Senior Attorney - Youth Homelessness Prevention

WHO WE ARE

Headquartered in Seattle, with regional offices in Pierce, Spokane and Yakima counties, TeamChild is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization providing civil legal aid to vulnerable youth across Washington State. The mission of TeamChild is to uphold the rights of youth involved, or at risk of involvement, in the juvenile court system. TeamChild works to help youth secure the education, healthcare, housing, and other supports needed to achieve positive outcomes in their lives. TeamChild believes that racial and other social identities should be respected and affirmed. In support of this belief, an equitable and inclusive organization is being built. Staff, volunteers and board members are being given the tools to address institutional racism and other forms of oppression. This commitment provides a foundation for empowering the youth and families; ensuring they are justly represented and their desires are amply fulfilled.

ABOUT TEAMCHILD

TeamChild is a nationally recognized nonprofit legal aid organization serving youth across Washington State, with office locations in Seattle, Tacoma, Yakima and Spokane. TeamChild’s mission is to uphold the rights of youth involved, or at risk of involvement, in the juvenile legal system to help them secure the education, healthcare, housing and other support they need to achieve positive outcomes in their lives. We have three mutually reinforcing program strategies: legal services, policy advocacy, and training and community education. Core to all of our work is our legal services program, which reaches youth 12-24 years old in four of Washington’s largest counties as well as youth incarcerated in our state’s juvenile prisons. Our clients are youth and young adults who are entangled in juvenile court and the child welfare system and need civil legal advocacy to prevent homelessness, access education and employment, and get their basic health and other needs met. In our work, we also aim to move systems away from exclusion, punishment, arrest, and incarceration towards more effective and community-based strategies that address root causes and provide culturally meaningful and developmentally appropriate support and opportunities for young people.

At TeamChild, we believe that racial and other social identities should be respected and affirmed. In support of this belief, we are trying to build an equitable and inclusive organization and providing our team of staff, volunteers, and Board members with the tools to address institutionalized racism and other forms of oppression. All members of our team are responsible for providing and supporting an equitable and inclusive work environment that will enrich our interactions with each other and our advocacy. This responsibility provides the foundation for empowering the children and families that we serve so their needs are justly represented, and their desires amply fulfilled.

OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE

TeamChild seeks a passionate and talented attorney with expertise in helping youth and young adults navigate housing stability and family conflict, especially understanding CHINS/ARY, filing dependencies, emancipations, youth shelter access, the overuse of detention and incarceration to respond to unhoused youth, and the overlap these issues have with the need for wrap around support and other supportive services. This position will provide direct legal advocacy to clients in our four main geographic areas: Spokane, Pierce, Yakima, and King, as well as youth who are unable to be released from detention facilities due to lack of housing from regions across the state. Senior Attorneys are supported by the Director of Legal Services. In addition to handling a moderate caseload, Senior Attorneys provide mentoring and support for all legal program staff in their substantive area of focus. This includes co-counseling cases, providing advice and consultation to attorneys about their cases, developing substantive training to all staff in their area of focus, and contributing to the creation of case handling resources (briefs, advocacy letters, and other templates/resources). Senior Attorneys will also participate in community engagement, outreach/training, and systemic advocacy related to their substantive area of focus.

PRIMARY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

ADVOCACY

• Directly represents clients ages 12 to 24 with a variety of civil legal needs, with a focus on cases involving housing and other related legal issues. This includes:
• Self-advocacy assistance, advice and counsel, negotiation, representation in administrative hearings, litigation in state and federal court, and administrative and policy advocacy
• Co-counseling cases with other TeamChild Staff Attorneys and Managing Attorneys
• Stays up to date on legal developments in the areas of housing stability for youth and young adults law
• Maintains a reduced client case load in order to provide consultation, case support, and cocounseling opportunities for staff attorneys and managing attorneys
• Maintains timely and accurate records in accordance with internal case management duties, reporting requirements, records retention schedules, laws and regulations, ethics and conflicts of interest, and other requirements
• Conducts outreach and training to increase the capacity of youth and communities to be self-advocates, professionals and stakeholders to advance awareness about housing rights issues, and inform the public about TeamChild’s services, based on need and capacity
• Travels throughout Washington State as needed
• Being flexible to the nature of providing legal representation to youth
• Exhibits work performance consistent with the Washington Rules of Professional Conduct

SUPPORT

• Consults with and supports Staff Attorneys and Managing Attorneys in their housing advocacy by advising and sharing resources about case strategies, including contributing to internal case handling manual on topics related to areas of expertise
• Facilitates collaborative learning opportunities and trainings about housing law within the organization
• Cultivates relationships with other attorneys and volunteers for collaboration and referrals
• Participates in or coordinates representation of TeamChild in external workgroups, task forces, and other collaborations related to their substantive area of focus
• Educates policymakers and stakeholders on housing law related issues, in collaboration with TeamChild’s Director of Policy and Advocacy
• Writes organized and concise public and internal reports regarding developments in housing law and the needs of our client community
• Works collaboratively on teams with a spirit of cooperation to support any of TeamChild’s advocacy, litigation, and internal organizational development. This includes reviewing relevant case documents, timely response to requests for case support, attending meetings, and participating in internal work groups
• Supports staff in offices where there are vacancies or extended periods of leave
• Collaborates with other TeamChild staff to plan and develop agency priorities, goals, and objectives; and prepare annual program and performance reports
• Consistently applies and enthusiastically supports the values, mission, and goals of TeamChild
• Exercises discretion, independent judgment, and ethical approaches in job performance
• Performs other duties, as assigned through collaborative team decision making and by Director of Legal Services

SKILLS AND QUALIFICAITONS

We are seeking candidates who are committed to social justice and are passionate legal advocates for youth. Candidates should work well both independently and as a team member, be respectful and passionate about working with people from diverse backgrounds, enjoy creative problem solving, and value the creation of relationships across disciplines. Additional qualifications include:

• Exceptional legal skills, preferably in the relevant areas of law: dependency, CHINS/ARY, emancipation, deinstitutionalization of youth unnecessarily housed in detention and psychiatric facilities, coordination of wrap around and other supportive services to support community-based housing for youth and young adults, or other areas of youth-related law (preference for 5 years or more of legal experience)
• Experience filing dependencies, CHINs, emancipations and other forms of housing advocacy
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills
• Member in good standing of the Washington State Bar Association or eligible for reciprocity or willing to seek admission to the Washington State Bar Association
• Demonstrated competence working with youth, especially adolescents, and diverse people and communities
• High level of integrity; commitment to following the Rules of Professional Conduct and upholding ethical standards, including client confidentiality and zealous advocacy for client-directed goals
• Must have a valid driver’s license and ability to travel throughout the state to meet client and agency needs (Including access to a vehicle to meet daily client needs within the first 90 days of employment)
• Must live and be authorized to work in Washington State and be proximate to one of TeamChild’s offices
• Strong organizational, technology (case management systems, Microsoft Suite), and project management skills
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with community stakeholders (other advocates and social service providers) and co-workers
• Anti-racist analysis and commitment to undoing institutional racism and other forms of oppression
• Demonstrated alignment with TeamChild Values: Centering Youth, Anti-Racism, Wholeness, Accountability
• Personal connection with our client communities preferred, including lived experience with juvenile court, criminal court, foster care, homelessness, and special education

CULTURE

TeamChild is a unique, values-driven organization that is boldly committed to creating and maintaining a work environment that supports collaboration, inclusion, shared-accountability, distributed power and non-hierarchical operations. At its core, TeamChild fights for effective solutions and community-driven strategies that nurture and develop the health and wellbeing of young people, instead of exclusion and incarceration. Individuals who work for TeamChild are naturally aligned with the following:

• A commitment to anti-racism, anti-oppression, intersectional equity analysis.
• A focus on relationship building.
• An ability to listen with an open mind and a deep commitment to including and respecting diverse viewpoints.
• Values collaboration and inclusive decision-making.
• A proactive, passionate, and collaborative attitude.
• A foundation of self-awareness that provides space for learning and growth.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

TeamChild has offices in Seattle, Pierce, Spokane, and Yakima that are generally open on weekdays between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The physical demands and work environment described below represent those required and encountered by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Able to input information into a computer for long periods of time.
• Able to remain stationary for extended periods.
• Able to assess information communicated through a computer.
• Able to work some evenings, weekends, holidays, and extended hours in occasional emergent circumstances.
• Able to travel locally as needed

This job description provides a general but not comprehensive list of the essential responsibilities and qualifications required. It does not represent a contract of employment. TeamChild reserves the right to change the description and/or posting at any time without advance notice.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

This is a full-time position that requires a willingness to work some evenings and weekends, as well as travel within the state. The salary range for this position is $86,833 to $109,000, depending on years of experience. Senior attorneys receive a $5,000 bump to TeamChild’s base attorney salary scale to compensate for their expertise and support role that is included in the salary range listed here. The low end of the listed salary range is based on 5 years of legal experience.

TeamChild offers full benefits including medical, dental, vision, Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), generous paid time off, long- and short-term disability, life insurance, and options to set up Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and 403b retirement accounts. TeamChild also offers an annual $1,000 wellness benefit to employees.

TeamChild provides a $5,000 moving bonus to those individuals who are relocating to Washington State from elsewhere.

Full job description can be found here