Case managers have become an integral part of YRJ’s holistic approach to juvenile and family defense. The Parent Child Representation Program, a pilot program started in Multnomah County in 2020, provided funding to hire case managers. This multidisciplinary approach has been transformative to YRJ’s practice.
Though clients receive legal advice and representation, it doesn’t always take care of all of their needs. This is where case managers come in: when clients need more support to meet court-ordered requirements or to successfully obtain a healthy outcome. The help can take many forms from emotional support to housing assistance, securing substance abuse treatment, accessing mental health services, and domestic violence resources. Client participation with the case managers is all voluntary.
Many of YRJ’s clients are already so impacted by trauma from abuse, neglect, domestic violence and more. Add to this traumatic experiences from systemic involvement, and many clients are distrustful of the system. DHS, child welfare, and child protective services workers are connected to reporting hotlines and police involvement. YRJ’s holistic approach allows the client access to a social worker that isn’t a part of these systems.
The case managers have the ability to work with clients from a non-adversarial perspective. Since case managers are part of the attorney-client team, they can operate under attorney-client privilege. Clients can speak freely without worry of system involvement if they are struggling or just need to talk to someone. That connection allows the case managers to better advocate for clients.
Case manager involvement enhances the ability to meet YRJ’s clients’ needs and research shows that it helps families stay together or be reunified more quickly. Case managers provide a level of support that was missing previously. Parent-clients are able to have their children returned because they’re successfully able to parent their children. Juveniles in delinquency cases are able to access more resources in the community as compared to being in a locked facility. And cases are dismissed more quickly.
Case managers see a mixture of clients: from women who’ve experienced domestic violence, to parents who need pre-trial intervention, to special immigrant juveniles. A majority of the work is answering the call when a client needs support. Case managers provide emotional support and connect clients with resources to help them get shelter and obtain employment, help parents receive more visitation, and navigate DHS relationships without falling through the cracks.
Client stories:
The court had the date of birth wrong on a young immigrant client’s record. Due to this, the client could not obtain his Oregon ID. There were struggles with the DMV due to language and system barriers. This 16-year-old client was on his journey to independence but not able to complete this basic task, to update his date of birth and get an ID. A YRJ case manager was able to step in, help with translation and successfully obtain the ID. This small victory was a big deal in a child’s life.
“We represented a young woman client who had been in foster care for the majority of her life; set to age out at 21. Constant turnover of case workers was stressful, especially during the really pivotal time period before she turned 21 and was officially on her own. Our case manager was able to step in and be a consistent source of support for this client. Thanks to the case manager, the client was able to move into her own place, enroll in college, and obtain employment before her DHS case closed.”
Maggie Carlson, Staff Attorney, Youth, Rights & Justice