UW Field Practicum at SCPDA

UW Field Practicum opportunity at SCPDA

MSW Specialized

MSW Specialized (Admin & Policy Practice)

MSW Specialized (Clinical Social Work)

MSW Specialized (Community Centered Integrative Practice)

Brave Advocacy, No Judgment, and Fierce Connections. These are the core tenets of Snohomish County Public Defender Association (SCPDA)’s mission to provide the highest quality legal representation to people facing loss of liberty pursuant to criminal and civil laws while working to become an antiracist organization. As Defenders we uphold this mission and exhibit these tenets through client-centered advocacy and collaboration with community stakeholders.

Located in Everett just north of Seattle, SCPDA is a private, non-profit law office, incorporated under the laws of the State of Washington. SCPDA is primarily funded from indigent defense contracts with Snohomish County, Skagit County, Tulalip Cares, and other counties and municipalities and the State of Washington. The goal of the Association is to provide the highest quality of legal representation to all its clients.

Clients of SCPDA include:

• Adults and juveniles charged with felonies and misdemeanors
  
  • Adults facing civil commitment pursuant to RCW 71.05 and RCW 71.09
  
  • Adults appealing misdemeanor convictions to Superior Court
  
  • Adults and juveniles facing incarceration in contempt proceedings

Field practicum students will work in collaboration with a team of Defenders including attorneys, social workers, investigators, and legal assistants to support better legal outcomes for SCPDA clients. Students will engage in client-centered advocacy designed to promote liberty and counteract the dehumanizing effects of the criminal legal system. Students will have opportunities to practice individualized client advocacy in a variety of ways including:

• Interviewing clients to conduct needs assessments and developing plans for alternatives to incarceration involving housing,
  treatment, benefits, and support.
  
  • Helping clients access housing, shelter, treatment, case management, benefits, financial assistance, and family/peer
  support.
  
  • Submitting written memos to the courts advocating for alternatives to incarceration and testifying in court when needed.
  
  • Gathering client histories through interviews with clients, family members, and other community members.
  
  • Obtaining, reviewing, and interpreting medical, educational, legal, and occupational records in support of mitigation efforts.
  
  • Telling client stories in the form of written mitigation reports to be used for negotiation with prosecuting attorneys,
  acceptance to alternative court programs, and at sentencing hearings in support of reduced sentences.

Students will have a variety of opportunities to engage in mezzo practice including but not limited to:

• Participating in SCPDA’s Antiracism Committee to further the organization’s goals of providing client-centered representation
  through an anti-racist perspective and integrating anti-racism into all aspects of public defense work.
  
  • Attending regular trainings and presentations with intersecting issues of law, health, social justice, and public policy.
  
  • Helping map local resources and expanding client access to health care and social services.
  
  • Joining community stakeholder groups and advocating for the interests of public defense clients.

Students will be encouraged to pursue their individual interests in macro work which may include research and advocacy focused on the impacts of systemic racism in the criminal legal system, mass incarceration, criminalization of mental illness, and other public policy issues.

Network with a phenomenal group of friends and professionals.

Interested applicants should:

• Be passionate about social justice, antiracism, and advocacy in defense of people charged with all types of criminal offenses
  including sex offenses.
  
  • Be able to curiously explore and incorporate perspectives different from their own.
  
  • Be able to align their actions with the Washington State Court Rules of Professional Conduct governing attorney-client
  relationships, including strict adherence to confidentiality and attorney-client privilege.
  
  • Have strong oral and written communication skills with the ability to write reports, letters, and internal memoranda.