Seeking an Experienced Social Worker

Snohomish County Public Defender Association (SCPDA) social workers work in collaboration with attorneys to provide advocacy, mitigation, referral services, limited crisis intervention, and release planning.

Snohomish County Public Defender Association provides high-quality legal representation to indigent clients facing loss of liberty.  The SCPDA values of Brave Advocacy, No Judgement and Fierce Connections guide our practice as we work as a team of defenders. We are engaged in work to become an anti-racist organization and aggressively oppose systemic oppression.

Essential Functions:

• Interview clients to conduct needs assessment, release planning and mitigation.
• Assist attorneys with case preparation and testify in court as needed.
• Arrange expert evaluations in collaboration with the case attorney.
• Obtain, compile, and interpret school, psychological, chemical dependency and medical records.
• Write detailed psychosocial histories to be used for negotiating with the prosecutor’s office, entry to alternative courts programs, pre-sentence reports, exceptional sentences and other sentencing requests.
• Interview mental health/medical providers and family members and others as needed.
• Interact with all participants of the criminal justice system in a professional manner that promotes respect and inclusion.
• Maintain knowledge of current best practices and procedures.
• Participate in ongoing professional education and training.
• Comply with Rules of Professional Conduct and maintain confidentiality requirements.

Qualifications:

• MSW from an accredited graduate school.
• Awareness of national and state policy issues impacting system involved persons.
• Ability to plan, organize and prioritize a busy caseload.
• Knowledge of the past and present impacts of the criminal legal system on Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color.
• Knowledge of criminal and civil procedure, laws, legal terminology, determinate sentencing, probation, legal defenses, and the Washington State prison systems and treatment/hospital facilities.
• Familiarity with court proceedings and progression of criminal and civil cases through the court system.
• Strong oral and written communication skills with the ability to formulate detailed psychosocial histories, letters, internal memoranda, and memoranda to the court.
• Knowledge of; adolescent/adult development, symptoms of emotional/physical/sexual abuse, mental illness, competency, mental defenses, psychological/neurological testing, medications and side effects, treatment approaches, and relapse prevention.
• Extensive knowledge of city, county and regional resources and funding sources.
• Ability to work with Microsoft Office suite of programs.
• Working vehicle, valid Washington state driver’s license and insurance required.

To apply for this job, click here.