Social Worker, Felony Alternative to Incarceration

Center for Justice Innovation•New York, NY

5d•$60,500 - $78,800•Onsite

About The Position

The Center for Justice Innovation is seeking a Social Worker to join a team of staff—including social workers, case managers, and a peer navigator—who work with defendants participating in the Manhattan Felony Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) Court. The Felony ATI Court, which is led by Administrative Judge Ellen Biben, seeks to forge a new response to individuals charged with felonies by linking them to community-based social services. The Court is the first of its kind, providing an innovative model for other jurisdictions seeking to develop and implement meaningful post-conviction sentencing options for individuals facing felony charges. Reporting to the Clinical Director of Felony ATI, the Social Worker will be part of a team that provides neutral, third-party assessments and case management services to the Felony Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) Court. The Social Worker will be responsible for conducting independent clinical assessments, providing referrals to community-based services, offering comprehensive clinical case management, and monitoring participant compliance. An essential and dynamic feature of the Social Worker’s role will be close collaboration with key stakeholders. The Social Worker will work regularly with the judge and court staff from New York Country Supreme Court who oversee the Felony ATI Court, as well as with other stakeholders, including the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and New York City defense organizations. Court-based social work is an exciting, unique and demanding area of practice, and the Social Worker role involves navigating and constructively engaging with differing and, at times, competing stakeholder perspectives.

Requirements

LMSW, with a minimum of 3-4 years in criminal justice and/or related fields, such as healthcare, substance use and mental health treatment, homelessness and housing services, education, job training/workforce development, child welfare and family services, youth services, elder care services, domestic violence programming, sex offense treatment, and services for people with development disabilities, is required.
Experience in a court or criminal justice settings, including working with incarcerated people, preferred
Experience using trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches and working with participants with substance use, mental health, or co-occurring needs, co-occurring disorders, preferred
Experience working with and addressing the specific needs of young adults, LGBTQ+ people, and women preferred
Knowledge and/or lived experience related to the criminal justice system and its impacts on communities
Commitment to, and experience using, holistic and strengths-based approaches, meeting “participants where they are”, as well as the ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds in a culturally-competent manner
Willingness and ability to work collaboratively with a variety of court personnel and on-site partner agencies in a high-pressure/fast paced work environment
Skill and openness to constructive engagement with differing and, at times, competing stakeholder perspectives
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to provide succinct and comprehensive verbal updates about treatment engagement and compliance to legal stakeholders during court appearances and case conferences
Excellent organization and time management skills

Nice To Haves

Bilingual (English-Spanish) preferred

Responsibilities

Conduct detailed risk-need profiles and clinical assessments for potential Felony ATI Court participants
Develop treatment recommendations for services for potential Felony ATI participants to court stakeholders (judge, defense counsel, prosecutor and court staff)
Provide comprehensive, clinically-informed case management services to a caseload of pre-plea and court-mandated Felony ATI participants to help address issues such as substance use, mental health issues, trauma, domestic violence, housing and vocational needs, and other challenges in a participant’s life (e.g. new arrests, family court cases and other civil legal issues)
Make appropriate community-based referrals for a variety of social service needs
Manage and monitor compliance with treatment mandates, including care coordination with providers
Provide written treatment updates for court stakeholders for all court-involved participants
Participate in regular interdisciplinary case conferences with court stakeholders
Coordinate with court stakeholders on any non-compliance issues and assist clients in getting back into compliance, including re-engaging clients, arranging return on warrants, and implementing graduated responses to encourage future compliance
Facilitate and help to develop and/or revise curricula for a range of on-site psychoeducational groups and individual case management sessions
Attend court on calendar days, as needed, to help clients navigate court and collaborate with court staff and stakeholders
Collaborate and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including the resource coordinator, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other court and programmatic staff
Assist with toxicology testing and reporting, as needed
Provide crisis intervention and de-escalation, as needed
Provide voluntary referrals to community-based services, as needed
Establish and maintain linkages with community partners who can support program work
Assist the Clinical Director with the development and implementation of new initiatives; including best clinical practices, and appropriate evidence-based interventions
Enter and maintain appropriate up-to-date participant information, including assessment, case management, and case outcome data
Provide clinical services as described above to program participants on a voluntary basis post-mandate
Participate in clinical group supervision, staff meetings, and trainings, as scheduled
Attend evening community-based meetings and events, as needed
Assist with other programmatic and administrative tasks to support the Felony ATI Court’s activities, as needed