POSITION SUMMARY
The Alliance for Children’s Rights is seeking a dedicated individual to join our Transition Aged Youth (TAY) Program as a Staff Attorney. 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 and works to enact policy changes statewide. Our lawyers, advocates, and social workers, together with hundreds of pro bono attorneys and community volunteers, work to ensure young people in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, and those living in guardianships or who have been adopted can overcome barriers to stability and success and access the education, healthcare, and financial supports they need. Since 1992, we have helped over 165,000 children and young adults. For more information visit: www.allianceforchildrensrights.org.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The TAY Staff Attorney will report to the TAY Program Director and oversee multiple projects and pro bono attorneys and other volunteers:
- Provide legal services to current and former foster/probation youth eligible for TAY services and resources across a wide range of topics: as housing, education, benefits, identity theft, consumer fraud, and sealing juvenile records.
- Assist with the supervision of Intake, identify legal issues and strategies, and train and provide guidance to student interns and staff.
- Interview, screen, and assist TAY in need of legal assistance to identify legal issues and develop case plans. Conduct legal research and draft legal memorandums briefs, primers, and presentations.
- Participate in a specialized court for TAY to ensure they receive services, benefits, and information they need to succeed.
- Work with Pro Bono Director to develop, implement, and manage comprehensive pro bono legal support for this Program.
- Work with TAY Program Director and staff to develop materials, train, supervise, and provide technical assistance to TAY, pro bono attorneys, other volunteers and community partners.
- Work with the Policy Program to identify policy to develop and implement state and county policies, or impact litigation to improve outcomes for TAY.
- Collaborate with other child welfare providers, non-profit organizations, and community, client, or other advocacy groups.
- Support and engage with the Opportunity Youth Collaborative (OYC), a collective of public and private partners led by the Alliance, that is committed to improving education and employment outcomes for TAY
- Work with TAY Director and staff to maintain and update all materials for TAY program, including working with the Communications and Development Departments on electronic, print, and video communications and events relating to youth.
- Assist with grant writing, reports, and presentations to support work for teens and young adults.
WHAT YOUR IMPACT WILL BE
The TAY (Transition Age Youth) Program supports transition age youth 16-24 with a range of legal and non-legal services to promote their independence and well-being. This program helps foster youth overcome legal and other hurdles that they encounter on their path to adulthood, through individual advocacy, connection to resources, and case management. This program supports young adults, providing free consultation and legal services on a range of issues including housing, education, employment, resolving identity and consumer theft, re-entering foster care for youth between the ages of 18 and 21, clearing juvenile tickets and DMV holds, and sealing juvenile court records. Life skills workshops and the development of innovative training tools are also dynamic components of this program that inform and empower youth to know and exercise their rights.
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL POSSESS
- 1-3 years of attorney experience
- JD Degree and CA BAR Certification
- Commitment to improving outcomes for transitioning foster youth in a program that combines legal advocacy, access to resources, and case management.
This job description is of a general nature and is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties of the position.
Experience and skills
Knowledge of basic poverty law such as consumer fraud, housing, and public benefits law preferred
Supervisory experience preferred
Knowledge of juvenile dependency or delinquency system and/or demonstrated experience working with youth preferred
Excellent written and oral skills
Demonstrated leadership ability
Strong interpersonal skills – ability to communicate effectively with clients, attorney’s, child welfare agencies, the judiciary, and the public.
Ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment
Salary Range and benefits
This is an exempt, full-time paid position, with target starting annual salary in the range of $75,000 – $79,000 DOE. 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; a retirement savings plan with company contributions to your 403(b) after one year of employment independent of employee contributions, and discounts on fitness memberships and other activities.
COVID-19 CONSIDERATIONS
This position will regularly report to the MLK Clinic on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis to be determined. On other days, with the exception of in-office meetings with clients, colleagues, or community partners, and to the extent that this position allows for telework, this position may work remotely from home. This position may be asked to return to work in the office at any time at the employer’s discretion. Preference will be given to candidates who live in (or plan to relocate to) Los Angeles county.
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.
TO APPLY
To be considered, please send a cover letter and resume to our TAY Program Director, Sanea Smith, at ssmith@alliancecr.org. Please include in your cover letter any relevant experiences, background, or perspective, professional or otherwise, you have in working with diverse populations and/or towards goals of equity and racial justice.
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 Right’s Department Fair Chance Act webpage.
