Social Services Advocate Supervisor PDD North Region

The Public Defender Division of CPCS is seeking applicants for the position of Social Services Advocate Supervisor for the states North Region covering Middlesex and Essex Counties. This includes the offices in Framingham Lowell Malden Lawrence and Salem. Under the direction of the Director of Social Services Advocates the SSA Supervisor will assist in the hiring supervision and training of Social Service Advocates and will also have their own reduced client caseload. The SSA Supervisors primary base of operation will be a CPCS office that is located within this geographic region.

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 Public Defender Division (PDD) provides legal services to adults who qualify for assigned counsel and are facing criminal PDD administrative office is in Boston and PDD currently has 18 trial offices located throughout the state as well as an Appeals Unit and a staff of approximately 250 attorneys and 120 other staff members.

The mission of the Public Defender Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services is to ensure that criminal defendantsare given the fundamental protections of the United States Constitution the Bill of Rights and theMassachusetts Constitution. Webelieve that every defendant should not only receive zealous advocacy but respect and dignity as they deal with the potential loss of their liberty.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Public Defender Division of CPCS is seeking applicants for the position of Social Services Advocate Supervisor for the states North Region covering Middlesex and Essex Counties. This includes the offices in Framingham Lowell Malden Lawrence and Salem. Under the direction of the Director of Social Services Advocates the SSA Supervisor will assist in the hiring supervision and training of staff Social Service Advocates in their region as well as collaborating with and supporting the work of the SSA Director and CPCS management.

The SSA Supervisor will carry their own reduced client caseload and will work alongside attorneys in the regions offices as part of the defense this capacity the SSA Supervisor can assist on cases through written or direct advocacy to support a positive legal and life outcome for our clients. This work includes bio-psychosocial interviewing and assessment social history investigation forensic case management advocacy for clients within court carceral mental health and social service systemsfostering family interactions and intervention treatment and sentencing planning report writing testifying and making direct connections between clients and programs. Social services intervention occurs at all stages of the court process from the initial arraignment through resolution and post-conviction.

The SSA Supervisors primary base of operation will be in a CPCS office that is located within this geographic region.

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

Applicants for Social Services Advocate Supervisor must have:

• A masters degree in social work psychology or related field;
• A minimum of three years of experience providing social services to clients including clinical assessments and community referrals;
• Insured reliable and available transportation and a valid MA drivers license; and
• Access to home internet access sufficient to work remotely.

Social Work Licensure (LICSW) and at least one year of supervisory experience preferred.

Please submit a writing sample with your application. Examples of writing samples include: redacted biopsychosocial assessment or client history redacted clinical assessment advocacy letter or academic paper.

QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS

• Experience working with individuals and families of diverse racial ethnic cultural educational and economic backgrounds;
• Knowledge of social psychological environmental economic legal and medical factors that influence behavior;
• Understanding of social structures and institutional barriers that cause disparities such as systemic racism and poverty;
• Culturally appropriate skills in client interviewing assessment case management and treatment planning;
• Knowledge of public and private social services systems and resources;
• 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 responsibilities (strong organizational skills);
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends to handle emergencies;
• Knowledge of defense practice and the criminal legal system;
• Ability to supervise master level social workers for LICSW licensure preferred;
• Strong interpersonal management leadership and supervisory skills;
• Strong writing and editing abilities;
• A demonstrated commitment to the development and training of CPCS Social Services Advocates and advancement of holistic practice in the legal defense field; and
• Bilingual abilities are a plus.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The supervisory duties of the Social Services Advocate Supervisor include:

• Regular one-on-one meetings with individual supervisees as well as group meetings to ensure quality of services to both clients and referring defense attorneys;
• In-the-field supervision including accompanying supervisees on client interviews including jail visits and in-court appearances and court testimony to support ongoing training;
• Overseeing the development of community resource information and relevant clinical research data;
• Collecting monitoring and analyzing caseload statistics to ensure that caseloads are appropriate;
• Responding to requests for consultation from attorneys in the assigned region;
• Collaborating with Attorneys in Charge of offices in the region on annual performance evaluations of assigned supervisees;
• Assisting in hiring new staff by reviewing application materials interviewing applicants and conducting reference checks;
• Providing back-up coverage for SSA referrals as needed; and
• Other duties as assigned.

The training duties of the Social Services Advocate Supervisor include:

• Providing orientation and ongoing training to new SSA hires;
• Assisting in developing enhancing and providing training programs and opportunities for incoming as well as experienced staff;
• Assisting in training CPCS staff attorneys; and
• Other duties as assigned.

The direct client duties of the Social Services Advocate Supervisor include:

• Maintaining close contact with clients over the duration of their case to build a strong working relationship;
• Conducting both brief and in-depth interviews with clients respecting their individuality and with cultural humility to obtain client histories; connecting with and interviewing collateral contacts;
• Performing needs assessments developing treatment or service plans referring clients to service providers and making direct connections between clients and programs;
• Gaining comprehensive knowledge of statewide and local programming and services and working collaboratively with community-based services that support clients;
• Collaborating with defense counsel to develop defense strategies and dispositional options which demonstrate an understanding of the complexities of our clients whole lives;
• Preparing and presenting courtroom testimony to describe services and dispositional alternatives arranged for the client;
• Preparing detailed and persuasive written advocacy for sentencing and mitigation purposes;
• Advocating for clients in a client-directed practice to facilitate best possible outcomes; and
• Other duties as assigned.

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