Community Justice Case Manager - Aurora/North Seattle

Evergreen Treatment Services & REACH•Seattle, WA

6h•Onsite

About The Position

Evergreen Treatment Services (ETS) has been transforming the lives of individuals and their communities through innovative and effective addiction and social services in Western Washington for over 50 years. ETS strives to foster a diverse and inclusive community, working towards racial equity, health equity, and community justice. The REACH Program, a part of ETS, works with individuals experiencing homelessness and behavioral health conditions to help them achieve stability and improved quality of life. Its mission is to foster community health and safety through outreach, relationship, healing interventions, and systems advocacy for people who use drugs, providing outreach-based care coordination, multidisciplinary clinical services, and support to access and maintain housing. All services are based on harm reduction principles, offering respect and dignity. REACH incorporates a racial equity lens, actively dismantling systems of oppression rooted in White Supremacy and addressing historical trauma. The program is committed to building a robust behavioral health response that diverts people from jail by rebuilding community and providing services to ensure marginalized individuals can thrive. REACH offers a range of services from survival support to linkages to essential resources like housing, legal assistance, healthcare, entitlements, and accessible treatment for substance use disorders and mental health conditions. The team values diversity of lived experience, racial equity, social justice, hard work, creativity, and humor, and encourages applications from people impacted by the criminal legal system. This dynamic full-time onsite position, Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm, is part of the REACH team and supports ETS' mission by providing engagement and intensive case management services to individuals suspected of low-level drug offenses and/or prostitution, managing a caseload of approximately 25-30 individuals through outreach, long-term engagement, and collaboration with LEAD partners and community organizations.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent required.
Ability to respectfully engage and develop a working alliance with the people we are serving is essential.
Understanding of harm reduction.
Demonstrated passion for serving individuals experiencing homelessness and co-occurring disorders.
Skills necessary to provide advocacy and support for participants within the criminal justice system including court appearances and written communication.
Ability to advocate and effectively communicate and problem solve under pressure in high stress situations.
Understanding of racial justice and social equity and a commitment to helping create an equitable environment for all ETS clients and patients as well as fellow staff.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, patients, and staff from a wide variety of ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds.
Strong interpersonal skills and verbal/written communication skills.
Excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize workload, work independently, and complete tasks timely and efficiently.
Dependable, able to work under pressure, receptive to change, willingness to learn, cooperative approach to problem solving.
Flexible team player, with excellent attention to detail.
Ability to maintain confidentiality and use discretion when handling highly sensitive information.
Ability to set boundaries, resolve conflict and de-escalate issues.
Computer literate, with basic knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (or equivalent suites such as Google Workspace).
High level of initiative in keeping current with technological changes.
Skills needed include basic functions such as utilizing MS Outlook email and calendaring programs (or equivalent) and sending attachments, using MS Teams or equivalent chat, call, and videoconference features, and navigating search engines such as Edge or Google and carrying out browser searches and website benchmarking steps.
Valid Driver’s License and acceptable driving record (if using program vehicle).

Nice To Haves

Further education/training is desirable.
Street outreach experience a plus.

Responsibilities

Help ETS succeed in carrying out our mission through working together with other staff to transform systems of harm and inequity to create different approaches to improving community health and safety through addressing substance use and homelessness.
Assist with the organization-wide initiative to reimagine our interconnectedness within our community to overcome the aspects of our society and organizational culture shaped by white supremacy and settler colonialism.
Provide Outreach and Intensive Case Management services for assigned participants.
Engage participants on the street and at social service provider facilities to establish a working relationship and offer services.
Assess participants for severity of chemical dependency and housing status and determine needs for other services, e.g., medical, mental health.
Assist participants in gaining access to a variety of funding programs (e.g., SSI, ABD, VA).
Assist participants in finding housing and maintaining occupancy.
Develop and implement with the participant’s input an individualized Service Plan which addresses the needs of the participant for food, clothing, shelter, and health care and substance use disorder treatment or reduction/elimination of drug/alcohol use through self-change methods.
Update this Plan periodically to reflect movement toward or attainment of articulated goals and the emergence of new participant needs and to help the participant move toward the achievement of autonomy.
Develop and maintain a working relationship with Sobering Center staff, DSHS workers, chemical dependency treatment providers, mental health providers, health care providers, shelter providers, landlords, detox centers, Assessment Center staff, protective or representative payees, and other community programs which may support participants.
Provide structured Intensive Case Management services consistent with program policies.
Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with LEAD partners including Seattle Police Department, King County Sheriff, King County and City of Seattle Prosecutor’s office.
Provide advocacy and support for participants within the criminal justice system including court appearances and written communication.
Attend regularly scheduled Operational Work Group Meetings and the staffing of participants with partners.
Accompany participants to appointments as needed.
Assist participants in developing a spending plan and in shopping.
Advocate for the participant with a wide variety of other service providers.
Assist participants in gaining entry into service programs.
Develop relationships with housing resources and assist the participant in gaining access to appropriate housing.
Identify gaps and barriers in available community resources and advocate for systemic changes.
Attend REACH and LEAD team meetings and other required meetings.
Develop and maintain participant files for assigned caseload according to program, contract and state requirements.