Remote Public Interest Internship: Child Advocacy
About the Alliance: The Alliance for Children's Rights is a nonprofit organization that provides free holistic legal services and advocacy to youth and families impacted by child welfare and juvenile justice systems in Los Angeles County and works to enact policy changes statewide. Our lawyers, advocates, and social workers, together with hundreds of pro bono attorneys and community volunteers, work to ensure that those we serve have the tools to overcome barriers to stability and success, and access to education, healthcare, and financial supports that they need. Since 1992, we have helped over 150,000 children. For more information visit: www.allianceforchildrensrights.org.
What Your Impact Will Be: The Alliance is recruiting legal externs to work on a variety of child advocacy issues. Interns gain skills in client interaction, legal research, writing, and learning about the dependency court system.
Program areas accepting students include:
· Transition-Age Youth- Support youth with the legal challenges of transitioning out of foster care towards independence. Provide legal services, while also educating youth about their legal rights and empowering them through workshops and access to resources.
· Guardianship- Establish legal guardianship through probate court, allowing caregivers to enroll children in school, get their medical needs met, and obtain financial assistance.
· Children’s Court Advocacy- Assist in representing children and caregivers who do not have a voice in the legal system. Issues include Due Process Advocacy, emancipations, and creation of judicial order of birth when one was never created (Birth Certificates).
In addition to program-specific tasks, interns will:
· Conduct client intake interviews.
· Analyze and assess client needs.
· Work with attorneys to determine legal assistance needed.
· Conduct legal research and prepare legal documents.
· Attend court proceedings.
· Develop resources and educational materials for clients.
The Ideal Candidates Will Possess:
· Must be a current student.
· Ability to work 12+ hours per week within Alliance office hours (M-F 9:00a-5:30p PST).
· Desire to work with foster youth and their caregivers.
· Diversity highly valued.
· Ability to work efficiently, independently, and with attention to detail.
· Spanish fluency preferred for all programs.
Applying:
· Please submit a cover letter and resume to volunteer@alliancecr.org
· Cover letter must specify availability, including first available start date.
· Cover letter must indicate specific program interests, i.e., Children's Court Advocacy, Guardianship, and/or Transition-Age Youth (feel free to indicate more than one program of interest).
· All positions are unpaid but Alliance staff will support students in securing outside funding and course credit.
· Training provided.
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.