Social Services Advocate - PDD Lowell

About the Role

The Social Services Advocate works as part of a multidisciplinary legal defense team to provide zealous advocacy to adult criminal defendants in order to achieve the best possible legal and life outcomes. As part of the defense team, Social Services Advocates collaborate with attorneys, investigators, support staff, retained experts, law students, and other interns. The role involves bio-psychosocial interviewing and assessment, social history investigation, forensic case management, advocacy within court, carceral, mental health, and social service systems, treatment and sentencing planning, report writing, testifying, and connecting clients directly with programs. Intervention occurs at all stages of the court process, from arraignment through resolution and post-conviction.

Responsibilities

• Maintaining close contact with clients over the duration of their case to build strong working relationships;
• Conducting both brief and in-depth interviews with clients respecting their individuality and with cultural humility to obtain client histories; connecting with and interviewing collateral contacts;
• Performing needs assessments, developing treatment or service plans, referring clients to service providers, and making direct connections between clients and programs;
• Gaining comprehensive knowledge of statewide and local programming and services, and working collaboratively with community-based services that support clients;
• Collaborating with defense counsel to develop defense strategies and dispositional options which demonstrate an understanding of the complexities of clients’ whole lives;
• Preparing and presenting courtroom testimony to describe services and dispositional alternatives arranged for the client;
• Preparing detailed and persuasive written advocacy for sentencing and mitigation purposes;
• Advocating for clients in a client-directed practice to facilitate the best possible outcomes;
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a social service field and one year of related experience, or an equivalent combination of skills, education, and experience;
• Access to insured, reliable, and available transportation, and a valid MA driver’s license;
• Access to home internet sufficient to work remotely;
• Must submit a writing sample with your application (e.g., redacted biopsychosocial assessment, client history, clinical assessment, advocacy letter, or academic paper).

Qualifications & Skills

• Experience working with individuals and families of diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, educational, and economic backgrounds;
• Knowledge of social, psychological, environmental, economic, legal, and medical factors that influence behavior;
• Understanding of social structures and institutional barriers that cause disparities, such as systemic racism and poverty;
• Culturally appropriate skills in client interviewing, assessment, case management, and treatment planning;
• Knowledge of public and private social services systems and resources;
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively and persuasively orally and in writing;
• Proven ability to work effectively independently and as part of a team;
• Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships within the office and the service provider community;
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple clients and responsibilities;
• Availability to work occasional evenings and weekends to meet with clients, bring clients to programs, attend meetings, conduct collateral interviews, and handle emergencies;
• Knowledge of defense practice, the criminal legal system, and/or corrections is a plus;
• Bilingual abilities are a plus.

About the Organization

The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) is the state agency in Massachusetts responsible for providing legal representation to individuals who cannot afford an attorney, as required by the state or federal constitution or statute. CPCS represents clients in criminal, delinquency, youthful offender, family regulation, guardianship, mental health, sexually dangerous person, and sex offender registry cases, as well as in appeals and post-conviction proceedings.

The agency is committed to protecting the fundamental constitutional and human rights of its clients through zealous advocacy, community-oriented defense, and excellent legal representation. CPCS embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion as core values, ensuring that its staff represents a broad range of human differences and experiences while fostering a respectful and supportive work climate.

The Lowell Office serves a diverse population, including large communities from Cambodia, China, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil. Lowell is located 30 minutes north of Boston and is accessible via the MBTA Commuter Rail and bus lines.