Legal Assistant - Child Welfare Unit

Position Summary 

Legal assistants in the Child Welfare Unit meet with Department of Human Services (“DHS”) social work service managers and Community Umbrella Agencies (“CUA”) case managers to discuss proposed and pending court cases, draft dependent petitions which are filed in the Dependent Branch of Family Court following these interviews, and review DHS case records in order to prepare petitions seeking either Voluntary Or Involuntary Termination Of Parental Rights, or Permanent Legal Custody.  They also prepare related documents and gather necessary information in order to supplement these pleadings.  The legal assistants occasionally expunge DHS case records of confidential information for review by outside parties and appear at Pre-Hearing Conferences at Family Court on behalf of the Law Department.  

Essential Functions 

The duties of a Legal Assistant in the CWU primarily consist of assisting in the representation of DHS in Dependency matters in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia – Family Division.  These duties include but are not limited to: 

• Drafting dependent and permanency petitions;  

• Assisting attorneys with the logistics of case management, and document preparation and presentation;  

• Reviewing and expunging DHS and CUA case records of confidential information for review by parents, counsel, and other parties requesting these files; and  

• Attending Pre-Hearing Conferences at Family court on behalf for the Law Department. 

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Excellent organizational skills 

• Effective and professional oral and written communication 

• Ability to work independently and think proactively  

• Ability to manage and prioritize numerous assignments 

• Computer skills required/desired for the position include: 

MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint, OneNote, Access) 

Google Drive (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms) 

Spreadsheets (Excel, Google Sheets, OpenOffice Calc)  

Email (mail merge, filters, folders, rules) 

Presentations/Slideshows (Powerpoint, Google Slides, OpenOffice Impress, Tableu) 

Microsoft Teams, Zoom and other virtual platforms 

• Experience with electronic filing through PACfile 

• Ability to complete work projects in a timely and accurate manner 

• Commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion  

• Experience exercising discretion and confidentiality with sensitive information