Social Worker, Misdemeanor Alternatives to Incarceration

Center for Justice Innovation•New York, NY

3d•$57,500 - $75,700•Onsite

About The Position

Manhattan Justice Opportunities seeks to rethink justice in Manhattan and build a justice system that is more responsive to individuals’ and communities’ needs. Manhattan Justice is a centralized, court-based screening, resource, and referral hub that provides judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys at New York County Criminal Court and Supreme Court with a wide array of social service-based sentencing options in misdemeanor and felony cases. Manhattan Justice offers onsite case management, psycho-educational groups, and restorative justice programming, and provides referrals to community-based service providers for mental health, substance use, employment, primary health care services and more. These services, which are open to anyone who needs them—including mandated participants’ families and friends, and others affected by the criminal justice system—help people address underlying issues in their lives, build stability, and decrease their likelihood of further justice involvement. Manhattan Justice is seeking a Social Worker to engage and assess program participants and connect them to a full range of wra wraparound services, including, community-based social services and evidence-based interventions. Reporting to the Clinical Supervisor, the Social Worker will be responsible for conducting assessments and intakes, making referrals to community-based service providers, offering comprehensive trauma-informed case management and individual counseling sessions, facilitating psychoeducational groups, and providing compliance monitoring for people with open misdemeanor and felony cases. An essential and dynamic feature of the Social Worker’s role will be close collaboration with the Manhattan Misdemeanor Alternative to Incarceration Court, a new problem-solving court. The Social Worker will assess and prepare treatment recommendations for potential participants and provide long-term care coordination and compliance monitoring for a caseload of participants. 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
Knowledge and/or lived experience related to the criminal justice system and its impacts on communities
Commitment to being participant-centered and using holistic and strengths-based approaches, as well as the cultural humility to work with people from diverse backgrounds
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 organization and time management skills
Strong writing and verbal communication skills
All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application and throughout the duration of employment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a court or criminal justice settings, including working with incarcerated people, preferred
Experience with co-occurring disorders, trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches preferred
Bilingual (English and Spanish-speaking) preferred
SIFI eligible preferred

Responsibilities

Conduct intakes and clinical assessments for mandated and voluntary program participants
Develop treatment recommendations for potential participants to be shared with court stakeholders (judge, defense counsel, prosecutor and court staff), when necessary
Provide comprehensive, clinically-informed case management and individual counseling services to a caseload of participants charged with misdemeanor and felony offenses
Facilitate and help to develop and/or revise curricula for a range of on-site psychoeducational groups and individual case management sessions
Provide referrals to community-based services that address issues such as substance use, mental health issues, trauma, domestic violence, housing, and educational/vocational needs; and other challenges in participants’ lives (e.g. family court cases and other civil legal issues)
Manage and monitor compliance with treatment mandates, including care coordination with providers
Provide written and verbal compliance reports to legal parties and coordinate responses to non-compliance issues, including re-engaging participants and arranging return on warrants
Provide crisis intervention and de-escalation, as needed
Assist with outreach to participants and defense attorneys to ensure all mandated participants are effectively engaged
Enter and maintain appropriate up-to-date participant information, including assessment, case management, attendance, and case outcome data
Provide clinical services as described above to program participants on a voluntary basis post-mandate
Facilitate coordinated service delivery from on-site agencies and community-based partners for mandated services and voluntary referrals
Collaborate closely with intake specialists, case managers, and social workers on the clinical team
Collaborate closely with staff at the Midtown Community Justice Center and other Center for Justice Innovation operating projects
Assist the Clinical Supervisor with the development and implementation of new initiatives; including best clinical practices, and appropriate evidence-based interventions
Participate in clinical group supervision, staff meetings, and trainings, as scheduled
Attend evening court and community-based events and meetings, as needed
Additional tasks as necessary