Managing Attorney (Pre-petition Family Defense)

Organization Description
Dependency Advocacy Center (DAC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, provides interdisciplinary family defense legal services to indigent parents and children involved with Santa Clara County’s child welfare system and the juvenile dependency court. Our adult clients face the risk of permanent separation from their children due to allegations of abuse and neglect. Substance use disorder, intimate partner violence, and mental health concerns are commonly presenting issues, often rooted in the layered effects of poverty, marginalization, and intergenerational trauma. DAC was founded on the belief that traditional legal advocacy is insufficient to adequately represent our parent and youth
clients. Our approach to holistic family defense utilizes an interdisciplinary team of attorneys, social workers, and mentor parents to create client-centered legal strategies designed to support the family’s long-term success.

Mission Statement
Dependency Advocacy Center provides zealous legal representation to indigent clients in the juvenile dependency system to promote timely reunification and preservation of families in a safe, healthy environment. DAC believes that every parent and child entering the dependency system has a right to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.

Job Description:
This is a full-time managing attorney position for DAC’s innovative program, First Call for Families (First Call). First Call is a prevention-focused endeavor in collaboration with Santa Clara County’s Social Services Agency (SSA). One of the first of its kind in California, this attorney-led interdisciplinary team offers crucial early access to legal advice and resources designed to help stabilize the family and, where possible, prevent unnecessary entry into the foster care system. Comprised of two staff attorneys, two social workers, three mentor parents with lived child welfare experience, and one part-time paralegal, First Call’s interdisciplinary team provides a creative, holistic approach to pre-petition advocacy and
family-strengthening for families at risk of entry into the formal child welfare system.

The First Call team provides three primary services: (1) advice calls from eligible parents on a toll-free “warm line,” (2) Know Your Rights to educate the community about child welfare system involvement, and (3) limited scope representation to assist with family stabilization and address specific areas of vulnerability such as housing instability, substance use disorder, mental health, and/or domestic violence issues. If a formal petition is filed in dependency court, the First Call attorney may represent the parent through the beginning stages of their legal case.

The primary responsibilities of the First Call Managing Attorney include:

• Managing and supervising the interdisciplinary team;
• Staffing all First Call client and warm line work in collaboration with the team;
• Developing Know Your Rights materials;
• Acting as the liaison with the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS);
• Coordinating outreach efforts and building networks with community partners;
• Working with executive management to ensure all programmatic needs are met, including data collection, budget oversight, and team protocol.

In addition, the managing attorney may take on a limited caseload of clients as appropriate, and as required by the needs of the program.

Desired Qualifications:

• Member in good standing of the State Bar of California;
• High degree of professionalism and strong commitment to social justice;
• Experience working with and advocating for marginalized communities on issues such as housing, family law, mental health, domestic violence, public benefits, immigration and child welfare system involvement;
• Ability to work collaboratively and lead an interdisciplinary team that includes social workers and parents with lived child welfare experience;
• Ability to work compassionately and respectfully with clients in crisis;
• Ability to network and build partnerships with community based organizations
• Trained in cultural competency, motivational interviewing and trauma informed service delivery
• Familiarity with data entry and reporting preferred
• Management experience preferred
• Bilingual Spanish speaking preferred

COVID-19 Considerations
DAC is taking full precautions to keep their staff and clients safe. DAC requires that all staff be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

Application Process
Please send cover letter and resume via email to DACjobs@sccdac.org. In your cover letter, please include the following information: In order to best serve our clients and our community, DAC is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued. How has your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, prepared you to contribute to social justice, race equity, and diversity among our staff?"

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $103,000.00 - $106,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

License/Certification:

• Bar (Required)

Work Location: In person