Job Description: Work within a holistic defense team to advocate and support children at the East Baton Rouge Public Defender’s Office – juvenile services.
Must Have: Deep commitment for youth facing court involvement in East Baton Rouge with the ability to communicate well with young people and their families. Access to a vehicle for use in local travel, cell phone, willingness to work outside of normal business hours.
Start Date: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
The Community You Will Join: Through the untiring efforts of well-trained, professional public defenders, the East Baton Rouge Public Defenders Office (OPDBR) provides zealous advocacy on behalf of indigent persons accused of crimes, providing holistic, dedicated, skilled, and client-directed advocacy for more than 600 indigent young people in the city’s juvenile justice system every year. Our clients are represented by multidisciplinary teams; case managers, social workers, attorneys, and investigators; that develop and implement comprehensive advocacy plans to help children achieve their goals in court and in life.
Position Responsibilities: The Youth Advocate uses mentorship and case management to help clients reach their goals in court and in the community.
The responsibilities of Youth Advocates include:
· Implementing comprehensive service plans for clients, created by the multidisciplinary team and driven by the clients stated interests and goals;
· Building and maintaining strong relationships of trust with clients and families, providing ongoing support and mentorship, and being available to respond to clients’ evolving needs;
· Assisting social worker in making referrals, finding placements, and assisting with logistics and enrollment to help clients and their families access needed services and benefits;
· Working closely with clients to ease reentry into the community from juvenile detention;
· Helping clients to comply with conditions of probation, parole, and supervised release;
- Becoming and remaining familiar with educational options for youth in the East Baton Rouge area, including traditional schools and available systems to find educational placements that will help clients succeed;
- Assisting social worker in navigating school systems to find educational placements that will help clients succeed;
- Advocating for clients’ rights to effective special education services, and assisting in representing clients at school disciplinary and expulsion hearings;
- Gathering educational, medical, and other records;
- Testifying in court, as needed;
- Assisting with client intake processes;
- Consulting with staff attorneys and with social workers, as appropriate, on progress and results;
- Transporting clients to appointments or court dates as needed as well as developing comprehensive transportation plan for the client;
- Thoroughly documenting all work and all information gathered;
- Collaborating with Office of the State Public Defender and East Baton Rouge Parish Public Defender’s Office in strategic planning and implementation, and in realizing the office’s mission and vision through refinement of existing projects and new project development; and
- Other projects as directed by the Office of the State Public Defender/East Baton Rouge Parish Public Defender’s Office.
Youth Advocates must perform all duties in accordance with applicable law, ethical rules, and the performance standards promulgated by the East Baton Rouge Public Defender’s Office.
Youth Advocates will be provided with intensive training in areas including communicating with clients; developmental psychology; navigating the school system in East Baton Rouge; and applicable professional, ethical, and legal rules.
Reporting Relationships
The Youth Advocate is supervised by the District Defender, while programmatic oversight, reporting requirements, and compliance expectations are provided by the Office of the State Public Defender.
Required Qualifications
- Deep commitment to the defense of youth and to OPDBR client-centered ethic, which recognizes that all advocacy must be driven by the expressed interests of clients;
- Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to develop rapport with a wide range of people;
- Strong work ethic;
- Creativity, critical thinking, and flexibility in helping clients solve problems and meet challenges;
- Strong attention to detail in daily work, including scheduling and meeting a complex set of demands;
- Ability to work independently with the desire and determination to work hard in timely meeting their client’s expressed goals;
- Car ownership, or daily use of a car, with a valid driver’s license and insurance; and the ability to drive children and families throughout the area;
- Applicants must be at least 21 years of age
- Willingness to submit to a background check.
Preferred Qualifications
- Familiarity with developmental psychology, mental health issues, the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, and/or the geography, history, and people of East Baton Rouge;
- Experience working with low-income clients and young people of East Baton Rouge;
- Having knowledge of the different community programs/resources that can help / assist our clients to be successful;
- Understanding of relevant law and of the juvenile justice system;
- Bachelor’s Degree.
Salary and Compensation
OPDBR offers a competitive benefits package that includes employer contributions toward health insurance, retirement contributions in lieu of Social Security, paid vacation and sick leave, and optional dental and vision coverage. Employees may select from multiple health insurance plan options based on individual or family needs.
The position is a hybrid of in-person and remote work, and is full-time. No other compensated work is permitted.
To Apply
Please send a cover letter, resume, and a list of three references in a single document to [email protected]. In the subject of your email, put “Youth Advocate”.
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Baton Rouge, LA 70802
