Details
05/21/2026
Assistant Public Defender - Youth Defense Legal Assistance Program
Office of the Ohio Public Defender
You will provide assistance to children in Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS) on matters arising out of their confinement, which includes responding to requests for assistance, reviewing fact investigations, assisting youth with exhaustion of administrative grievance processes, and determining whether the child's claim has merit, and referring the child to a private attorney for direct representation of their claim. If no private attorney accepts the case within a reasonable time, you will prepare pro se pleadings, including a complaint, a motion for appointment of counsel, and other applicable pleadings. You will also advocate for children during discipline and release reviews to the ODYS Release Authority, which impacts the child's length of stay and release date. You will be most successful in the position if you are organized, solutions oriented, adept at effective documentation and communication, and empathetic. Frequent travel to juvenile correctional facilities is required.
