Our mission is to improve the lives of low-income people by empowering and supporting them to maintain homes, livelihoods, family bonds, property, and access to the social safety net.
Partners for Justice supports the broader movement to dismantle and transform the racist and oppressive systems that disproportionately harm people and communities of color, including the criminal legal system.
Partners for Justice trains non-attorney Advocates to provide clients with case navigation and wraparound support, while helping public defenders protect people from incarceration and other criminal penalties.
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Recent college graduates are selected as Advocates for a two-year term. Advocates are trained by the Partners for Justice team in preparation for their term.
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Advocates are placed as employees in a host Public Defender’s office, where they receive local training and daily supervision and support.
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Advocates support Public Defender clients and community members, building a network of local services, community organizations, and civil attorneys.
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Public Defenders and Advocates work together to reduce jail time and improve case outcomes for more people, disrupting the cycle of poverty and incarceration.
By working with defenders and governments, PFJ is creating a redefinition of public defense, where defenders are seen as more than a legal resource—they become a community service hub, empowered to defend whole people instead of just legal cases.
PFJ is available to work with individual offices to assess their current practices and implement Collaborative Defense.
Collaborative Defense’s hallmark is its adaptability to the unique needs of every office and community. We understand that no two offices are alike and tailor our assistance to your local context.
Some illustrative examples of technical assistance PFJ provides include:
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Training staff attorneys and support staff on the enmeshed penalties of criminal legal contact
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Designing intake questionnaires to be deployed at first contact with clients
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Creating internal referral structures to foster interdisciplinary service provision
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Resource map local communities to build resource guides
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Designing job descriptions and enhancing recruitment strategies
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Developing data dashboards and augmenting corresponding case management systems
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Partnering with public defenders on public and private funding requests