ADOPTIONS PROGRAM SENIOR ATTORNEY
POSITION SUMMARY
The Alliance for Children’s Rights seeks an Adoptions Program Senior Attorney to assist in providing legal representation and advocacy for prospective adoptive parents in foster care adoption matters; assisting with advocacy for adoption assistance benefits and services for eligible children and young adults; and supporting policy advocacy and reform efforts around foster care adoption. The Senior Attorney plays a crucial role in the legal process of adopting a child. Spanish fluency is strongly preferred but not required. This is an exempt, full-time paid position.
ABOUT THE ALLIANCE
The Alliance for Children’s Rights is a nonprofit organization that provides free, holistic, legal services and advocacy to youth and families impacted by child welfare and juvenile justice systems in Los Angeles County. Our lawyers, advocates, and social workers, together with hundreds of pro bono attorneys and community volunteers, work to ensure young people in foster care and guardianships can overcome barriers to stability and success and access to the education, healthcare, and financial supports they need. Since 1992, we have helped over 170,000 children and young adults. For more information visit: www.allianceforchildrensrights.org.
To advance our mission of stability, equity, and justice for young people across the state, the Alliance also identifies systemic issues and barriers that impact our clients, and advocates for broad solutions and improvements through ground-breaking child welfare policy reform at the state and local levels.
WHAT YOUR IMPACT WILL BE
The Adoption Program provides legal advocacy to finalize adoptions for children and non-minor dependents in the foster care and probation systems. The program works in partnership with the Department of Children and Family Services, the Children’s Court, and the Children’s Law Center to complete foster care adoptions and non-minor dependent adoptions. As part of our adoption services, we also provide holistic assessments to ensure the children and families obtain the appropriate therapeutic services and monetary benefits to support the health, education and wellbeing of the child and the stability of the adoption. The Adoption Program also educates adoptive families about foster care adoption and their legal benefits, and advocates to resolve administrative and systemic barriers to timely adoption finalizations.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the direct supervision of the Adoptions Program Director, the Adoptions Program Senior Attorney will perform the following responsibilities:
- Draft legal forms and court petitions, including preparing and filing the necessary legal documents with the court for adoption proceedings.
- Demonstrate proficiency with state laws applicable to juvenile dependency and adoption and federal laws such as the Indian Child Welfare Act.
- Interview, screen, advise, and represent caregivers in the legal process of adopting a child or young adult from foster care to identify critical resources and supports that will help provide stability and wellbeing for the children in their care and to protect and advance their rights.
- Appear as counsel for clients at adoption finalization hearings in Los Angeles Juvenile Dependency Court.
- Provide direct legal representation in individual client adoption cases, including advice and counsel, preparation of legal forms and documents, appearances at hearings, and litigation, negotiation, and mediation as needed in adoption matters in the Los Angeles Juvenile Court.
- Work with Pro Bono Director and Adoption Program Director to develop, implement, and manage comprehensive pro bono legal support for adoption cases.
- Work with Adoption Program Director to develop and update our Pro Bono Adoption Program Manual and other adoption training materials and adoption client informational materials.
- Work with Adoption Program Director to train, supervise, and provide technical assistance to pro-bono attorneys and firms and student interns in finalizing adoptions.
- Work with Adoption Program Director to manage adoption cases from referral to finalization; including working closely with our partners – law firms, DCFS adoption finalization liaison, social workers and other county personnel, the juvenile court presiding judge, administration, clerks and judicial officers, and Children’s Law Center minor’s attorneys – to successfully implement our Adoption Program.
- Work with Adoption Program Director and program staff to assist clients with post-adoption issues as needed, including specifically issues with receiving birth certificates after adoption.
- Support the Adoption Program Director to supervise adoption program staff as needed and to oversee and coordinate the Adoption Days, including the National Adoption Day.
- Participate in adoption case review of client Adoptive Parent Questionnaires to identify legal, benefits and services issues and provide advice to clients; prepare adoption case summaries; and work with Adoption Program Director and other program directors to complete inter-program transfers and support advocacy for identified Benefits, Education, Health Care, ILP or other benefits or service needs.
- Work with Policy Program to develop improved foster care policies and represent Alliance at adoption-related policy meetings as needed.
- Assist as needed with the supervision of Intake, identify legal issues and strategies, and train and provide guidance to student interns and staff.
- Assist Adoption Program Director and Communications Team in developing and maintaining program materials in English and Spanish for clients, pro bono attorneys, and the community.
- Conduct community outreach and training related to foster care and non-minor dependent adoption or other areas as needed, and work with service providers and community partners, to maximize effective resources and support for families and children.
- Complete administrative duties including Legal Server data entry and case management from opening to closing of adoption cases.
- Perform other duties as required.
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL POSSESS
- JD degree required.
- 5-7 years of relevant legal experience
- Active membership in good standing with the California State Bar.
- Previous experience in Los Angeles child welfare, family law, probate guardianship, or immigration courts.
- Litigation experience, including case evaluation, legal research and writing, discovery, negotiations, mediation, and hearing or trial experience.
- Demonstrated experience with public benefits, administrative advocacy and public speaking.
- Ability to speak Spanish is strongly preferred.
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
- Ability to formulate legal advice and strategy in connection with adoption representation.
- Prior experience supervising attorneys, legal assistants, students, and client intake processes.
- Excellent written and oral communication, active listening, and presentation skills.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with clients, attorneys, child welfare agencies, the judiciary, and members of the public.
- Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to work independently and manage competingtasks in a fast-paced environment.
- A self-starter with a strong work ethic, dedication, and enthusiasm for taking on responsibility.
- Demonstrated ability to work as team member with a pleasant and collegial approach.
- Commitment to social justice.
- Experience and comfort building rapport and working effectively with caregivers, families, children, and young adults.
- Ability to manage a high-volume caseload.
This job description is of a general nature and is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties of the position.
SALARY RANGE
This is an exempt, full-time paid position, target starting salary range for the senior attorney is $92,000-$104,000. Final starting salary offered is contingent on years of relevant experience. Benefits include generous vacation and paid holidays; comprehensive health plans covering 100% of the employee cost of medical, dental and vision insurance; life insurance; flexible spending accounts for childcare and health expenses; generous retirement savings plan with company contributions to your 403(b) after one year of employment, and discounts on fitness memberships and other activities.
APPLYING
Email resume and cover letter to Nina Bailey, Human Resources Coordinator at nbailey@alliancecr.org. Due to a high volume of interest, we are not able to contact each interested applicant. No calls please. If selected for consideration, candidates will be contacted to discuss our recruitment process and next steps.
Other CONSIDERATIONS
This position will typically be based in our Los Angeles office, and the candidate must be Los Angeles – based. Except for in-person court hearings, Alliance events, trainings, in-office meetings with clients, colleagues, and community partners, and to the extent that telework is allowed, this position may choose to work remotely from home. The employee may be required to return to the office at any time at the employer’s discretion.
VACCINATION REQUIREMENT
The Alliance is committed to prioritizing and safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our employees, their families, our clients, and members of our community against the COVID-19 coronavirus. In response to COVID-19 and the increased transmissibility with recent variants, and to support a safe environment for everyone, all new Alliance employees must provide original documentation confirming they are fully vaccinated, and or evidence of an approved qualifying medical exemption or religious held belief exemption at the time of hire.
NON-DISCRIMINATION
The Alliance for Children’s Rights is committed to building and supporting a culturally diverse and inclusive environment that values all staff members’ backgrounds and perspectives in our work. We strongly encourage individuals from all traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, and prohibit discrimination against employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, or any other unlawful basis.
The Alliance for Children’s Rights will consider qualified applicants with a criminal history pursuant to the California Fair Chance Act. You do not need to disclose your criminal history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if the Alliance is concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report. Find out more about the Fair Chance Act by visiting the Civil Rights Department Fair Chance Act webpage.