Social Worker - Criminal Defense Practice

The Bronx Defenders (BxD) – an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx – seeks a passionate Social Worker to join the Criminal Defense Practice.

Founded in 1997, The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense, which provides people with teams of lawyers, social workers, and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement.

Since opening our doors, we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers each year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings who face incarceration, family separation, eviction, and deportation, among other devastating consequences.

Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further, using community organizing and engagement, legislative advocacy, and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about long-lasting systemic change.

We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders. We run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders from one end of the country to the next on how to move to a holistic model of representation.

The Criminal Defense Practice

The Bronx is one of the most aggressively policed boroughs in New York City. As a result, we represent thousands of people each year, nearly 40% of whom are charged with low-level offenses such as shoplifting, traffic offenses, and drug possession. As part of our holistic approach, we spend time getting to know the people we represent and gaining a deeper understanding of their lives and needs. With that understanding, we advocate for people by thoroughly investigating their cases, raising novel legal arguments, using creative tools of persuasion and storytelling, and addressing needs that go beyond the scope of their cases.

Social Work

Effectively fighting for people facing legal charges requires knowing and understanding their goals and needs beyond those related to a single case or legal matter. Our Social Work Practice provides an understanding of people’s lives and the challenges that are connected to their involvement in the various legal systems. The expertise of our Masters-level social workers and non-legal advocates helps people secure positive case outcomes and address the issues that drove them into the legal system in the first place.

Responsibilities

Strategizing with attorneys and other advocates, Criminal Defense Practice Social Workers are integral members of interdisciplinary defense teams and play critical roles in court and community-based client advocacy. Social Workers identify, investigate, and contextualize the life circumstances of the people we represent to humanize them before the court, mitigate sentencing exposure, and address the underlying drivers and enmeshed consequences of criminal legal system involvement.

In close collaboration with attorneys, investigators, and other advocates, Social Workers engage in bail and release advocacy, coordinate with treatment programs and social service providers, develop and implement mitigation strategy throughout the life of a case, author mitigation reports, and support the people we represent as they navigate high-stakes court proceedings and periods of incarceration.

Responsibilities include:

• Collaborate with attorneys and other advocates on holistic defense teams to identify and advance the legal goals of the people we represent.
• Interview and assess clients to identify strengths, resources, risks, and needs relevant to strategic case advocacy.
• Provide in-court social work support at arraignments, including rapid client engagement, assessment, and release advocacy in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.
• Engage in oral advocacy with judges, prosecutors, specialty court staff, and program staff throughout the life of a case – from arrest and arraignment through sentencing.
• Connect clients with community and jail-based services, treatment providers, and programming to advance their legal goals.
• Support clients’ participation in case-related programming.
• Conduct crisis intervention, de-escalation, and safety planning with clients navigating court proceedings, detention, and community-based supervision.
• Develop and implement comprehensive mitigation plans tailored to each person’s life history, strengths, needs, and legal posture.
• Conduct thorough social-history interviews with the people we represent and collateral interviews with members of their communities.
• Gather, review, and synthesize records—including medical, mental health, educational, child welfare, and institutional records—along with social-science research to contextualize life experiences and inform mitigation theory.
• Prepare persuasive written advocacy materials, including mitigation reports and sentencing submissions, for judges and prosecutors that contextualize clients’ life experiences and argue for reduced sentencing or alternative outcomes.
• Prepare clients for court-ordered or defense-initiated behavioral health evaluations and assist in interpreting external assessments.
• Maintain consistent contact with clients, including regular visits to NYC jail facilities, court appearances, and meetings in the community.
• Advocate for clients’ access to medical care, mental health services, medications, and programming while incarcerated.
• Cultivate relationships with community programs, service providers, specialty court staff, and jail-based staff to strengthen support networks for clients.
• Work collaboratively within interdisciplinary teams and participate in case conferences, strategy meetings, and practice-wide meetings and trainings.
• In close consultation with attorneys, support clients through difficult decision-making related to pleas, court mandates, and service engagement.
• Maintain timely and accurate case documentation in Bronx Defenders’ case management and client file systems.

Qualifications

To be eligible, candidates must have:

• Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from an accredited School of Social Work.

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Deep commitment to holistic public defense, racial justice, and advocacy for people ensnared in the criminal legal system.
• Experience working with racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically marginalized communities targeted by carceral systems.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to quickly build trust with clients and their families in high-stress, high-stakes circumstances.
• Ability to collaborate respectfully and effectively with attorneys, investigators, social workers, other advocates, and external service providers.
• Commitment to fierce, client-centered advocacy and willingness to strategically challenge authority in defense of the people we represent.
• Strong analytical skills and capacity to integrate non-legal, psychosocial information into strategic advocacy and mitigation strategy.
• Knowledge of mental health, substance use, trauma, domestic violence, parenting, and related service systems.
• Ability to conduct crisis intervention, including de-escalation, and provide grounded, trauma-informed support during moments of distress.
• Ability to conduct social history interviewing with individuals experiencing trauma, mental-health symptoms, cognitive limitations, or other vulnerabilities.
• Strong assessment and program matching skills
• Strong oral advocacy and written advocacy skills, including the ability to draft persuasive mitigation reports and sentencing submissions.
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities, meet deadlines, and work effectively in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.
• Meticulous attention to detail and strong organizational skills.
• Ability to think critically and creatively, finding innovative solutions to unique obstacles.
• Ability to exercise sound professional judgment, discretion, and confidentiality with sensitive matters.
• Openness to feedback, demonstrated introspection, cultural humility, and willingness to adjust practice accordingly.

This is an in-person position requiring 5 days per week in office.

Salary is commensurate with experience. For candidates with 1-10 years of directly relevant experience, the salary range for this position would be approximately $87,177 to $$114,577. Full-time employees are also eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy.

Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFL-CIO). This position is within the bargaining unit.

This position is exempt. By law, nonexempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to overtime, whereas exempt employees are not.

To apply, combine your resume and cover letter into one document, please label it with your first and last name and upload to Idealist.org. Your resume will be used to determine your salary based on the number of years of directly relevant professional experience and should include all relevant professional experience. Applications without a written cover letter will not be considered.

The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is cultivating a workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent, and those directly impacted by criminal, civil, family, and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we work with.

Full-time employees are also eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy.

Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFL-CIO). This position is within the bargaining unit.