Juvenile Rights Practice Fellowship Proposal Invitation - Fall 2026 - New York, NY

The Juvenile Rights Practice of the Legal Aid Society (JRP) is seeking to sponsor a Fellowship applicant for the Fall 2026 class. JRP provides legal representation to children and youth in child welfare, youth justice and a variety of other related Family Court matters, as well as adolescent offenders in Youth Parts. JRP staff are members of an interdisciplinary team, which includes attorneys, social workers, paralegals, investigators, and support professionals in all five counties in New York City. The representation of children and youth is further supported by Special Litigation and Law Reform (SLLRU) and Appellate teams. Fellows will partner SLLRU, and multidisciplinary trial teams to address a systemic issue affecting JRP clients, primarily involving the child welfare and or youth justice systems. Applicants must have a heightened understanding of racial, economic, gender and LGBTQ+ inequities that our clients and their families experience whole interfacing with these systems.

Proposed fellowship topics may include, but not are not restricted to, these issues:

• Early legal representation and advocacy for children subject to voluntary placement in foster care: Address timeliness of assignment of counsel and hearings related to placements in congregate care (QRTP). This project will involve direct representation of clients in voluntary proceedings, legislative advocacy, training and work with stakeholders to expedite and ensure assignment of counsel.
• Family First: Assess whether ACS is complying with requirements of Family First 3 years after implementation. This project could involve an evaluation of whether the program models for placement in residential care (QRTP) meet the federal requirements; whether the QI process has resulted in fewer children being placed in institutions; whether children are benefiting from services in QRTPs that are resulting in shorter lengths of stay in QRTPs; possible opportunity to draft legislation that would modify NYS implementing statute for QRTPs; representing clients placed in QRTPs and litigating QI placement decisions.
• Children's Center: The Special Litigation and Law Reform Unit is actively working to mitigate harms that befall our clients who are held for long periods of time in the Children's Center (CC), a pre-placement shelter where some children (especially those with Americans with Disability Act (ADA) concerns, older youth, and sibling groups) are held for extended periods of time. Children placed in the CC are also subject to egregious physical, sexual, and emotional harm. We are seeking a fellow to work on a campaign to close/reduce reliance on the CC, including drafting legislation limiting length of stay in pre-placement shelters, developing a coalition to restrict its use, assisting in advocacy for individual clients, generating training for trial staff and advocating with City Council, ACS, and other stakeholders to change policies and practice at the CC.
• Adoption Permanency Project: The fellow will provide pre- and post-adoption legal support with the goal of preventing broken adoptions by improving the adoption process and supporting families after adoptions occur. The fellow will educate administrators, judicial staff, and legislators on reforms which would support adopted youth and require attorneys to be assigned to children on prospective adoption dockets. The fellow will collaborate with agencies to increase mental health and post-adoption resources available for adopted children and families and will represent youth who return to court after experiencing a broken adoption.
• Pre-court Race Equity project: Address the disparity of representation of Black and Latinx children in the child welfare system. This project will focus on the phases of a child welfare case predating court. The fellow would draft legislation and/or propose policy reforms related to abuse and neglect reporting and investigations. The fellow would be tasked with collaborating with stakeholders, creating training, and proposing novel approaches to scale back the over-involvement of the child welfare system. The fellow would also identify existing or propose new ways for JRP to become involved with cases that have not yet been brought to court. The objective of early engagement is to reduce the number of child-welfare cases overall.
• JRP Immigration Law Project: This project will directly support the Juvenile Immigration team (J-IMM). J-IMM is a specialized team of attorneys and advocates that serve the immigration needs of clients with child welfare and youth justice matters. The fellow will support the early holistic engagement, Padilla defense, and post-disposition practice for youth whose representation is initiated via community referrals, at or before arraignments or pre- and post-filings in Family and the Youth Part Court. Education: This project will focus on exclusionary school discipline issues in New York City and in New York State. The fellow will study systems that have effectively minimized exclusionary school discipline (particularly for student populations that are disproportionately affected, including students of color, students with disabilities and LGBTQ+ students) The fellow will then create a roadmap of how New York City Public Schools can implement systems change, will develop a presentation on their findings to be presented to stakeholders, and to be proposed for presentation at a national conference. The fellow will work with NYC stakeholders, including NYCPS, families and other education advocates to develop a pilot program to effectuate that change. The fellow will advocate for improved due process procedures for New York City students facing suspension and expulsion hearings. In addition, the fellow will collaborate with a coalition of stakeholders working to pass the Judith Kaye Solutions Not Suspensions Act with an aim of minimizing the harm of exclusionary school discipline throughout New York State.
• Conditions of Confinement: This project will focus on conditions of confinement for all NYC youth in detention or placement. In the wake of hundreds of individual lawsuits regarding sexual abuse in detention, as well as overcrowded conditions, the fellow will visit and interview youth currently or recently incarcerated to identify and address issues relating to conditions of confinement. The fellow will work closely with attorneys in the Special Litigation and Law Reform Unit and the Prisoners' Rights Project of the Criminal Defense Practice to identify and advocate for potential legislative or regulatory reform, as well as initiating possible litigation strategies around issues identified
• Juvenile Parole Project: This project will provide access to counsel for young people serving sentences in NYS OCFS facilities for appearances before the New York State Board of Parole. The fellow will provide direct representation for Legal Aid clients in OCFS secure placement who will be eligible for release, support and train trial attorneys and social workers on parole preparation, and advocate for stronger notice and engage in policy advocacy to improve access to counsel rights for young people facing the Parole Board.
• Or anything else related to our child welfare, education, or delinquency practices.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

The fellow will play an integral role in the work of The Legal Aid Society. The fellow's specific responsibilities will depend upon the project but may include:

• The completion of at least one substantial research project or empirical study
• Developing, maintaining, and reporting data on the Fellowship project
• Active participation in the practice area's client advocacy and litigation agenda
• Developing training materials, if needed on the subject matter
• Developing materials for social media use

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Current 3L law student enrolled and in good standing
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Excellent legal research and listening skills
• Ability to effectively navigate client/community concerns and communicate legal issues
• Ability to manage time and multiple tasks and deadlines

Preferred qualifications:

• Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable, but not required

Applicants will be notified via email about whether they have/have not been selected for an interview.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: $83,844

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Click here to read more about benefits.

Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below.

studentaid.gov

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

HOW TO APPLY

The fellowship proposal should include a description of the legal project, designed by the applicant for partnership with The Legal Aid Society. The proposal should be 2 - 3 pages in length, describe the need for the project, how the project's goals will further the public interest, and how they will be accomplished within the fellowship year(s). Please include a proposed timeline for the fellowship year. Fellowship applicants will be required to comply with all rules and deadlines.

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:

• Cover letter
• Resume
• Fellowship Proposal
• Unofficial Transcript

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one's internal deeply-held sense of one's gender which may be the same or different from one's sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one's name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.