Guardian Ad Litem 1/2 (02-1701)

State of Alaska•Juneau, AK

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

As a non-attorney Guardian ad litem (GAL), you will be advocating for the best interests of children in court in a variety of cases, including child protection proceedings, delinquency cases, and divorce/custody cases. You will be advocating for children from many different communities in Alaska. You will be tasked with investigating your child clients’ circumstances and making recommendations to the court about their best interests. You will be appearing in court frequently with the child/ren or on their behalf. In addition, you will be advocating for the child in settings outside of court, such as with the child’s school or service providers. The Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) provides legal advocacy and guardianship services to vulnerable Alaskans. With offices in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Kenai, Palmer, and Bethel, OPA advocates for abused and neglected children in protective proceedings, provides public guardianship for incapacitated adults, advocacy for victims of elder fraud, attorney services for respondents in adult guardianship proceedings, for parents in child in need of aid cases, and conflict criminal cases received from the Public Defender Agency.

Requirements

Competencies in Advocacy: Develops and presents the client’s, patient’s, and/or customer’s interests in all matters.
Competencies in Flexibility: Is open to change and new information; rapidly adapts to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles.
Competencies in Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.
Competencies in Stress Tolerance: Deals calmly and effectively with high stress situations (for example, tight deadlines, hostile individuals, emergency situations, dangerous situations).
Any combination of education, training, and/or experience in legal advocacy, child development, counseling, psychology, social work, social science, behavioral science, health science, public health, criminal justice, application of the Indian Child Welfare Act, or a closely related field.

Nice To Haves

Competencies in Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving: Uses a logical, systematic, and sequential approach to address problems or opportunities or manage a situation by drawing on one’s knowledge and experience base and calling on other references and resources as necessary.
Competencies in Law: Knowledge of State and federal laws, including legal and court procedures, regulations, guidelines, precedents, admissibility of evidence, case preparation, and/or settlements for applicable areas of law practiced or supported.
Competencies in Oral and Written Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral and written presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
Competencies in Technical Credibility: Understands and appropriately applies principles, procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies related to specialized expertise.
Post-secondary education and/or training in legal advocacy, child development, counseling, psychology, social work, social science, behavioral science, health science, public health, criminal justice, application of the Indian Child Welfare Act, or a closely related field; and progressively responsible professional experience representing children and/or youth as an objective, neutral party in a court system and advocating for their best interests in situations of child welfare and/or contested legal disputes.

Responsibilities

Advocating for the best interests of children in court in a variety of cases, including child protection proceedings, delinquency cases, and divorce/custody cases.
Investigating child clients’ circumstances and making recommendations to the court about their best interests.
Appearing in court frequently with the child/ren or on their behalf.
Advocating for the child in settings outside of court, such as with the child’s school or service providers.