Policy Counsel (Staff Attorney, Family Defense Practice)

The Center for Family Representation Inc. (CFR) is an award-winning, innovative law and policy organization that serves primarily Black and Brown families and youth in Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx with an interdisciplinary legal defense model that serves more than 2400 clients every year. CFR was originally founded in 2002 to dramatically change the trajectory of indigent parents being prosecuted by the City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). Our goal is to defend and protect our clients’ rights, reduce the harm of family separation and prevent or minimize the time any child spends in the foster system. CFR provides interdisciplinary family defense with a model that was unique at our founding and that is now being replicated nationally: we assign every client an attorney and a social work staff member, and teams have the support of parent advocates, who are parents with direct personal experience of being investigated and prosecuted by ACS. CFR was the first agency in the country to integrate parents with lived experience into legal teams and now has 6 parent advocates working in all three of our family defense locations. CFR’s Community Advocacy Project represents parents during a child protective investigation (to avoid court involvement where possible) and assists parents in clearing their names from state maltreatment records.

As an agency committed to securing justice for families, we built the Youth Defense practice (YDP) to defend youth at risk of family separation through incarceration. YDP uses the same interdisciplinary model to represent youth being prosecuted in Queens and Manhattan in Supreme Court Youth Parts, during Probation Adjustment and in Delinquency proceedings in Family Court. CFR’s Home for Good program provides legal and social work services to clients in immigration, civil legal services and criminal defense matters, to afford clients an efficient and well-coordinated one-stop solution to a range of issues that threaten family stability.

Recognized as experts in our fields, we annually train over 500 practitioners in the city, state and around the country on strategies to promote family preservation and interdisciplinary representation, and we provide community based “Know Your Rights” presentations to parents, youth and service providers. We advocate at the city, state and national level for policies that reduce the harm of family separation, and promote parent engagement and justice for youth and families.

The Policy Counsel will serve on CFR’s interdisciplinary policy team, working to advance anti-racist policies that seek to eliminate or reduce the harms of the family regulation, adult and youth incarceration, immigration, and housing systems. This position will have a family defense focus, but may also involve work in our other practice areas. The Policy Counsel will be responsible for overseeing policy initiatives and projects as well as cultivating and maintaining CFR’s work with elected officials. This person will collaborate with the entire policy team to develop and further CFR’s policy priorities. They will help coordinate and support the activities of CFR’s External Engagement Team (EET) and other ad hoc policy projects that involve staff at all levels and participate in coalitions of advocates and impacted communities. This position is full time and will be supervised by the Litigation Supervisor for Policy and Government Affairs.

Specific Responsibilities will include:

• Identify and monitor legislation that impacts any of CFR’s practice areas: family defense, youth defense, criminal, housing, public benefits, and immigration at the city, state, and federal level. Act as point of contact for legislative staff of City and State officials, coalition partners, and legislative and policy staff for other institutional providers.
• Coordinate and/or draft CFR writing on legislation (drafting memos in support or opposition, legislative language, testimony on legislation, etc.). Involve interested staff when available and appropriate. Depending on the issue, this work will involve the Executive Director, the Development and Communications team, and/or work with reporters and media outlets.
• Participate in legislative and policy coalitions and act as a liaison to the policy team to insure that the work of those groups is supported by and integrated with CFR’s policy work.
• Assist with facilitation of monthly (and as needed) meetings with the policy team, that include the ED and other needed directors, and larger group staff meetings on specific policy topics, including EET meetings as appropriate to discuss policy activity, new legislation, policy statements, etc. Coordinate EET and staff involvement with policy.
• Contribute to and prepare op-eds, articles and public statements reflecting CFR’s policy priorities and initiatives, working with CFR’s Communications Manager.
• Develop expertise in assigned policy areas and help design campaigns to advance policy initiatives, both at CFR and in coalition with community partners.
• Advocate for CFR’s policy priorities by testifying at City Council and State hearings, during meetings with elected officials, and community meetings and external and internal presentations, including to EET and staff training.
• Participate with the ED, Litigation Supervisor for Policy & Government Affairs, and individually in meetings with elected officials for both the City and the State, their budget directors and staff, particularly during budget season. Send follow up communications.
• Collaborate in the development of priorities that amplify the voices and choices of impacted parents, youth, and families

• Coordinate and participate in Advocacy Days supporting CFR’s policy priorities.

Communications and Social Media: Working closely with the Communications Manager, Litigation Supervisor for Policy & Government Affairs, and pertinent development staff, to identify content for social media and collaborate on specific social media posting projects related to CFR’s policy priorities.

Candidates for this position should have at least two years of experience as a family defense attorney and be committed to working with impacted communities to achieve change. Specific experience with legislation and/or coalition membership is preferred. This person should be able to demonstrate an aptitude for productive problem-solving, an ability and desire to work with impacted communities, and the ability to positively and productively contribute to the work culture at CFR in working with staff at all levels. This person should be able to demonstrate a commitment to CFR’s current DEI work. Candidates for this position also need to have strong written and oral advocacy, and be well organized in order to work efficiently and effectively, managing numerous projects and being simultaneously attentive to multiple deadlines.