How to hire a court advocate

Court advocate hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring court advocates in the United States:

There are a total of 12,353 court advocates in the US, and there are currently 8,426 job openings in this field.
The median cost to hire a court advocate is $1,633.
Small businesses spend $1,105 per court advocate on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
Worcester, MA, has the highest demand for court advocates, with 4 job openings.

How to hire a court advocate, step by step

To hire a court advocate, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a court advocate:

Here's a step-by-step court advocate hiring guide:

Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
Step 3: Make a budget
Step 4: Write a court advocate job description
Step 5: Post your job
Step 6: Interview candidates
Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new court advocate
Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a court advocate job for free, promote it for a fee

Identify your hiring needs

The court advocate hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

Determine employee vs contractor status

Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a court advocate to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a court advocate that fits the bill.

Here's a comparison of court advocate salaries for various roles:

Type of Court Advocate	Description	Hourly rate
Court Advocate	Social and human service assistants provide client services, including support for families, in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. They assist other workers, such as social workers, and they help clients find benefits or community services.	$14-21
Resident	A resident, often known as a resident physician, is a medical doctor who just graduated from medical school and pursued the residency program for further training. Residents work with health care team members to provide direct medical care by diagnosing medical problems and devising appropriate treatment plans... Show more	$21-39
Liaison	A liaison is a middle person responsible for collaborating different institutes, managing professional relationships to create benefiting results that would help a business' meet its goals and objectives. Duties of a liaison include facilitating communications, establishing partnership contract plans and procedures, managing conflicts, providing immediate resolution for concerns, and evaluating collaboration parameters... Show more	$14-45

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Crime Victims
- Crisis Intervention
- Safety Planning
- Domestic Violence Victims
- Technical Assistance
- Community Resources
- Court System
- Court Advocacy
- Sexual Assault Victims
- Protective Orders
- Emotional Support
- Court Process
- Local Law Enforcement
- Court Proceedings
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Assist patients in securing medical coverage by screening refer patients and coordinating the application process through successful approval.
- Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor and work as a team member with the YWCA staff and administration.
Make a budget
Including a salary range in your court advocate job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A court advocate salary can vary based on several factors:
- Location. For example, court advocates' average salary in utah is 48% less than in district of columbia.
- Seniority. Entry-level court advocates earn 33% less than senior-level court advocates.
- Certifications. A court advocate with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
- Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a court advocate's salary.
Average court advocate salary
$37,426yearly
$17.99 hourly rate
Entry-level court advocate salary
$30,000 yearly salary
Updated January 19, 2026
Writing a court advocate job description
A job description for a court advocate role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a court advocate job description:
Court advocate job description example
Job Details

Level

Experienced

Job Location

YWCA Central Massachusetts - Worcester, MA

Position Type

Full Time

Education Level

4 Year Degree

Salary Range

$24.05 - $24.05 Hourly

Travel Percentage

Negligible

Job Shift

Day

Job Category

Nonprofit - Social Services

Description

As a Senior SAFEPLAN Court Advocate you will r epresent the YWCA of Central Massachusetts, its mission and vision to the general public and professional groups and individuals. Provide victims of domestic violence the following support in a court-based setting: information on safety planning; explanation of the legal process involved in obtaining and maintaining M.G.L. c.209A protective orders and other legal options; accompaniment into the courtroom and in-court advocacy; and information and referrals to community resources available to victims of domestic violence. Help train new advocates, conduct one-on-one supervision to SAFEPLAN advocates and provide support to community seeking information regarding the SAFEPLAN program. Act as liaison between SAFEPLAN and the community. This position is expected to provide coverage to different courts as needed.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

+ Provide extra support to courts as needed

+ Conduct one-on-one supervision to SAFEPLAN court advocates

+ Manages coverage by floating throughout SAFPLAN courts

+ Assist Supervisor in Recruiting staff/interns, collection, and reporting of all relevant monthly statistics

+ Provide court-based advocacy services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking and their families

+ Provide confidential and comprehensive direct services to victims who come to court seeking protection from abuse

+ Provide support, referrals, and empowerment advocacy to victims of domestic violence who are in the court system

+ Provide information regarding the judicial system, both criminal and civil

+ Appear in court and advocate on behalf of the client with representatives of law enforcement, prosecution, and court

+ Assist with arrangements for additional legal services

+ Assess participants' needs

+ Assess lethality of participants' situation

+ Assist client with adaptation and development of safety plan

+ Maintain and report statistical measurements as required

+ Maintain documentation as required

+ Refer/advocate victims to community resources as necessary

+ Maintain current knowledge of domestic violence

+ Other duties and tasks as assigned by Manager/Director

Qualifications

+ Bachelor's Degree in related field such as Human Services/Criminal Justice, Counseling, or Social Services

+ Minimum of 2 years SAFEPLAN certification required

+ Experience in domestic violence intervention preferred

+ Bi-lingual (English/Spanish) preferred

+ Proficient computer skills

+ Ability to make community presentations

+ Ability to advocate on behalf of victims

+ Ability to perform calmly in crisis situations

+ Training and experience in crisis intervention counseling preferred

+ Ability to travel

+ Valid MA driver's license

Survivors of domestic or sexual violence, people of color, people with disabilities, people who are bilingual/bicultural, and members of the LGBTQ community are strongly encouraged to apply.

YWCA is an affirmative action/equal employment opportunity employer.
Post your job
There are a few common ways to find court advocates for your business:
- Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
- Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
- Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
- Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.
Post your job online:
- Post your court advocate job on Zippia to find and recruit court advocate candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
During your first interview to recruit court advocates, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.
Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new court advocate
Once you have selected a candidate for the court advocate position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.
It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.
To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.
Go through the hiring process checklist
- Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
- Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
- Define job responsibilities and requirements
- Establish budget and timeline
- Determine hiring decision makers for the role
- Write job description
- Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
- Promote the job internally
- Process applications through applicant tracking system
- Review resumes and cover letters
- Shortlist candidates for screening
- Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
- Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
- Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
- Conduct background checks on top candidates
- Check references of top candidates
- Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
- Extend offer to top candidate(s)
- Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
- Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
- Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
- Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a court advocate?

Before you start to hire court advocates, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire court advocates pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $37,426 per year for a court advocate, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for court advocates in the US typically range between $14 and $21 an hour.

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Updated January 19, 2026

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How to hire a court advocate