A list of resources pertaining to juvenile justice and legal assistance resources. Includes resources for domestic violence, legal assistance & advocacy, gang involved youth, and more.

• Domestic Violence
• Law Firms/Legal Representation
• Legal Assistance/Reentry
• Health Providers

Domestic Violence

• Alternatives to Domestic Violence (ADV): Alternatives to Domestic Violence (ADV) is a division of the Bergen County Department of Human Services, which is exclusively devoted to domestic violence intervention.
   

• healingSPACE The Sexual Violence Resource Center in Bergen County: The sexual violence resource center for all of Bergen County. We provide a confidential 24/7 hotline to survivors of sexual trauma and their loved ones. Support is available to anyone ages 13 years and up who has experienced sexual violence, whether it happened hours or years ago.

• Jersey Battered Woman's Service: A full-service domestic violence and domestic abuse prevention agency with volunteer opportunities. The services include a 24-hour hotline; counseling; safe house; transitional living; children's services; life skills education; vocational counseling; batterers' intervention; legal assistance; teen dating violence services; and professional training, education and youth prevention programs.

• Manavi - South Asian Women's Organization: Manavi was the first organization in the United States to specifically address the unmet needs of South Asian women affected by violence. Manavi’s objective is to reach out to these women and be an essential resource for them during their time of crisis. Manavi provides a unique blend of culturally specific support services and intervention methods through Western advocacy practices and linguistically traditional techniques.

• Never Alone Again Domestic Violence Organization & Resource Center (NAAG): We are dedicated to providing high quality and individually tailored support services to victims and survivors of domestic violence/abuse. We provide workshops, resources, services and support to women and families in need.

• Oasis - A Haven for Women and Children: We carry out educational and social service programs that help women enter and succeed in the workforce and help children flourish academically. We also operate a soup kitchen and provide emergency food, clothing, and social support to city residents in need.

Law Firms/Legal Representation

• Bergen County Bar Association: If you have a legal problem but don’t know where to turn for help, call the Bergen County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service. We will refer you to an attorney who is experienced and skilled in the area of law that relates to your legal problem.

• Corradino & Papa: As the leading personal injury law firm you can trust in New Jersey, Corradino & Papa, LLC is highly experienced in representing victims of accidents and injuries. We are passionate about our work and about winning for victims of wrongdoing.

• Falcon Law Group LLC: Boutique law firm concentrating on planning for families with members having special needs or mental illness.

• Hinkle, Prior, & Fischer, P.C.:  We provide specialized legal services to families of children and adults with a wide range of disabilities and seniors.

• Jadoo and Zalenski, LLC: We offer clients personalized counsel and representation together with the benefit of our experience and knowledge. We understand the New Jersey criminal justice system, and are well versed in New Jersey family law, New Jersey real estate law, and the fast-changing provisions of immigration law. In addition, we handle a wide range of civil litigation and DYFS (Division of Youth and Family Services) cases.

• Sandra Simkins, Esq.: Sandra has committed to providing free...FREE legal services for youth and their families that cannot afford a private attorney and are not eligible for a public defender. When there is an attorney in place, she can provide support through research, etc. 

• Shulman Law Group: If you need a visa, wish to immigrate, or want to help bring a family member or employee to the United States, we can help. Firm founder Edward Shulman has more than 20 years of legal experience.

• Team Law: Our legal expertise extends to practice areas such as medical malpractice, motor vehicle accidents, workers' compensation, employee issues, and more.

• Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ): VLJ’s mission is to improve the lives of economically-disadvantaged adults, children, and families in New Jersey by empowering them with tools, advice, and pro bono representation with the goal of securing fair and equal treatment within the legal system.

• Women Lawyers In Bergen: Educating, Advocating, Networking, and Supporting Women Lawyers in Bergen County New Jersey. We provide comprehensive and strategic solutions for your complex problems always adding the human element to the legal realities.

Legal Assistance/Reentry

• Bergen Casa: The mission of Bergen County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Inc. is to speak up in court for the best interests of the nearly 500 children (annually) in Bergen County who have been removed from their homes due to abuse and/or neglect. They are living in foster homes, group homes, or treatment facilities.
   
• Bergen County Youth Services Commission: The BCYSC is to promote public safety, accountability and rehabilitation through the planning, implementation and administration of a comprehensive program of sanctions and services for juveniles adjudicated or charged as delinquent and delinquency prevention programs.
   
• Bergen Family Center: Non-profit whose mission is to support, strengthen and enrich family life including court services for victims of domestic violence and Families in Court.
   
• Community Health Law Project: Provides legal and advocacy services, training, education, and related activities to persons with disabilities and, in certain issues, to organizations representing their interests, with an emphasis on those most vulnerable and needy.
   
• Division of Family Guidance: Bergen County's Division of Family Guidance provides clinical, residential, educational, correctional, case management, and monitoring services to at-risk children, adolescents, and families, particularly those who are otherwise unable to receive needed services. 
  • Alternatives To Detention (ATD): An alternative to secure detention for adolescents involved with family court. Program provides case management, supervision, weekly recording, and psycho-educational programming.  
  • Forensic Unit/Forensic Evaluations: A diagnostic team which conducts court-ordered pre-sentencing evaluations of juveniles in order to assess the risk for sexual re-offense and violence in the future.
  • Juvenile Detention Center (JDC): A secure residence that temporarily houses youths who have committed a delinquent act and are awaiting court action.
  • Juvenile Family Crisis Intervention Unit (JFCIU): Addresses situations involving a serious conflict between a parent/guardian and a juvenile, runaway, truancy, school avoidance/phobia, or human trafficking concerns
  • Supervised Visitation Program (SVP): A court-ordered program that allows a non-custodial parent to visit with his/her child in a safe environment when supervision is required.
  • Teen Re-Adjustment Program (TREAD): An outpatient program for juvenile sex offenders, focusing on eliminating further sexual misconduct.

• F.E.S. Brilliant Kids: A community organization that provides recreational events, trips, mentorship, and community service opportunities for youth. We also assist families with many other services such as reentry for returning citizens/formerly incarcerated males and females.

• HOPE for Ex-Offenders: Our mission is to develop the Christian character in ex-offenders and probationers, re-establishing themselves as well adjusted, working tax paying members of the community.

• Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC): The ILRC trains attorneys, paralegals, and community-based advocates who work with immigrants around the country. We inform the media, elected officials, and public to shape effective and just immigration policy and law. Our staff works with grassroots immigrant organizations to promote civic engagement and social change.

• Interstate F.A.C.T.S.: Interstate FACTS provides forensic services for consumers, treatment practitioners, and attorneys in the New Jersey & New York court systems. Interstate FACTS’ foremost consideration with every client is to appraise the individual and family factors that may have a bearing on case outcomes, as well as any children who may be impacted.

• Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ): We coordinate the statewide network of nonprofit Legal Services programs that provide free legal assistance in civil cases to low-income people in New Jersey who cannot afford lawyers
  • LSNJ PROTECT: A new statewide initiative offering comprehensive and holistic legal services to victims of human trafficking throughout New Jersey.
  • The SSI Project: The SSI Project at LSNJ helps welfare recipients apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI)  and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.

• Mahwah Municipal Alliance (MMA): A group of community volunteers that are fortunate to partner with the Mahwah Police Department to provide important information and resources to our residents and youth. We address the critical social and mental health issues that we all face in today’s rapidly changing world.

• National Immigration Law Center/Centro Nacional de Leyes Migratorias (NILC): One of the leading organizations in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of immigrants with low income.

• New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ): The Institute’s cutting-edge racial and social justice advocacy seeks to empower people of color by building reparative systems that create wealth, transform justice and harness democratic power—from the ground up—in New Jersey.

• New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJRC): The NJRC works with returning citizens, employers, and community partners to remove barriers to employment so that everyone in our community can be safer, healthier, and better employed.

• Northeast New Jersey Legal Services (NNJLS): NNJLS focuses on four core areas of civil law – housing, consumer, family, and public benefits. These are the areas in which our clients are most likely to develop legal problems which they cannot address themselves without the help of an attorney.

• Transition Professionals: We assist persons coming home from jail or prison with any services and access to benefits they need. When you or someone you love needs a referral to the shelter, mental health organization or is in need of a resume and job search assistance please contact us.

• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): The government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States. Safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values.

• Women's Rights Information Center (WRIC): WRIC provides career services, job training, computer and ESL classes, legal consultations, victim services, displaced homemaker and single-parent services, shared housing services, and self-development workshops.

• BC-RFP-20-006: Services To Prevent or Reduce Juvenile Delinquency and to Provide Sanctions and Services for Youths Who are Already Involved in the Juvenile Justice System.

Health Providers

• Bilingual Therapy NJ - Gang Involved Youth: Our goal is to help you uncover your true potential to lead a life that is worth celebrating. While we can't change difficult situations of the past, we can work together to better understand and resolve challenges in your lives, leading to a more fulfilling and meaningful life around your family and your community.
   
• Care Plus NJ: Provider of comprehensive, recovery-focused mental health and substance abuse services in Northern New Jersey with a range of services Care Plus NJ provides directly addresses the mental health needs of children, adults, and families.
  • Bergen County Juvenile Fire Prevention Program: The Bergen County Juvenile Fire Prevention Program (BCJFPP) is an early intervention program for youth up to the age of 18 displaying recurring interest and/or engagement in firesetting behavior. 
  • Transition Services/Jail Diversion: While this model is implemented through various partnerships, CarePlus NJ has collaborated with the Paramus Police Department by providing an on-site clinician every Wednesday from 9am-5pm, during which an individual seeking support can walk in to the police department and be connected to care.
    • The goals of the Heroin Addiction Recovery Team (HART) program are to alleviate the burden of low-level drug offense, decriminalize those individuals seeking support and provide linkage to the most appropriate level of care and treatment. This allows for a unique access point for assessment and referrals, while destigmatizing the disease of addiction.
    • CarePlus NJ’s partnership with New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJRC) allows those reintegrating into the community from jail or prison to have immediate and direct linkage to the continuum of Addiction Recovery Services. This proactive approach addresses the increased risk for overdose upon release.
  • Women's Inmate Service & Education (WISE): WISE works with adult females who are currently incarcerated in the Bergen County Jail and enrolled in the Drug Rehabilitation Center (DRC).  The women are introduced and educated about designated topics, related behaviors and consequences. Participants remain linked with services for 90 days (completion of program), however, longer engagement may be provided to assist with seamless transition to the community.

• Clear Conscience Counseling - Juvenile Justice: Our behavioral health services are delivered in a safe, nurturing matter allowing for personal growth and healing. Our treatment team works collaboratively with parents, families, schools, and other providers to ensure appropriateness in care.

• Dianne Thomas, MD LLC: I offer Psychiatric Evaluations conducted at the Bergen County Juvenile Detention Center.

• NJ Children's System of Care (CSOC): The New Jersey Children's System of Care (CSOC) is a division with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF). The foundational philosophy of all System of Care partners is the Wraparound/Child Family Team. The Wraparound approach is used to provide voluntary services to youth ages 0-21 with mental, emotional, behavioral, developmental, intellectual, and substance abuse challenges and their families at no cost to the family regardless of income or insurance status. 

• Winner & Associates: Intensive counseling services are flexible, comprehensive support that is clinical, client-centered and family-focused for those struggling with emotional/behavioral disruptions that result in significant functional impairment and maladaptive behaviors that place families and communities at risk.

  • Re-Entry Programs: Winner’s Re-Entry Programs emphasizes helping the youth find identity within the community and build a social support network. Winner’s goal is to increase "natural supports" by strengthening interpersonal relationships and utilizing resources that are available through our vocational and educational partnerships. These partnerships, connect the youth with professionals, mentors, educational programing and employment opportunities that reduce recidivism and better prepare the youth for accomplishment.

• The Arc of New Jersey: The largest nonprofit advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families in New Jersey.
  • Criminal Justice Advocacy: The only one of its kind in the state of New Jersey that provides alternatives to incarceration on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities who are defendants in the criminal justice system through advocacy, case management, education and training.

Age Groups	Children Adolescents Adults
Community Services	Basic Needs / Assistance Financial Assistance / Referrals Financial Counseling / Literacy Community Community Education Employment / Training Job Training Life Skills Training Preparing for Adulthood Supported Employment Vocational Training Family & Support Services Caregiving Case Management Divorce & Co-Parenting Family Support Grandparenting Immigration Trauma / Acculturation Parenting & Caregiving Racial / Social Justice Referral Services Legal / Advocacy Advocacy (Legal) Custody / Marital Immigration Services Law Enforcement / Corrections Legal Assistance
Health Services	Behavioral / Mental Health Behavioral Family Conflict & Distress Fire-Setting Mental Health Substance Use Teen Issues Crisis / Safety Bullying Child Abuse / Neglect Crisis / Safety / Prevention Domestic Violence Emergency Preparedness Gang Prevention Missing Youth Trafficking Medical Health / Wellness / Nutrition

Last Updated: 04/05/23