After some sorting through two lengthy resumes, Jennifer Cabral was picked to become the next Youth Advocate for the Town of Dartmouth.

Following former Youth Advocate Kevin Lee’s retirement announcement in June, members of the Youth Commission have been parsing the resumes of more than 20 applicants.

On Monday night during a joint session between the Select Board and the Youth Commission, the top two candidates were given one final interview.

It was a choice between Sherri Hayes and Jennifer Cabral, both parents and Dartmouth residents. They impressed both boards with their extensive resumes and experience in social work.

The Youth Advocate works with local children and teens and their families in counseling settings, providing guidance and helping young people cope with and navigate through a variety of issues.

Hayes was interviewed first and said that she’s worked with youths for nearly 20 years. Currently, she’s working in the New Bedford school system as a social worker, helping pregnant and parenting teens.

“Experience, I don’t think, is the only thing that qualifies someone for this position,” said Hayes. “It’s necessary and nice to have, but it takes a lot more. It takes compassion, empathy and endless amounts of energy. And that’s something I have.”

She said she has a strong connection to the Dartmouth. Hayes was born and raised in town and went through Dartmouth’s public schools and UMass Dartmouth.

Cabral has been a resident of Dartmouth for 17 years and has three children ages 12, 15 and 16. Currently, she works as a social worker specializing in family outreach at Cushman School and has a small private practice.

She said she’d be qualified for the job because of her passion for working with at-risk children and because she already has an established relationship with Dartmouth schools. She also holds a masters in Clinical Pyschology from UMass Dartmouth.

Both candidates were asked a series of questions from the Select Board and the Youth Commission. It was stressed to Hayes and Cabral that the position requires the position be on 24-hour call, and both expressed a willingness to drop everything to aid a youth in need.

“Every other job that I’ve had, I’ve always been on-call 24/7. My clients at my private practice are very understanding,” said Cabral, adding that she would scale back her practice if hired.

When it came down to deliberation, Select Board Chairman Shawn McDonald said they had “two good candidates” to choose from.

In the end, five of the seven members of the Youth Commission and all four Select Board members voted for Cabral.

Lee, who was not part of the hiring process, said he was experiencing some mixed emotions.

“For me, professionally, I’m 80 percent feeling terrific because I’ve wanted this process to move forward and 20 percent sad because I’m leaving,” he said.

Lee said that he’ll help train and work alongside Cabral for a month prior to his last day on the job, which will be September 30.

“If I had to make an improvement on the process, I would have hired both of these people. They’re both supremely qualified,” said Lee.

Cabral expressed excitement for her new position.

“I love the community — how everybody works together and knows everybody. I had come here in 1997 and was learning about the area, and I thought that it is an amazing, awesome job,” said Cabral.

At Cushman, she worked with at-risk and behavioral kids. She worked with the kids in groups or one-on-one and helped teachers develop strategies for improvement. She thinks the Youth Advocate role is an extension of her current work.