Education Staff Attorney or Senior Attorney
The Education Program prides itself on providing its team members with the support and resources necessary to be successful. We believe that education (including early intervention) services are essential in creating opportunity for youth, especially those facing systemic barriers to success, including those who face multiple barriers such as children of color and children with disabilities – both of whom are disproportionately over represented in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. We ground our advocacy in our clients’ goals and our vision for creating education equity from an intersectional perspective.
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Assist children with disabilities in the child welfare and juvenile justice system, and their families, to secure the early intervention and special education services they have identified as necessary to their success in school by providing zealous advocacy in IFSP and IEP meetings, informal dispute resolution, mediation, and by filing compliance complaints with the California Department of Education
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Train and supervise pro bono attorneys, interns, and law clerks
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Assist in the development and delivery of community training and tools to support clients, caregivers, and other stakeholders (e.g., CASA, social workers, probation officers) n understanding special education and early intervention rights
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Work with the education team to identify and creatively problem solve issues related to ableism, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. as it arises for our clients and within our internal systems and processes
This job description is of a general nature and is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties of the position.
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Personal, educational, or professional experience in: regional center early intervention advocacy, school district special education advocacy; child welfare, juvenile justice, and/or education systems (e.g., former teacher or social worker, CASA,); and/or working with diverse populations, towards goals of equity and racial justice.
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Bilingual Spanish language skills highly preferred.
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Excellent written and oral communication, active listening, and presentation skills
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Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with clients, attorneys, medical staff, child welfare professionals, the judiciary, and members of the public
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Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to work independently and manage competing tasks in a fast-paced environment
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A strong work ethic, dedication, and enthusiasm for taking on responsibility
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Demonstrated ability to work as team member with a pleasant and collegial approach.
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Commitment to social justice
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Experience and comfort building rapport and working effectively with families, children, and young adults
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Experience with early education, education, juvenile dependency or delinquency courts is helpful
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Familiarity with law, legal procedures and protocols, and court system
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Proactive and flexible, with the ability to work in an environment with shifting priorities and demands.
This is an exempt, full-time paid position, target starting salary range for the staff attorney is $75,000-$79,000, and the senior attorney position ranges from $83,00 to $93,000. Final starting salary offered is contingent on years of relevant experience. Benefits include generous vacation and paid holidays; comprehensive health plans covering 100% of the employee cost of medical, dental and vision insurance; life insurance; flexible spending accounts for childcare and health expenses; generous retirement savings plan with company contributions to your 403(b) after one year of employment, and discounts on fitness memberships and other activities.
To be considered, please send a cover letter and resume to our Education Program Director, Jill Rowland, at [email protected]. Please include in your cover letter any relevant experiences, background, or perspective, professional or otherwise, you have in working with diverse populations and/or towards goals of equity and racial justice.
COVID-19 CONSIDERATIONS:
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, this position worked full time from our Los Angeles office. However, since the pandemic, this position has worked remotely from home with travel into the office or to schools for advocacy meetings as needed. This position may be asked to return to work in the office at any time and at the employer’s discretion. Preference may be given to candidates who live in (or plan to relocate to) Los Angeles county.
Vaccination Requirement
The Alliance is committed to prioritizing and safeguarding the health and well-being of our employees, their families, our clients, and members of our community against the COVID-19 coronavirus. In response to COVID-19 and the increased transmissibilities with recent variants, and to support a safe environment for everyone, all new Alliance employees must provide original documentation confirming they are fully vaccinated, and or evidence of an approved qualifying medical exemption or religious held belief exemption at the time of hire.
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS
To demonstrate our commitment to providing reasonable accommodations to persons who identify as having a disability, we will work with candidates throughout the hiring/interviewing process to provide reasonable accommodations. These can include but are not limited to extended time, breaks, interview questions asked verbally and visually, live transcription, modified format (e.g., teams vs. zoom) based on assistive technology needs of interviewee, such as screen readers, etc.
NON-DISCRIMINATION
The Alliance for Children’s Rights is committed to building and supporting a culturally diverse and inclusive environment that values all staff members’ backgrounds and perspectives in our work. We strongly encourage individuals from all traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, and prohibit discrimination against employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, or any other unlawful basis.
The Alliance for Children’s Rights will consider qualified applicants with a criminal history pursuant to the California Fair Chance Act. You do not need to disclose your criminal history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if the Alliance is concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report. Find out more about the Fair Chance Act by visiting the Civil Rights Department Fair Chance Act webpage.