Social Work Supervisor, Youth Defense Practice

The Center for Family Representation Inc. (CFR) is an award-winning, innovative law and policy organization that serves primarily Black and Brown families and youth in Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx with an interdisciplinary legal defense model that serves more than 2400 clients every year. In 2024, CFR will expand our family defense practice to Richmond County. CFR was originally founded in 2002 to dramatically change the trajectory of indigent parents being prosecuted by the City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). Our goal is to defend and protect our clients’ rights, reduce the harm of family separation and prevent or minimize the time any child spends in the foster system.

CFR provides interdisciplinary family defense with a model that was unique at our founding and that is now being replicated nationally: we assign every client an attorney and a social work staff member, and teams have the support of parent advocates, who are parents with direct personal experience of being investigated and prosecuted by ACS. CFR was the first agency in the country to integrate parents with lived experience into legal teams and now has 7 parent advocates working in all three of our family defense locations. CFR’s Community Advocacy Project represents parents during a child protective investigation (to avoid court involvement where possible) and assists parents in clearing their names from state maltreatment records.

As an agency committed to securing justice for families, we built the Youth Defense practice (YDP) to defend youth at risk of family separation through incarceration. YDP uses the same interdisciplinary model to represent youth being prosecuted in Queens and Manhattan in Supreme Court Youth Parts, during Probation Adjustment and in Delinquency proceedings in Family Court. CFR’s Home for Good program provides legal and social work services to CFR clients in immigration, civil legal services and criminal defense matters, to afford clients an efficient and well-coordinated one-stop solution to a range of issues that threaten family stability.

Recognized as experts in our fields, we annually train over 500 practitioners in the city, state and around the country on strategies to promote family preservation and interdisciplinary representation, and we provide community based “Know Your Rights” presentations to parents, youth and service providers. We advocate at the city, state and national level for policies that reduce the harm of family separation, and promote parent engagement and justice for youth and families.

Current opening:

CFR has an immediate opening for a Social Work Supervisor to support and sustain our Youth Defense Practice (YDP) in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx. Objectives of YDP include providing high-quality, interdisciplinary representation to juvenile clients in family court and, at times, in criminal court, building CFR’s reputation with the Court, Corporation Counsel, District Attorneys, Probation and other agencies serving these youth. YDP needs a strong advocate who can assist with building more community partnerships and assist with YDP’s policy advocacy. Objectives of CFR’s YDP also include demonstrating the effectiveness of the CFR model for serving YDP clients, preventing placement and reducing recidivism. CFR is committed to dismantling racist policies and practices in NYC, and continues to work on evolving into an antiracist organization.

Primary responsibilities will include:

• Working in partnership with the YDP Litigation Supervisor to oversee YDP, including developing and monitoring intake schedules, providing formal training to CFR’s YDP staff, developing group supervision routines where appropriate, engaging with the Court and other stakeholders on issues of practice administration;
• Supervising 3-5 MSW and non-MSW (Youth Advocate) Social work staff of varying degrees of experience, who work in interdisciplinary teams with attorneys to represent YDP clients;
• Helping YDP social work staff develop mastery as well as reinforcing and building upon skills and values introduced in initial and ongoing trainings which include:
  • Working collaboratively with attorneys, YDP social work staff and paralegals to represent youth in family court and at times criminal court
  • Providing social work support and advocacy to clients
  • Designing disposition and service plans to further client needs and achieve the best outcomes possible
  • Preparing mitigation reports, pre-pleading memoranda, and other written advocacy materials on behalf of clients
  • Intake and client interviews, assessing clients’ needs and goals, and ensuring clients are engaged in appropriate and meaningful service plans
  • Referring clients for necessary services (mental health services, Alternative to Detention and Alternative to Placement programs, recreational or job programs)
  • Maintaining contact with service providers to obtain information for court
  • Advocating for clients with Probation through all stages of a case, starting at Adjustment
  • Keeping up to date client legal notes and entering data in CFR’s database
  • Interviewing clients and their family/community members in various settings
  • Conducting home, office and field visits (including Correctional facilities)
  • Conducting psychosocial assessments
  • Providing oral and written advocacy in/for court, including testimony (fact and/or expert), especially at disposition in JD cases in family court
  • Providing educational advocacy and resources for clients

This Supervisor may carry a small caseload of clients as the assigned SW staff member on a team representing a JD/PINS or AO/JO client. The supervisor will be supervising SW staff in Manhattan, Bronx and Queens and be supervised by the Director responsible for YDP. Along with all Supervisory and Senior staff at CFR, this Supervisor will work with other supervisors and senior staff as well as with the HR and Development staff, Training Supervisor, and Executive Director to inform decisions on strategic planning and overall program development, and improvement for the entire agency: in these areas, activities may include participation in administration, fundraising efforts, contract management, training, policy work, development, progressive discipline, internships, recruitment and/or hiring.

Salary Information:

The salary for a Social Work Supervisor with five years of work experience is: $92,200.

The salary for a Staff Attorney with ten years of work experience is: $100,400.

The salary for a Staff Attorney with fifteen years of work experience is: $107,700.

Qualifications:

• The ideal candidate will have familiarity with the law and procedure involving JD/PINS and AO/Youth Part cases, service and education options available for system-involved youth, at least 5 years of experience working directly with youth who have been arrested, and at least 3 years of supervisory experience which can include intern supervision.
• LMSW is required and SIFI eligibility is preferred.
• Fluency in Spanish or other languages and experience with public benefits, education, housing or immigration is all desirable.
• Individuals who apply should be able to demonstrate strong interpersonal and communication skills, an aptitude for productive, team problem-solving, a commitment to interdisciplinary representation of clients and a desire to share in both the exhilaration and challenges of a growing endeavor.