Education Advocate

Overview

The Bronx Defenders (BxD) – an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx – seeks an Education Advocate with a commitment to public defense to join our (ADP) the Education Defense Project working within our Adolescent Defense Project.

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 Adolescent Defense Project

The Adolescent Defense Project (ADP) is a specialized division of Criminal Defense Practice (CDP) which provides representation for our youngest clients, 14-17-year-olds who are charged with felonies. Every youth receives the expertise of a trained adolescent defense attorney, social worker, and education attorney/advocate. Our team works together to mitigate the consequences of youths’ arrests, provide youths with holistic support in addressing issues that led to their legal involvement (such as special education needs, mental health, substance use, and trauma histories), and prepare them to attain their future goals. The Adolescent Defense Project not only provides zealous and holistic defense for the youth we represent but also advocates for youth justice reform at both the local and state levels. The Bronx Defenders’ holistic representation model provides the youth we represent with access to advocates who can support them across the immigration, civil, and family regulation systems.

Education Defense Project

The Education Defense Project provides young people with advocacy to ensure they can access the education they deserve—and in doing so, support their learning and assist them in avoiding incarceration, or further disruption in education. We partner deeply with young people and their loved ones to develop a comprehensive understanding of their life circumstances, the traumas and barriers that they face, and the scaffolding they need to meet their educational goals.

Responsibilities

Strategizing with lawyers and other advocates as part of a confidential legal team, the Education Advocate will work closely with the Education Attorney to advocate for our clients’ educational needs. The Education Advocate will draw on lived experiences and will offer authentic, empathetic advice, guidance, and advocacy. Our Education Advocate will meet young people at critical junctures: leaving an incarceratory setting, entering a new school after months or years of absences and disengagement, or after a major suspension or disciplinary situation. Using a client-centered approach, the Education Advocate will work closely with young people to facilitate a path forward that aligns with the client’s vision for education success. The Education Advocate will guide the client by helping to lay out the steps, providing in-person support as the young person moves forward, and =remaining engaged with clients until they have reached a level of stability at school, in a trade program, or HSE program. The Education Advocate will also work with the clients to help them identify adults who can continue to support the clients in the completion of their educational goals.

Responsibilities

Client Engagement

• Interview and assess clients to identify educational strengths, resources, and needs
• Assist clients in navigating the education, legal, and administrative systems, and support clients’ participation in case-related programming
• Collaborate with attorneys and social workers to conduct crisis intervention, de-escalation, and safety planning with clients navigating court, administrative, and educational requirements
• Develop educational plans with clients that meet the requirements for criminal case disposition, and/or family and immigration proceedings
• Maintain consistent communication with clients, including visit clients at NYC jail facilities and treatment programs, attending “welcome back” and enrollment meetings with clients at schools and the family welcome center
• Gather, review, and synthesize clients' records, including educational, mental health, and institutional records, to contextualize life experiences and inform educational planning.

Client Advocacy

• Advocate for clients’ educational needs in the Bronx Criminal Court, Family Court, and Immigration Court as needed
• Advocate for clients’ needs and goals in schools and with community-based programs,
• Work closely with clients and holistic defense team to identify clients’ educational goals, strategize to meet those goals, and assess progress,
• Represent clients in suspension hearings and in Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings,
• Write education-related mitigation memoranda for judges and prosecutors utilizing psychosocial interviews of clients and collateral sources; medical, mental health, and school records; and social science research.

Policy and Community Engagement

• Cultivate relationships with schools, community programs, and social service providers,
• Work with the policy team to engage in policy advocacy that uplifts clients’ voices and experiences within the education system,
• Develop expertise in educational placements and schools,
• Provide educational trainings to The Bronx Defenders staff and community partners working with young people.

Qualifications:

To be eligible, candidates must have:

• Lived experience attending middle or high school while experiencing criminal, juvenile, or family regulation system involvement, and/or
• Experience engaging in education advocacy for students with disabilities and/or school discipline advocacy, and
• Experience engaging and working with young people ensnared by the criminal legal system.

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Commitment to working with school-aged people navigating the criminal legal system, family regulation system, and immigration system,
• Experience working in and with racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically marginalized and criminalized communities
• Commitment to fierce advocacy, and willingness to strategically challenge authority in defense of clients
• Knowledge of substance use disorder, domestic violence, parenting, and mental health systems
• Ability to effectively and respectfully communicate, collaborate, and connect with people with various backgrounds, identities, and experiences
• Ability to work well independently as well as collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team of lawyers and non-lawyers
• Ability to multitask, maintain order and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Ability to think critically and creatively in fast-paced settings
• Strong analytical skills and capacity to employ non-legal resources while advocating in their legal case
• Strong communication skills: verbal, written and active listening
• Ability to receive feedback constructively and reflect and shift behavior accordingly
• Ability to exercise excellent judgment, discretion, and confidentiality with sensitive matters

Spanish language proficiency (validated objectively), is a plus but not required

Salary is commensurate with experience. For candidates with 0-10 years of directly relevant experience, the salary range for this position would be approximately $68,500

$81,655. 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; and 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, non-exempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to overtime, whereas exempt employees are not.

The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining 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 in fact specifically 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 serve.

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; and 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, non-exempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to overtime, whereas exempt employees are not.

Spanish language proficiency (validated objectively), is a plus but not required.