Community Engagement Specialist, Brooklyn Supervised Release
About The Position
Brooklyn Supervised Release, the largest operating project of the Center, seeks to re-engineer the experience of criminal court in Brooklyn, New York, by providing judges and attorneys meaningful alternatives to bail and detention. Operating out of community-based offices, Brooklyn Supervised Release is a team of social service providers, court liaisons, mental health practitioners, compliance specialists, and others who seek to improve the quality of justice. Supervised Release provides pretrial supervision, case management, and voluntary social services to people charged with misdemeanor and felony offenses, and in doing so, uses an arrest as a window of opportunity to change the direction of a participant’s life, avoiding the harmful effects of incarceration. Program participants are monitored to ensure their appearance at court dates and mandatory programming, and receive referrals to services like job training, drug treatment, and mental health counseling. Brooklyn Supervised Release seeks a Community Engagement Specialist. Reporting to the Community Engagement Coordinator, the Community Engagement Specialist will have comprehensive knowledge, understanding, and lived experience successfully addressing foundational needs through local service providers. The Community Engagement Specialist will utilize this expertise to support participants’ attendance at court dates and engagement in services by meeting with participants in the community to provide navigation support and facilitating warm handoffs between Case Managers, SRP Clinicians, and local service providers when referrals are made or mandated by the court. Additionally, Community Engagement Specialists will build and maintain relationships with and knowledge of local service providers. Community Engagement Specialists will leverage this expertise to help ensure case management staff are knowledgeable about local service providers by facilitating in-house information sessions.
Requirements
- High school diploma or equivalent required
- Comprehensive knowledge of and lived experience with the criminal legal, housing, child welfare, and/or mental health systems preferred
- Bilingual (English-Spanish) strongly preferred
- Must be detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills
- Must be able to work effectively independently and as part of a highly interdependent, multi-disciplinary team within a fast-paced and dynamic work environment
- Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with a variety of program stakeholders, including judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, court staff, and site partner agencies
Nice To Haves
- Peer Navigator certification valued but not required.
Responsibilities
- Provide support to participants seeking assistance or accompaniment to and from court or social services in the community
- Develop and maintain relationships with and knowledge of local service providers to understand services, eligibility, intake requirements, and enrollment opportunities and challenges towards the goal of reducing referral barriers and optimizing participant access to services
- Explore additional service providers to assess quality and accessibility of services offered
- Develop and provide presentations on local social service agencies to the direct practice teams to share information and guidance to optimize successful, quality referrals
- Maintain accurate and timely data entry and case documentation aligned with the program model, court reporting obligations, and best practices
- Consistent and effective cross-team communication and collaboration to proactively identify successes, challenges, and opportunities to strengthen programming, create opportunities for meaningful collaboration, and maximize internal and external resources and expertise
- Substantive and comprehensive service to participant
- Working effectively with the case management and compliance teams to ensure accurate and timely court reporting
- Conduct regular outreach efforts in the community to engage participants
- Maintain professional and positive relationships with court staff, judges, attorneys, and service providers
- Participate in individual, group supervision, and regular staff trainings to develop program expertise and related skill sets
- Participate in designated trainings upon hire
- Attend project events, community events, and meetings after hours, as needed
- Please note that this role is not eligible for clinical hours; and
- Additional relevant tasks, as necessary.
Benefits
- The Center for Justice Innovation offers an excellent benefits package including comprehensive healthcare with a national network, free basic dental coverage, vision insurance, short-term and long-term disability, life insurance, and flexible spending accounts including commuter FSA.
- We prioritize mental health care for our staff and offer services like Talkspace and Ginger through our healthcare plans.
- We offer a 403(b) retirement plan with a two-to-one employer contribution up to 5%.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Education Level
High school or GED
