Forensic Social Worker - Colorado State Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel

How to Apply: https://fs2.formsite.com/OADC/usmqqv1dzz/login https://fs2.formsite.com/OADC/usmqqv1dzz/login

Job Description: The Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel offers an exciting opportunity for skilled Licensed Social Workers (LSW) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) to engage as independently contracted members of the criminal defense team representing adults and children who the government has charged with criminal and delinquent offenses. While clinical supervision and training are offered, exceptional candidates will be self-motivated and possess strong organizational skills. Candidates will practice at the clinical and macro-level of the youth and adult criminal system, engaging with clients and their families to offer the best legal defense. Candidates will possess a strong orientation towards social justice and criminal defense. We are committed to affirming equity and diversity and seek to provide a safe and welcoming environment. We strongly encourage people from underrepresented groups to apply.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Conducts work as a member of the defense team while adhering to the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct regarding client-attorney privilege and confidentiality.
• Assists the attorney/client team with the identification and collection of mitigation evidence to support mitigation themes, and advocates for alternative sentencing options when appropriate. May assist in plea negotiations at the direction of the attorney.
• Identifies, locates, and conducts in person interviews with individuals relevant to mitigation in a culturally responsive manner and identifies and analyzes relevant records pertaining to mitigation.
• Compiles comprehensive well-documented social history/mitigation reports for presentation to the defense team, experts, district attorneys, court or jury, treatment providers or others as appropriate.
• Assists the legal team in identifying and understanding major mental illness, intellectual and developmental disability, substance use issues, individual and transgenerational trauma, and neurological issues resulting from congenital or traumatic brain injury.
• Summarizes and provides experts with legal, medical, psychological, educational, and institutional records, at the direction of the attorney, to highlight relevant information for their review.
• Engages in intensive case management and resource identification to support the legal case with a focus on identifying alternatives to incarceration and detention.
• Analyzes all relevant information and consults with the attorney on theories of mitigation and theory of defense to assist in presenting a comprehensive and cohesive case.
• May assist in crisis intervention or risk assessment with approval or direction from the attorney. • May include overnight travel.

Required Qualifications: MSW, SWC, LSW, or LCSW

Preferred Qualifications: LSW, SWC, LCSW

Compensation: $55/hr LSW; $66/hr LCSW

Agency Mission

The mission of the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel (OADC), through the practice of holistic public defense, is to help adults and children who the government has charged with criminal and delinquent offenses. The OADC's holistic practice model fosters ethical, informed, and standard-driven best practices in public defense. The OADC allocates resources in a manner intentionally designed to rebalance the disparate power wielded by the government in the criminal legal system. We advocate for every client's inherent worth and dignity by centering the client's experiences and voice to achieve the best legal outcome. The OADC is dedicated to zealous, client-centered advocacy rooted in social justice, integrity, and humility. We recognize that we are working within a broken and racist criminal legal system. We also acknowledge that public defense advocates play an essential role in challenging bias and disparity within the courtroom, within our offices, and within ourselves. There is a disparate presence of violent policing, over-charging, and harsher sentencing outcomes for Colorado's people of color and other vulnerable populations. The OADC is unwavering in its support of decarceration, the decriminalization of youth, and equity within the criminal legal system.