Social Services Advocate - YAD Quincy

The Youth Advocacy Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) is seeking applicants for a full-time Social Service Advocate in its Quincy Office. The Social Services Advocates work with our attorneys and other members of the defense team to help juvenile defendants achieve the best possible legal and life outcomes.

We fight for equal justice and human dignity by supporting our clients in achieving their legal and life goals. We zealously advocate for the rights of individuals

and promote just public policy to protect the rights of all.

Our Values

Courage Accountability Respect Excellence

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION MISSION STATEMENT

CPCS is committed to protecting the fundamental constitutional and human rights of our assigned clients through zealous advocacy community-oriented defense and the fullness of excellent legal representation. We are dedicated to building and maintaining strong professional relationships while striving to accept listen to and respect the diverse circumstances of each client as we dedicate ourselves to meeting their individual needs. It is our CPCS mission to achieve these goals and in furtherance thereof we embrace and endorse diversity equityand inclusion as our core values as we maintain a steadfast commitment to: (1) Ensure that CPCS management and staff members represent a broad range of human differences and experience; (2) Provide a work climate that is respectful and supports success; and (3) Promote the dignity and well-being of all staff members. CPCS leadership is responsible for ensuring equity diversity and inclusion. The ability to achieve these goals with any level of certainty is ultimately the responsibility of each member of the CPCS community.

AGENCY OVERVIEW

CPCSis the state agency in Massachusetts responsible for providing an attorney when the state or federal constitution or a state statute requires the appointment of an attorney for a person who cannot afford to retain one. The agency provides representation in criminal delinquency youthful offender family regulation guardianship mental health sexually dangerous person and sex offender registry cases as well as in appeals and post-conviction and post-judgment proceedings related to those matters.

The clients we represent are diverse across every context imaginable and bring many unique cultural dimensions to the matters we address. This reality creates a critical need for CPCS staff to be culturally competent and able to work well with people of different races ethnicities genders and/or sexual orientation identities abilities and limited English proficiency among other protected characteristics.

DIVISION OVERVIEW

The Youth Advocacy Division (YAD) the juvenile defender division of CPCS is committed to ensuring that every indigent child in Massachusetts has access to zealous legal representation in delinquency GCL Revocation juvenile murder juvenile appeals and youthful offender cases from a diverse and ever improving community of juvenile defenders consisting of both private assigned counsel and staff public defenders. YAD provides leadership training support and oversight to the indigent juvenile defense bar in Massachusetts. As youth in Massachusetts have a right to jury trials an Attorney in Charge (AIC) oversees a trial office which integrates the work of Trial Attorneys a social service advocate (SSA) and an administrative assistant (AA) to fully address the legal and developmental needs of our clients.

OFFICE OVERVIEW

Quincy is a city in Norfolk County with apopulation of just over 100000 making it the seventh-largest city in the state. Known as the City of PresidentsQuincy is the birthplace of two U.S. presidents: John Adams andhis son John Quincy Adamsas well as John Hancock. For more than a century Quincy was home to a thriving granite industry and ship buildingwas another key part of the citys economy. AdditionallyDunkin Donutswas founded in the YAD Quincy office is comprised of an AIC four staff attorneys a Social Service Advocate and an Administrative Assistant.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The SSA works with the attorneys and otherdefenseteam members to help juvenile defendants achieve the best possible legal and life outcomes. Research has shown that meeting the formative developmental needs of young people is essential to both shortand long termlegal success. The SSA is an essential member of the legal team and works with the client in the context of the attorney-client privilege. SSAs play a critical role in screening clients for possible competence and/or criminal responsibility issues. As part of working with the attorney on the pending legal case the SSA also helps to identify the social and clinical issues that preceded arrest and those that may result from court involvement. The SSA promotes positive youth development by providing forensic case management utilizing a therapeutic approach in large part by identifying and connecting clients with a variety of clinical educational vocationaland social resources opportunities and services.

As an integral member of the team the SSA role includes bio-psychosocial interviewing and assessment social history investigation forensic case management advocacy for clients within court educational mental healthand social service systems; family interactions and interventions; treatment and alternative sentencing planning; report writingand actively connecting clients with programs and needed services. This work occurs at all stages of the court process from pre-arraignment through disposition. Each SSA shares responsibility with the Attorney-in-Charge of the office for facilitating the use of the Positive Youth Development Approach by the entireofficestaff. The SSA identifies and develops relationships with community-based organizations and other community resources. The SSA also cultivates relationships with local private social workers and facilitates the increased engagement of social workers by private assigned SSA reports to the Attorney-in-Charge of the office.

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelors degree in social work or other related degree and one year of related experience or an equivalent combination of skills education and experience;
• Must have insured reliable and available transportation and a valid MA drivers license; and
• Access to home internet access sufficient to work remotely.

Masters degree in social work psychology or related field and a minimum of two years post-BA full-time relevant work experience strongly preferred.

APPLICATION

Applicants should submit (1) a resume (2) a thoughtful written cover letter of interest no longer than two pages and (3) a writing sample such as a bio-psychosocial history or client summary of no more than 6 pages.

QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS

• Experience working with children adolescents and families from diverse cultural social economic racial religious and linguistic backgrounds;
• Commitment to reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system;
• Knowledge of social psychological economic community legal and medical factors that impact children and their families;
• Knowledge of Positive Youth Development and adolescent development;
• Experience working with high risk adolescents and families;
• Skills in client interviewing assessment case management and treatment planning;
• Awareness and knowledge of Trauma and its impact on child and adolescent development and family functioning;
• Skilled in interacting with persons of various social racial cultural economic and educational backgrounds;
• Knowledge of public and private social services systems and resources especially those serving children and teens;
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively and persuasively orally and in writing;
• Proven ability to work effectively independently and as part of a team;
• Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships within the office and the service provider community;
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple clients and responsibilities; and
• Bilingual candidates encouraged to apply.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Social Services Advocates responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Interviewing and Assessment

• Conducting both brief and in-depth client bio-psychosocial interviews to obtain the clients personal history as well as an inventory of the clients strengths and challenges;
• Assessing needs and identifying appropriate resources and interventions;
• Detailing a clients personal history through collecting and analyzing all relevant records interviewing the clients family members and other individuals important to the client as well as collateral contacts; and
• Recommending the use of other experts for clients who require further evaluation.

Forensic Case Management and Client Advocacy

• Maintaining close contact with the client and their family throughout the duration of the delinquency case to build strong working relationships to increase the likelihood that the client understands and takes advantage of the opportunities for diversion from commitment to DYS meets conditions of bail release assists defense team with defense and prepares for court appearances;
• Assisting defense attorneys with retaining and preparing other experts for clients who require further evaluation (i.e. substance use disorder neurological psychiatric);
• Advocating for clients with all relevant state agencies educational systems and community-based providers and service organizations;
• Meeting with clients at court in their homes community or residential and facility programs; and
• Transporting clients to court appointments interviews and services as needed.

Dispositional Planning and Accessing Services

• Collaborating with defense team members to develop defense strategies and dispositional options;
• Gaining comprehensive knowledge of local and statewide resources from private and public services systems. Working collaboratively with communitybased and state service providers to foster partnerships to improve access to needed services for YAD clients;
• Accessing private and public social services and developing treatment plans as alternatives to DYS detention/commitment/incarceration and for improved life outcomes for the client;
• Preparing written assessments persuasive disposition and treatment plan reports and Aid in Sentencing Memoranda to assist defense attorney in negotiating diversion plea agreements sentencing and DYS placement outcomes; and
• Presenting informal and formal testimony during court proceedings.

EEO Statement

The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race color national origin ethnicity sex disability religion age veteran or military status genetic information gender identity or sexual orientation as required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and other applicable federal and state statutes and organizational policies. Applicants who have questions about equal employment opportunity or who need reasonable accommodations can contact the Chief Human Resources Officer Sandra DeBow-Huang at