Community Justice Legal System Advocate - Burien/SKC

Evergreen Treatment Services • Burien, WA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The REACH Program of Evergreen Treatment Services works with individuals experiencing homelessness and behavioral health conditions to help them achieve stability and improved quality of life. The REACH mission is to foster community health and safety through outreach, relationship, healing interventions and systems advocacy for people who use drugs. REACH provides outreach-based-care coordination, multidisciplinary clinical services, and supports to access and maintain housing. All services are based in principles of harm reduction that offer respect and dignity to individuals moving through stages of change in their lives. REACH incorporates a racial equity lens that includes naming the impact and actively dismantling systems of oppression rooted in White Supremacy, while addressing the root causes perpetuating historical trauma and immense suffering in individuals’ lives. We are committed to building a robust behavioral health response that diverts people away from jail by rebuilding community and providing services to ensure those presently marginalized aren’t just surviving, but able to thrive. REACH offers an array of services ranging from survival support provided where folks are living outside to linkages to essential resources such as housing, assistance to resolve legal issues, health care, entitlements and easily accessible treatment for substance use disorders and mental health conditions. The REACH team is passionate about creating a hospitable and welcoming environment for all people while providing quality services on an individually tailored basis to our clientele. REACH values diversity of lived experience, is committed to racial equity and social justice, and appreciates hard work, creativity, and a good sense of humor. People who have been impacted by the criminal legal system are encouraged to apply. This dynamic position plays an important role in helping ETS accomplish our mission! The LEAD Legal System Advocate role is part of the REACH Community Justice team that supports ETS’ mission through providing administrate support to case managers by staying current on legal advocacy requirements and processes, maintaining updated paperwork, engaging in high level communication, and maintaining effective collaboration with diversion prosecutorial partners and community stakeholders. This role makes a critical difference at ETS by being available to case managers as needed for legal advocacy consultation when questions arise.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent required, undergraduate degree preferred.
• Academic training in the social service field and in the area of substance use disorder treatment preferred.
• Master’s degree highly preferred.
• A minimum of five years’ experience in work related to social work or outreach programs.
• Experience providing services to addicted individuals from a harm reduction perspective is essential.
• Experience with case management, homelessness and co-occurring disorders preferred.
• Two years supervisory experience (or equivalent) preferred.
• Have an understanding of racial justice and social equity and a commitment to helping create an equitable environment for all ETS clients and patients as well as fellow staff.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, patients, and staff from a wide variety of ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to develop and maintain basic budgeting and accounting systems that function in a transparent manner.
• Strong interpersonal skills and verbal/ written communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize workload, work independently, and complete tasks timely and efficiently.
• Dependable, able to work under pressure, receptive to change, willingness to learn, cooperative approach to problem solving.
• Flexible team player, with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and use discretion when handling highly sensitive information.
• Ability to set boundaries, resolve conflict and de-escalate issues.
• Computer literate, with basic knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (or equivalent suites such as Google Workspace), as well as a high level of initiative in keeping current with technological changes.
• Skills needed include basic functions such as utilizing MS Outlook email and calendaring programs (or equivalent) and sending attachments, using MS Teams or equivalent chat, call, and videoconference features, and navigating search engines such as Edge or Google and carrying out browser searches and website benchmarking steps.

Nice To Haves

• undergraduate degree preferred
• Academic training in the social service field and in the area of substance use disorder treatment preferred.
• Master’s degree highly preferred.
• Experience with case management, homelessness and co-occurring disorders preferred.
• Two years supervisory experience (or equivalent) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Help ETS succeed in carrying out our mission through working together with other staff to transform systems of harm and inequity to create different approaches to improving community health and safety through addressing substance use and homelessness.
• Assist with the organization-wide initiative to reimagine our interconnectedness within our community to overcome the aspects of our society and organizational culture shaped by white supremacy and settler colonialism.
• Build relationships and communicate with multiple prosecutorial municipalities, public defense attorneys, and department of corrections for REACH diversion programs.
• Develop best practices for REACH case managers in building effective relationships with prosecutors, public defense attorneys, and department of corrections working in partnership with REACH diversion programs.
• Work in partnership with REACH case managers and supervisors to provide mitigation and legal advocacy on behalf of clients registered in REACH diversion programs.
• Improve service delivery systems between case managers and prosecutorial partners.
• Develop systems to effectively track clients on warrant status, supporting case managers in quashing client warrants and communicating the efforts with law enforcement and prosecutorial partners.
• Attend Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) court calendar in Seattle Municipal Court & court hearings at the request of LEAD supervisors.
• Develop harm reduction focused legal summary reports on client progress to submit to prosecutorial partners.
• Monitor overarching inequities in criminal legal system practices by tracking patterns of arrests, court filings, and case resolutions of all REACH clients in diversion programs.
• Participate in public relations involving harm reduction messaging focused on legal advocacy for REACH clients, criminal legal system impacts on marginalized communities, and inequity within the legal system.
• Apply innovative harm reduction approaches and utilize working knowledge of the Involuntary Treatment Act Competency System on behalf of clients to improve communication and collaboration with prosecutors and defense attorneys.
• Maintain effective systems tracking.
• Build a formal relationship with legal services outside of the REACH contractual partnerships with King County Prosecuting Attorney Office, Seattle, Burien, and Seattle Municipal Court (i.e., LEAD Legal, Victim & Sexual Assault Advocate programs).
• Represent LEAD to community stakeholders using effective communication and strategic partnerships to best leverage LEAD strengths and contribute to the success of the program.
• Maintain a case load of clients with high legal advocacy needs during case manager vacancies to ensure continuity of care for LEAD participants.
• Note: New and/or different duties and responsibilities may be assigned to this job at any time.

Benefits

• The posted salary range represents the full compensation band for the position. New hires are typically placed at the base of the range, plus up to $2,000 total for bilingual skills and/or higher education.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: High school or GED