Job description

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 attorney position for DAC’s innovative program, First Call for Families (First Call). First Call is a collaborative endeavor that launched in 2021 with the goal of preventing unnecessary entry into the dependency court and foster care system. 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 assist parents who are at risk of having their children removed.

With its expansion, the full team will consist of two attorneys, two social workers, and three mentor parents with lived child welfare experience. First Call’s interdisciplinary team takes a creative, holistic approach to pre-petition advocacy and family-strengthening, focusing on parents who have been contacted by the Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS) within the last 12 months or who are currently receiving informal DFCS services.

The First Call attorney will provide the following core services: (1) brief consult and advice calls with eligible parents, (2) “know your rights” community presentations about the child welfare system, 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 domestic violence issues. The attorney will provide legal assistance and limited scope representation in a variety of civil legal matters, with an emphasis on probate and family law matters if the child is at risk of DFCS involvement. If a formal DFCS petition is filed, the First Call attorney may represent the parent through the beginning stages of their legal case in dependency court. When appropriate, there will be a warm hand off to the parent’s ongoing DAC dependency attorney and the First Call team will proactively encourage a successful and communicative relationship with the family’s DFCS social worker to support the goals of family reunification and family preservation. This is NOT a remote position.

In addition, program responsibilities include weekly case staffings with the interdisciplinary First Call team, networking and outreach to local community-based organizations, and ongoing data collection for purposes of evaluating and sustaining the program.

Desired Qualifications

• Member in good standing of the State Bar of California
• Family law experience strongly preferred; some experience in dependency law preferred.
• 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 with 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
• Bilingual Spanish speaking preferred

Application Process

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: $83,000.00 - $93,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Vision insurance

COVID-19 considerations:
DAC requires all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID and to comply with all county guidance and DAC protocols regarding masking requirements. Attorneys are meeting with clients and other staff as needed but working remotely from home occasionally.

Application Question(s):

• Did you include a cover letter indicating why you are interested in the position?
• 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?

Work Location: One location

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