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Redefining public defense.

The Bronx Defenders Social Work

The Epoch Times: Help, Not Incarceration

NEW YORK—Anthony Cruz is a different man now that he has been locked up several times. Before serving his 10-year sentence in New York state prisons for manslaughter in the first degree he was diagnosed with adjustment disorder and depression, among other mental health conditions. Cruz spent a total of three years in solitary confinement,…

Emma Ketteringham and Elizabeth Keeney to present at 10th National Harm Reduction Conference this Thursday

This Thursday, October 23rd, Emma Ketteringam, Managing Director of the Family Defense Practice, and Elizabeth Keeney, Managing Director of Social Work will be presenting at the 10th National Harm Reduction Conference in Baltimore, MD. The biannual conference, sponsored and organized by the Harm Reduction Coalition, is the only multidisciplinary gathering dedicated to improving the health and well-being of…

Keston Jones to present at New York State Social Work Education Association 2014 Conference

Keston Jones, Bronx Defenders Parent Advocate, will present at the New York State Social Work Education Association’s Conference on October 9, 2014.  His talk is entitled “Focus on Fathers: Myths and Misconceptions about Low Income African American and Minority Fathers.” The presentation flows from Keston’s work with The Bronx Defenders Focus on Fathers project, which was developed to…

The Bronx Defenders releases its report “Voices From the Box: Solitary Confinement at Rikers Island”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 12, 2014 Contact: Skylar Albertson, The Bronx Defenders, (347) 842-1215, SkylarA@bronxdefenders.org Voices From the Box: Solitary Confinement at Rikers Island New York – The Bronx Defenders released a report summarizing the experiences of 59 current and former clients who were subjected to extreme isolation in solitary confinement at Rikers Island. The…

The Bronx Defenders Welcomes Its 2014 Training Teams and New Hires!

The Bronx Defenders is proud to announce the start of its 2014 Training Teams as well as many new hires throughout the office. For the first time ever, The Bronx Defenders will welcome two training teams to the office. Throughout the next twelve months, our new attorneys will receive intensive training in holistic defense, working…

Bronx Defenders Social Workers Represent Holistic Defense at This Year’s National Organization of Forensic Social Work Conference

Last month, The National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW) held its annual conference, which took place this year in New York at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus. Several social workers and one attorney from The Bronx Defenders attended the conference, including four staff members who presented. Participation in the conference not only presented an exciting learning and…

Spotlight on The Bronx Defenders’ new Prostitution Conviction Vacature Project

Every year in New York City, thousands of people who are victims of sex trafficking are arrested, charged, and ultimately convicted of prostitution-related offenses. Due to New York City’s zero-tolerance policing, many of these people are arrested multiple times and face repeated prosecutions. Convictions for prostitution carry an enormous stigma and make it extremely difficult…

NBC News: Family Separated After Family Court Closes Early

This week, Channel 4 news brought attention to the harm being caused to families by the lack of resources provided to New York City Family Courts. For those of us at The Bronx Defenders who represent parents in Bronx Family Court, the investigation revealed a devastating daily reality: family court can be a saddening and…

City Limits: False Abuse Reports Trouble Child Welfare Advocates

In some neighborhoods in this city, it’s not uncommon for people to file an allegation of child abuse or neglect to settle a grudge. In a meeting with City Limits, lawyers and social workers from The Bronx Defenders, which represents parents with child welfare cases in the Bronx, described a string of such cases: a…

Rise Magazine: To Speak or Not to Speak

Brenda Zubay and Lisa Beneventano, Social Workers in The Bronx Defenders Family Defense Practice, were interviewed in the Fall 2013 issue of Rise Magazine. In the article, they discuss the benefits and dangers of revealing past trauma in court, and explain the importance of parents taking control of their story before the court takes control…

The New York Times: The Girls Who Haven’t Come Home

The last time they took Vernice Hill’s children away, the time they didn’t give them all back, was the afternoon she went to see her neighbor. Ms. Hill lives in a hulking building on East 188th Street, in a frayed neighborhood in the Bronx. It was May 1, 2005. Inside her apartment, her two little…

Five members of our Family Defense Practice to speak at the American Bar Association National Parent Attorneys Conference

On July 10th and 11th, 2013, Keith Baumann, Emma Ketteringham, Helen Montalvan, Ryan Napoli, Lauren Teichner are all scheduled to speak at the American Bar Association’s National Parent Attorneys Conference in Washington, D.C.   They will lead various workshop sessions including one on Daubert and Frye hearings in Family Court, the drug war in child civil…

Social Worker Lisa Beneventanto presented at The Center for Child Advocacy’s Annual Conference

On April 19, 2013,  Lisa Beneventanto presented at The Center for Child Advocacy’s 8th Annual Conference, “The Forgotten Child: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Child Neglect” hosted by Montclair State University in New Jersey.  Her presentation was part of a workshop entitled “Supporting Vulnerable Families: A Preventive Intervention.” Click here for more information.

New York Times: In South Bronx, Legal Aid and Shoulders to Lean On

A sprawling, sunny room beckons invitingly with black couches and bright accent pillows for relaxing, bookshelves with novels to borrow for an hour or a week, a pair of children’s tables, outlets for recharging cellphones and free coffee. This is the newest hub for justice in the South Bronx: a public defenders’ office that looks…

Brenda Zubay presented at the Museum of Motherhood Conference “Evolving Motherhood”

On May 17, 2012, Brenda Zubay presented at the Museum of Motherhood Conference entitled “Evolving Motherhood” in New York City.  Her presentation, “Parenting While Apart” explored questions about the changing role and identity of mothers who are separated from their children, are judged negatively as parents, and are denied their traditional parenting roles and responsibilities. For more information, click here

The Crime Report: Can the ‘Holistic Approach’ Solve The Crisis in Public Defense?

The Bronx Defenders’ method of Holistic Defense is explained in the article “Can the ‘Holistic Approach’ Solve The Crisis in Public Defense?” on thecrimereport.org. Can the ‘Holistic Approach’ Solve The Crisis in Public Defense?  “Making changes in a resource-strained small county [Washoe County, Nevada] of 400,000 people seemed , however, all but impossible—until Bosler heard…

Robin and Ariane travel to Pennsylvania – March 1, 2010

Robin Steinberg and The Bronx Defenders Social Worker Ariane Eigler spoke at the 29th annual Edward V. Sparer Symposium at the University of Pennsylvania Law School titled “Now More Than Ever: Expanding Access to Justice in Times of Crisis.” The symposium is an annual event inviting legal experts and practitioners to speak on poverty law…

NYU Law School Magazine: Another Bronx Tale

Robin Steinberg passionately believes that effective legal defense for the poor includes a good dose of social work. Never say something is impossible to achieve around Robin Steinberg ’82; it will only motivate her to prove you wrong. The 51-yearold founder of the Bronx Defenders, a unique non-profit public defense group in the Bronx, always…