interdisciplinary team that supports families by coordinating direct services to clients, as well as providing training and education to public health partners and engaging in systemic advocacy activities. This is a hybrid position which will involve working remotely from home as well as working from our office in Eddystone, PA. Additionally, the SOAR Paralegal will meet with partners and clients in the community regularly.    

HELP: MLP provides legal services to support families during pregnancy and early childhood, both critical periods when health-harming legal needs seriously impact maternal and infant health. We embed our staff within public health organizations, including nationally recognized home-visiting programs, such as Nurse-Family Partnership and Healthy Start. Together, we form medical-legal partnerships aimed at reducing the health inequities and racial disparities that negatively impact many of our client families. By working side-by-side with community-based home-visiting programs to screen for social determinants of health, our team can identify emerging legal needs early and take a preventative approach to legal services, to reduce family stress and foster the stability families need to thrive. The SOAR Paralegal position will expand the provision of our services in Delaware County to better serve people with disabilities experiencing housing instability.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (including, but not limited to):

Essential duties:

• Complete the SAMHSA SOAR online course curricula and participate in ongoing training relevant to the SOAR program.
• Build collaborations with community-based organizations that serve people with disabilities, people experiencing housing instability or homelessness, and others.
• Conduct intake interviews with clients to gather the necessary information to understand their situation and to assist them in completing applications for Social Security benefits, if appropriate.
• Complete all critical components of the SOAR process including obtaining, reviewing, and assessing medical records, employment records, and other supporting documentation, writing a Medical Summary Report (MSR), and serving as the applicant’s SSA-1696 representative.           
• Assist clients with completing and submitting applications and forms to the Social Security Administration.
• Maintain relationships and communicate regularly with clients over the course of their Social Security benefits claim (approximately six months).
• Assist clients whose initial disability applications have been denied with submitting Requests for Reconsideration to the Social Security Administration.
• Contribute to the development of trainings to public health and community partners.
• Contribute to the development of educational materials for public health partners and clients, including fact sheets, checklists, and handouts.
• Manage and organize client information using forms and an electronic legal case management system.
• Track all outcomes on SOAR-assisted claims in the SOAR Online Application Tracking (OAT) system.
• Travel as needed throughout Delaware County to see clients and participate in work-related activities.
• Become and remain well-informed regarding basic legal principles applicable to area(s) of practice, attending training conferences as needed or requested by supervising attorney(s).
• Other duties as assigned.

Secondary responsibilities:

• Participate in local, state, and national coalitions and workgroups.
• Support the development of grant applications, reports, newsletters, articles, and other written publications.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (education/training and experience required):

Required:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to apply modern technology to performance of legal work and tasks.
• Empathy and sensitivity to issues of people who have experienced homelessness, mental illness, addiction, and other chronic health conditions.
• Must be willing to travel within the Delaware County and Philadelphia area as needed.
• Commitment to improving the lives of families with low incomes.
• Willingness and ability to perform duties in an interdisciplinary setting with public health partners.
• Flexibility, including willingness to work in any of HELP: MLP’s areas of practice as priorities may change based on clients’ needs or funding.

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Spanish fluency.
• Experience providing social or legal services to families with low incomes, people with disabilities, or people experiencing homelessness.
• Experience reviewing medical records.
• Familiarity with the navigating Social Security Administration benefits.
• Lived experience similar to clients served.
• Familiarity and/or experience of Delaware County legal networks.
• Familiarity with the social services and community resources available in Delaware County and how to access them.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Widener University is committed to fostering an inclusive community in which faculty, staff, and students from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and personal experiences are welcomed and can thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to providing equal educational and employment opportunities for all persons without regard to age, color, national origin, race, religion, disability, veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or status as a protected veteran.

Some positions may be eligible for a hybrid or remote work arrangement that may include a partially or fully remote work location, consistent with Widener’s Flexible Work policy. 

University, an independent, metropolitan, doctoral-intensive university, connects curricula to social issues through civic engagement. Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal attention and experiential learning are key components of the Widener Experience. Located in Chester, PA, Widener's main campus is nestled between Philadelphia, PA and Wilmington, DE, with Law Schools located in both Harrisburg and Wilmington. For more information about the university, please visit our website at www.widener.edu.

EOE M/F/V/D