SENIOR ATTORNEY AND PROJECT DIRECTOR - CHILD WELFARE PROJECT

The Center for Children’s Advocacy has an opening for a Senior Attorney and Project Director for its Child Welfare Project. The Child Welfare Project’s mission is to transform Connecticut’s child welfare system to ensure that children are protected from harm and receive the supports and services they need for healthy development, family connection, educational achievement and a successful transition from foster care, and to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the child welfare system. The Project’s systemic reform advocacy includes legislative advocacy, litigation and administrative advocacy, and is guided by the lived experiences of the individual children represented by the Project.

The Center for Children’s Advocacy (CCA) is a non-profit organization, affiliated with the University of Connecticut School of Law, that is dedicated to fighting for the legal rights of Connecticut’s most vulnerable children. To learn more about the Center for Children’s Advocacy, please visit CCA’s website at www.cca-ct.org. CCA’s mission is to protect and promote the legal rights of Connecticut’s low-income children and youth so they have equitable opportunities for good health, a quality education and a successful transition to adulthood. CCA provides legal representation and advocates for system reforms to ensure at-risk children’s basic needs are met and they receive appropriate services from the juvenile justice, education, child welfare, health care and court systems.

CCA is committed to the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. CCA is also committed to advancing racial justice, cultural competence and anti-racism practices and policies internally as well as in the communities it serves.

Responsibilities:

• Drive the Child Welfare Project’s systemic reform advocacy, developing multiyear systemic reform initiatives designed to:
• Increase access to safe and permanent families for children involved in the child welfare system
• Reduce racial and ethnic disparities at various points in the child welfare system
• Ensure the provision of attorneys to all youth 18 and older who have grown up in DCF care and are aging out of care, to help youth get the services and supports they need to successfully transition to independence
• Increase access to developmentally appropriate services and supports for youth aging out of the child welfare system
• Improve representation of children by court-appointed attorneys
• Engage in legislative, administrative, litigation and public education efforts to carry out the Project’s systemic reform initiatives.
• Collaborate with other CCA attorneys, other legal advocacy organizations, youth advisory boards, and other groups of youth with lived experience on the Project’s systemic reform initiatives.
• Meet regularly with child welfare system stakeholders to develop and implement systemic reforms, based on data and best practices, to identify and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in child welfare involvement.
• To ensure the Project’s systemic advocacy is guided by children’s lived experiences, carry a reasonable client caseload of children who are alleged to have been abused or neglected and are involved in the child welfare system, providing high-quality legal representation to the whole child, in the juvenile court and at administrative meetings, including advocating with DCF and other providers for appropriate services;
• Manage CCA’s Child Advocacy Clinic course , teach clinic classes, with potential for “adjunct” teaching status; supervise law student interns working at CCA;
• Improve the practice of contract attorneys representing children and parents in child welfare proceedings statewide.
• Plan, deliver and participate in statewide pre-service and in-service trainings to contract attorneys new to juvenile court practice, as well as additional trainings as they may arise
• Provide technical assistance, support, and advice to attorneys statewide who seek assistance on child welfare issues
• Identify and deliver updates on the law and child welfare system policies and practices, to attorneys who represent children and parents in child welfare proceedings, via the Project’s listserv
• Update and maintain a pleadings bank on CCA’s website
• Update CCA publications related to the child welfare system

Minimum Qualifications:

The Center is seeking an attorney who has a demonstrated commitment to providing high-quality legal representation for children in the child welfare system, via both systemic policy advocacy and traditional litigation. Applicant must be able to take initiative and work independently. Knowledge of child welfare law is necessary; a minimum of three years of related legal experience is required. Must be eligible to  practice law in Connecticut, either as a member of the bar in good standing or with the ability to waive in, and have access to transportation in order to travel to courts, clients, and other locations.

Salary/Benefits:

Salary and benefits are commensurate with experience and are within the general range of salaries for public interest organizations. Salary range for this position is $76,400 to $102,800 annually, depending on expertise and prior experience. Hybrid/remote work flexibility.  Benefits include full health and dental for employee and partial coverage for family; 3% pension and 25 PTO days, all state holidays.

Application Process:

Email cover letter and detailed resume to employment@cca-ct.org.

CCA is an equal opportunity employer that actively seeks a diverse and vibrant work staff. CCA does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran.