Social Worker/Youth Advocate, Youth Defense Practice (Manhattan)

The Center for Family Representation Inc. (CFR) is an award-winning, innovative law and policy organization that serves primarily Black and Brown families and youth in Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx with an interdisciplinary legal defense model that serves more than 2400 clients every year.

As an agency committed to securing justice for families, we built the Youth Defense practice (YDP) to defend youth at risk of family separation through incarceration. YDP uses the same interdisciplinary model to represent youth being prosecuted in Queens and Manhattan in Supreme Court Youth Parts charged as Adolescent Offenders (AO) or Juvenile Offender (JO), during Probation Adjustment and in Juvenile Delinquency (JD) proceedings in Family Court. CFR’s Home for Good program provides legal and social work services to clients in immigration, civil legal services and criminal defense matters, to afford clients an efficient and well-coordinated one-stop solution to a range of issues that threaten family stability.

CFR is seeking a Youth Defense PracticeSocial Worker/Youth Advocate for our Manhattan office who, under the supervision of a social work supervisor and YDP supervisory team will work exclusively on the Youth Defense team. The candidate will conduct assessments and write mitigation reports for their clients, and will also provide direct social work support and advocacy to CFR’s clients involved in the juvenile justice system. Social workers and Youth Advocates joining CFR can expect intensive, interdisciplinary training on CFR’s Cornerstone Advocacy model, client interviewing and other critical skills. CFR is dedicated to providing ongoing career development in all these areas in a variety of training forums for all staff.

Responsibilities for the Youth Defense PracticeSocial Worker/Youth Advocate may include:

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  Providing direct social work support and advocacy to CFR’s clients involved in the juvenile justice system such as:

• interviewing clients and their family/community members in various settings

• conducting home, office and field visits (including detention facilities) conducting psychosocial assessments

• referring clients to programs (educational support, mental health services, Alternative to Detention and Alternative to Placement programs, recreational or job programs)

• providing oral and written advocacy in/for court, including testimony (fact and/or expert), especially at disposition in juvenile cases in family court

• for YDP - develop dispositional plans and recommendations to prevent out-of-home placement

• Preparing youth and their families for Probation adjustment conferences, I&R interviews, and MHS evaluations

• Providing educational advocacy and resources for clients

• Writing pre-sentencing and mitigation reports, including pre-pleading memoranda (PPMs)

• For cases in the Youth Part in the Supreme Court, Criminal Term, preparing pre-pleading memoranda (PPMs) with documentation (as needed) to assist the assigned attorney in negotiating with the District Attorney’s Office, and for submission to the Court as well as the District Attorney. Upon potential resolution of an AO/JO case, pre-sentencing memoranda may be needed as well; this may be an update of a PPM. or a new submission, depending on the case

• Obtaining, reviewing and analyzing all relevant case records (education records, service provider, arrest reports, petitions, court documents; mental health records) to gather information to include in PPMs and other advocacy letters;

• Cultivating relationships with treatment providers such as Alternative to Incarceration programs and other services CFR’s clients will need to access;

• Cultivating relationships with Probation and parole agencies and personnel

• Educational advocacy, including attending IEP meetings and suspension hearings

• Working alongside CFR’s YDP team to train new and current staff on best practices for working with clients involved in the justice system

• Maintaining new and evolving YDP data in CMS and client legal notes

• Keeping additional data related to deliverables for private funders supporting the Youth Defense Practice and/or to meet with prospective and current funders

• Helping to inform and grow CFR’s Youth Defense Practice

• Representing CFR in external policy efforts, including serving on committees, task forces, etc.

• Working in a hybrid work model requiring in-person attendance for client work, community work, court and other related tasks, while also being productive and communicative while working remotely

• Applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree, preferably with some prior experience with the NYC juvenile justice, criminal justice, family regulation, education, housing or public benefits’ systems or other social justice experience. Strong preference will be given to candidates with a Masters in Social Work.

• Candidates for the position should have at least two years of relevant experience.

• Applicants should be able to demonstrate a strong undergraduate academic record, strong interpersonal and communication skills, a commitment to supporting families, and a desire to share in both the exhilaration and challenges of a growing endeavor.

• Fluency in Spanish or other foreign language is highly desirable.

Starting salaries (2 years experience):

Family Advocate: $59,300

Social Worker (unlicensed): $64,500

Social Worker (licensed): $70,800