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Social Services
Unit |
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Incorporating
Social Workers
into the legal
team through the
Social Services
Unit:
In its primary
civil function,
RC4 operates as
a public law
firm dedicated
to representing
indigent parents
in dependency
court. RC4's
Social Services
Unit (SSU)
enhances the
legal
representation
provided to the
parents in the
dependency
system by
incorporating
into the legal
team a Forensic
Social Worker or
Forensic Family
Advocate who
engages parents
directly and
guides them
through the
reunification
process. The
integration of
social workers
is a
nationally-recognized
interdisciplinary
model known as
"holistic lawyering,"
whereby the
legal and social
service needs of
clients are
addressed in
tandem. Research
has shown the
inclusion of
social workers
leads to less
time for
children in
out-of-home care
and better
overall outcomes
for families.
How the
Social Services
Unit of RC4
helps our
clients:
The SSU
professionals on
staff help
clients directly
through tasks
such as case
management,
linkage of
appropriate
resources,
interfacing with
providers and
attending
dependency-related
proceedings.
They also assist
in a client's
case through
their role as an
integral member
of the legal
team by sharing
their knowledge
and clinical
insights with
the
case-carrying
attorney who, in
turn, may then
incorporate
those insights
into the legal
advocacy for the
client. RC4 is
an approved
field placement
site for four
universities with
Social Work
programs. As a
result, we have
been able to
amplify our
impact with
clients through
the inclusion of interns into
SSU.
To learn more,
please contact
the Director of
the Social
Services Unit,
Kristen DeSimone,
at
kdesimone(at)rc-4.com. |
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