Employment Opportunities
We Currently Have Employment Opportunities
EFE requires full COVID-19 vaccination compliance including booster.
Re-entry Support & Intake Specialist (part-time, temporary position)
Equip for Equality’s Civil Rights Team seeks a part-time temporary legal professional or intern to work with our criminal legal systems practice group for a period of 4-6 months, with a possibility of extension. Responsibilities will include conducting legal intake for clients with disabilities who have been impacted by criminal legal systems, including data collection and client interviews; providing intake callers with basic legal information and referrals where needed; participating in the legal team’s case evaluations; and assisting in preparation of legal petitions for expungement and/or sealing of criminal records, as well as other legal project work as time permits.
Responsibilities:
- Conduct intakes relating to criminal legal systems, including with client interviews, data collection, and presentation to (and participation with) the legal team for follow-up.
- Intake and caseload management that includes both long and short-term deadlines.
- Work with the Criminal Legal Systems group on EFE’s Civil Rights Team to advance the rights of people with disabilities, both those who are in the community and those who are institutionalized or incarcerated. This work includes the provision of legal rights information and referrals.
- Help compile, collect, and analyze data for monthly reports.
Requirements:
- Legal experience preferred, whether as an intern, paralegal, or attorney.
- Strong communication and organizational skills.
- Creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving approaches.
- Experience with and/or commitment to working with diverse client populations and incarcerated people (Preferred)
- Commitment to no less than 14 hours per week for a minimum of 4-6 months (and up to full time may be available).
- Demonstrate dedication, passion, and hard work to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities and to reform systems that have over-incarcerated people with disabilities.
Application Deadline, How to Apply, Compensation and Benefits
Applications will be accepted until December 15,2023. Please include salary expectations in the cover letter. Salary is commensurate with experience and EFE offers excellent benefits.
Re-entry Support & Intake Specialist
Resumes without cover letters will not be considered.
Equip for Equality is an Equal Opportunity Employer
We have volunteer opportunities!
Did you know you can volunteer or have an unpaid internship with EFE? Students and professionals can volunteer by providing general office help or through internships with our technology department, human resources and other areas of our state-wide non-profit organization. (If you’re an attorney, law student or law school graduate, please read about our Pro Bono Attorney and Law Student Initiative which offers an opportunity to help with our disability rights cases and obtain hands-on legal advocacy experience. You can also learn about Public Interest career opportunities at Illinois Legal Aid OnLine.) For information about our volunteer and unpaid internship opportunities for non-attorneys, please contact LaJune Davis-Wiley (see contact information below).
Learn about our Voting Access Chicago project and help us make Chicago’s polling places ADA accessible for people with disabilities and older adults. For volunteer opportunities, please contact Bebe Novich.
Organizational Background
For nearly 35 years, Equip for Equality has been advancing the human and civil rights of people with disabilities across Illinois. Among our many accomplishments, Equip for Equality has made Chicago public transportation more accessible, helped tens of thousands of people with disabilities move from institutions into the community, increased inclusive education and educational outcomes for students with disabilities, and enhanced safety and quality of care in a variety of settings. We have offices throughout Illinois.
Equip for Equality has three Programs: the Civil Rights Team, the Special Education Clinic, and the Abuse Investigation Unit. EFE has a dedicated staff of 59 attorneys, social workers, and administrative staff working every day to advance our mission. As we work to improve society’s inclusion of individuals with disabilities, we also strive to be an inclusive, diverse, and welcoming workplace.
Background Checks
Because Equip for Equality is a community-serving organization and safety is of the utmost importance, Equip for Equality requires a background check for employees and others who volunteer or perform services for us depending on the role. The background check is run for employees once a conditional offer of employment has been extended. Background checks are conducted in accordance with all applicable laws, EFE’s policy, and paid for by EFE. A disclosed record may not automatically disqualify a candidate from employment.
We are an equal opportunity employer.
We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to disability, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. View the Department of Labor’s “EEO is The Law” poster for more information about how employers must comply with Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws.
Do you need a reasonable accommodation for our application process?
Equip for Equality is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the application process, please see the Contact Person below to let them know the nature of your request and your contact information. Disability related information disclosed via the application process will be kept confidential.
LaJune Davis-Wiley, Senior Director of Human Resources
Equip for Equality
20 N. Michigan, Suite 300
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: 312-895-7333
Fax: 312-541-2378
- Learn about our Pro Bono Attorney and Law Student Initiative, which provides volunteer opportunities for attorneys, law students and law school graduates.
- Read about some of our case work involving employment discrimination, guardianship, abuse and neglect or special education.
- Sign up for our newsletter.
Last updated: December 07, 2023