The Child Advocacy Clinic at Rutgers-Newark School of Law (the CAC) and the Rutgers Law
School Pro Bono Program are delighted to announce the creation of a newly funded Child
Advocacy Clinic and Pro Bono Fellow position. The Fellow will work with both the Child
Advocacy Clinic and the Law School’s Pro Bono Program. The CAC, a law school based
clinical program, provides comprehensive advocacy and representation to children and youth in
child abuse and neglect proceedings; the majority of these cases concern youth ages 14-21. The
CAC also works with immigrant children seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and lowincome children with disabilities who are attempting to receive or maintain childhood SSI
benefits. The Rutgers Law School Pro Bono Program facilitates supervised law-related service
work by law students.
The Child Advocacy Clinic and Pro Bono Fellow primarily will be responsible for developing
and/or implementing the following three projects:
(1) The Aging Out Project, a statewide community education effort aimed at informing
youth transitioning out of the foster care system in New Jersey about their rights and
entitlements.
(2) The Newark Educational Access and Advocacy Project, a new endeavor which will
train and supervise volunteer law students to provide know-your-rights education (to
youth and family members) about school discipline; provide advice and limited
representation in select cases; recruit, train and support pro bono attorneys to provide
representation on select cases; engage in advocacy for fairer and more sensible policies
and alternatives to school exclusion; and develop a website to provide comprehensive
information and resources on school discipline issues; and
(3) A new effort focused on providing educational and social service advocacy services for a
select group of foster youth as part of the development of one or more First Star
Academies at Rutgers (pending funding).
Additional duties will be assigned.
The ideal candidate will have a JD, knowledge of child welfare and education law, and a
demonstrated commitment to working with children, youth, and young adults. An applicant who
is admitted to the Bar of the State of New Jersey is preferred, but applicants who are admitted to
the Bar of another state will be considered. Salary will be commensurate with experience and
with funding for other post-graduate public interest fellowships and will include health and other
employment-based benefits. Interested candidates should send a resume, cover letter, and list of
references to Randi Mandelbaum, Director of the CAC, by email to the address below no later
than July 10, 2015. The fellowship is expected to begin on or around August 15, 2015 and last at
least two years, and possibly three, depending on funding.
Rutgers University is committed to enhancing the diversity of its faculty and staff. Applications
from women, minorities, and people with disabilities are particularly encouraged. Rutgers is an
EEO/AA employer.
Randi Mandelbaum
Clinical Professor of Law and Director,
Child Advocacy Clinic
Rutgers Newark School of Law
RMandelbaum@kinoy.rutgers.edu
973-353-3271