Re-Entry Services Coordinator

Commonwealth of Massachusetts•West Boylston, MA

11d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Re-entry Services Coordinator (RSC) will be part of the multi-disciplinary team at the Community Justice Support Center (Support Center). Support Centers provide treatment, education, career counseling, and case management support to people that are justice-involved as an alternative to jail and prison. The RSC will work specifically with those returning from a period of incarceration as part of a new initiative called, Ralph Gants Re-entry Services Program, (Gants Program). The Gants Program will leverage all the supports available at the Support Center and in the community to address emerging needs of those returning from jail and prison like food, healthcare, housing, state-ID, etc. The Gants Program will also work with clients to address deep-rooted needs that may contribute to future criminal involvement like education, employment, decision-making, and drug and alcohol use. The RSC may be a person with lived experience that has special insight into the challenges faced by those returning from a period of incarceration. The RSC will be a person that can build rapport, demonstrate empathy, set appropriate professional boundaries, and deliver the support needed to ensure that those returning from prison find positive change.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or lived experience
Some record of educational development such as certificate, college credit
Intention to continue education if bachelor’s degree not completed
2 years of experience working with justice-involved population
Mastery of basic technology including MS Office: Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams.
Ability to communicate effectively in verbal and written form.
Ability to organize and manage a caseload including making appropriate case notes, filing, and tracking client progress against scheduled events and relevant calendars.
Working knowledge of community resources to address needs like housing, healthcare, food, etc.

Nice To Haves

May be a person with lived experience that has special insight into the challenges faced by those returning from a period of incarceration.

Responsibilities

Conduct in-reach to Massachusetts Correctional Institutions and County Houses of Corrections and Jails to publicize the services available at Support Center such as: education, career counseling, treatment, housing support, and community-based referrals, etc.
Develop rapport with individual people returning to the community after a period of incarceration so that they can meet with the same Support Center representative that they met while incarcerated. This facilitates a “warm-handoff” wherein the person returning home from incarceration can meet with someone that they have met previously rather than begin their reentry by making a cold contact with someone they must “get to know”.
Greet those returning from prison at the Support Center to welcome them home from incarceration as part of the “warm-handoff”.
Develop a Support Center case file for each client participating in the Gants Program including demographic information collected at intake, educational/vocational assessments, reentry plans from correctional institutions, services/needs documentation desired for future success, and any risk/need assessment if the participant volunteered to undertake such assessment.
Manage the caseload of all individuals participating in the Gants Program at the Support Center.
Work with the multi-disciplinary team at the Support Center to engage Gants Program clients in appropriate services, coordinate with the Support Center Public Benefits Coordinator to establish essential public benefits and refer the client to community-based resources to address needs.
Maintain contact with the client monthly for 18-months.
Provide information about mentoring training to community-based programs that are interested in volunteer opportunities to support those returning from incarceration.
Coordinate with community-based mentoring programs to establish a mentoring connection for the client if the client desires such.
Cross-train in actuarial assessment tools for risk/need, treatment planning, and contingency management protocols as needed.
Facilitate aftercare or alumni groups for Support Center clients.