Correctional Treatment Specialist (Case Manager)

Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System•Atwater, CA

About The Position

Correctional Treatment Specialists foster a humane and secure environment and help ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into their communities. The Case Manager conducts group and individual counseling addressing institutional adjustment, parole, release planning, interpersonal communication, family circumstances, and other individual needs. The position involves developing release plans with community resources, preparing diagnostic studies and progress reports, communicating with justice-system professionals, and coordinating case management services with the Unit Team and other correctional disciplines. The incumbent also helps maintain institutional security; correctional responsibilities take precedence over other duties and are performed regularly. The role requires qualifying education and/or experience in behavioral or social sciences, corrections, criminal justice, counseling, or related areas. Appointment is subject to pre-employment screening and successful completion of a three-week Introduction to Correctional Techniques course in Glynco, Georgia. The position is subject to a maximum entry age of 36 for original appointments to a Bureau of Prisons institution, with stated exceptions for certain applicants.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship is required.
Meet the basic requirement through a degree including at least 24 semester hours in behavioral or social sciences, or a qualifying combination of education and experience that includes those credits and equivalent knowledge.
Qualifying experience must involve correctional or criminal-justice casework, counseling that requires diagnostic or treatment-planning skills to meet social or occupational goals, or work treating people in need of social rehabilitation.
For GL-09, meet the additional qualification through two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master’s degree, a master’s or equivalent graduate degree, qualifying specialized experience, or an allowable combination of education and experience.
For GS-11, meet the additional qualification through three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D., a doctoral or equivalent degree, qualifying specialized experience, or an allowable combination of education and experience.
Graduate education used to qualify must be in corrections or a related field, such as criminal justice, sociology, psychology, counseling, or social work.
Specialized experience must be at least one year equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade and must provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for the position.
Submit legible transcripts through USAJOBS when education is used to meet a requirement or substitute for specialized experience; transcripts must identify the school, student, degree, and award date when applicable.
Academic degrees and coursework must be from an institution accredited or pre-accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Complete required pre-employment and panel interviews, urinalysis, physical examination, background investigation, NCIC screening, and credit check.
Applicants not currently working in an institution must complete a qualification inquiry regarding misdemeanor domestic-violence convictions to be authorized to carry a firearm.
Successfully complete the three-week Introduction to Correctional Techniques course at Glynco, Georgia.
Meet the maximum entry age of 36 for original appointment to a Bureau of Prisons institution unless an applicable exception applies.
Meet Selective Service requirements, as applicable.

Responsibilities

Conduct group guidance sessions on institutional adjustment, parole, release planning, and interpersonal communication.
Provide individual counseling tailored to inmates’ problems, including helping them address family circumstances and develop adjustment techniques.
Help inmates assess problems objectively and deal with them realistically.
Work with community resources to obtain information and develop release plans.
Prepare special progress reports for parole, transfer, restoration of forfeited good time, and related considerations, and make recommendations.
Correspond with attorneys, judges, probation and parole officers, and other professionals about inmate cases.
Prepare diagnostic studies by collecting, interpreting, and evaluating factual information about inmates’ developmental and circumstantial factors.
Liaise with institutional units and employees on matters concerning inmate behavior.
Serve as the primary liaison with the U.S. Parole Commission regarding program progress, release readiness, and relevant community resources.
Present cases to the Unit Team and coordinate case management services with other correctional disciplines.
Help maintain institutional security as a regular and recurring responsibility.