Family Defense Practice Early Defense Team Parent Advocate

The Bronx Defenders an innovative progressive holistic legal defense office in the South Bronx seeks a passionate advocate with a commitment to public defense to join the Early Defense Team in representing parents in the earliest stage of their family regulation cases during the agencys initial child protective investigation.

Founded in 1997 The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense which provides people with teams of lawyers social workers and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement.

Since opening our doors we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20000 New Yorkers each year in criminal family civil and immigration proceedings who face incarceration family separation eviction and deportation among other devastating consequences.

Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further using community organizing and engagement legislative advocacy and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about longlasting systemic change.

We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders. We run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders from one end of the country to the next on how to move to a holistic model of representation.

Early Defense Team Family Defense Practice

The Bronx Defenders maintains a robust Legal Support Hotline that allows residents of the Bronx who need representation in family matters to receive immediate assistance. In the Early Defense Practice our intake team assists people in the Bronx community who are being investigated by the Administration for Childrens Services (ACS) invited to a child safety conference directed to take their children to the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) asked to report to Family Court and/or who need representation at the State Central Registry (SCR) or the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS).

The Early Defense Team Family Defense Parent Advocate is responsible for working as part of an interdisciplinary legal team to represent community intake clients seeking assistance with family defense matters. The Bronx Defenders Early Defense Team also operates a 24hour hotline where members of the community who are arrested wanted by the police or contacted by ACS can call any time of day. The FDP Early Defense Parent Advocate will be responsible for staffing the hotline every couple weeks. Other responsibilities are listed below.

• Collaborate with lawyers social workers and other advocates on interdisciplinary holistic defense teams that prioritize and center the needs of our clients
• Meet with walkin community intake clients to assess and assist parents facing a child protective investigation with the Administration for Childrens Services (ACS)
• Assess client needs by speaking with them and conducting home and program visits to help identify homebased needs as well as benefits clients may be eligible forAdvocate for parents at Child Safety Conferences Family Team Conferences and other ACS and foster agency meetings
• Assist clients in preparation for ACS/Foster Care agency conferences and/or court appearancesAttend scheduled court hearingsto support clients
• Attend other meetings with clients at ACS and foster care agencies
• Connect clients with relevant programsfor substance use anger management parenting and mental health services and advocate for them with service providers
• Accompany parents to appointments throughout the Bronx and NYC to ensure seamless access to services
• Collaborate with clients and their legal teams to set goals and assess progress towards those goals throughout the pendency of their case
• Provide advice and representation to parents seeking assistance in Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) hearings
• Develop partnerships with service providers who can refer clients with pending ACS Investigations
• Document work in case management system and oversee data related to early defense initiatives
• Collaborate with leadership and development staff to create and submit funding reports & new applications for funding
• Conduct Know Your Rights trainings about the Family Regulation System with other members of the Early Defense Team
• Staff Early Defense Team hotline shifts answering live calls and responding to voicemail and email messages as soon as possible before 9AM the next business day
• Be available to work flexible hours including nights and/or weekends and be willing to work as back up during staff shortages when available

To be eligible candidates must have:

• Minimum of one year of case management/advocacy experience OR
• Two years of education in a related field

Candidates must demonstrate:

• Commitment to directly defending the rights of parents charged with abuse and neglect
• Understanding of how race and poverty affect parents experiences in the legal system
• Experience working in and with racially and socioeconomically marginalized communities
• Ability to effectively and respectfully communicate collaborate and connect with people with various backgrounds identities and experiences
• Ability to work well independently as well as collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team of lawyers and nonlawyers
• Commitment to fierce advocacy and willingness to strategically challenge authority in defense of the people we represent
• Effective advocacy skills
• Strong analytical skills and capacity to employ nonlegal resources in cases
• Ability to multitask maintain order and meet deadlines in a fastpaced highstakes environment
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Ability to think critically and creatively in fastpaced settings finding innovative solutions to unique obstacles
• Ability to receive constructive feedback demonstrate introspection and shift behavior accordingly
• Ability to exercise excellent judgment discretion and confidentiality with sensitive matters
• Commitment to raising ones cultural consciousness and challenging oppressive practices on an interpersonal and institutional level

Preferred but not Required:

• Familiarity with family court child protection agencies and/or the foster system
• Familiarity with the Bronx community
• Spanish language fluency

This is a primarily inperson position.

Salary is commensurate with experience. For candidates with 110 years of directly relevant experience the salary range for this position would be approximately $57343 to 72626. Fulltime employees are also eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; and a generous vacation sick leave and parental leave policy.

Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders staff including attorneys and nonattorneys are represented by UAW Local 2325 Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFLCIO). This position is within the bargaining unit.

This position is nonexempt. By law nonexempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to overtime whereas exempt employees are not

To apply please click APPLY TO THIS JOB ONLINE and upload your resume and a cover letter in one document. Your cover letter should share why you want to do this work some key lived and/or professional experiences that have prepared you for this position and any additional information you would like for us to consider. This information allows us to understand your distinct perspective experience and potential beyond the work history summarized on your resume. If selected for the position your resume will be used to determine your salary based on your level of professional experience; we therefore encourage you to make sure this is up to date. Please note that applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

The application deadline is June 6 2025 but applications will be considered on a rolling basis and decisions will be made as soon as appropriate candidates are identified.

The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is cultivating an antioppressive workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds identities and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and in fact specifically encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply including those who identify as Black Indigenous people of color queer transgender gender nonconforming disabled neurodivergent and those directly impacted by criminal civil family and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we work with.