Clinical Supervisor, Strong Starts Court Initiative

THE ORGANIZATION

The Center for Justice Innovation (formerly the Center for Court Innovation) is a non-profit organization that works with communities and justice systems to advance equity, increase safety, and help individuals and communities thrive. The Center's goal is to identify and resolve as early as possible the challenges that bring people into the criminal and civil legal systems. It does this in a number of ways—by developing and running programs that reduce the need for incarceration and enhance economic opportunity, conducting original research to identify what works, and sharing what we learn from our programming and research with those seeking to transform the justice system around the world.

The Center is an 800-employee, $100 million nonprofit that accomplishes its vision through three pillars of work: creating and scaling operating programs to test new ideas and solve problems, performing original research to determine what works (and what doesn’t), and providing expert assistance and policy guidance to justice reformers around the world.

Operating Programs

The Center’s operating programs, including the award-winning Red Hook Community Justice Center and Midtown Community Justice Center, test new ideas, solve difficult problems, and attempt to achieve systemic change within the justice system. Our projects include community-based violence prevention programs, alternatives to incarceration, reentry initiatives, and court-based initiatives that reduce the use of unnecessary incarceration and promote positive individual and family change. Through this programming, we have produced tangible results like safer streets, reduced incarceration, and improved neighborhood perceptions of justice.

Research

The Center's research teams are staffed with social scientists, data analysts, and lawyers who are academically-trained or have lived experience and who conduct research in the U.S. and globally on diverse criminal-legal system and justice issues. Their work includes evaluating programs and policies; conducting exploratory, community-based studies; and providing research translation and strategic planning for system actors. The Center has published studies on topics including court and jail reform, intimate partner violence, restorative justice, gun violence, reentry, sixth amendment rights, and progressive prosecution. The research teams strive to make their work meaningful and actionable to the communities they work with, policymakers, and practitioners.

Policy & Expert Assistance

The Center provides hands-on, planning and implementation assistance to a wide range of jurisdictions in areas of reform such as problem-solving courts (e.g., community courts, treatment courts, domestic violence courts), tribal justice, reducing incarceration and the use of fines/fees and reducing crime and violence. Our current expert assistance takes many forms, including help with analyzing data, strategic planning and consultation, policy guidance, and hosting site visits to its operating programs in the New York City area. 

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Strong Starts Court Initiative (SSCI) is a special Infant-Focused Court Model with an emphasis on supporting Family Court involved families with subject children under the age of three. The goals of SSCI include increasing communication and collaboration between all parties and creating family-need-specific service plans that promote success and well-being, while keeping the infant’s needs, and voice, at the center of planning.  SSCI has expanded to all five boroughs, including the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, and also Westchester County. 

One of Strong Starts’ key model components includes a Clinical Coordinator for each borough.  The clinical coordinator, an expert in infant mental health and early childhood development, has a full-time presence in Family Court. Strong Starts Coordinators facilitate communication with the attorneys and caseworkers assigned to each child and family, and provide detailed reports to the Strong Starts Judge to promote developmentally and relationally-informed decision making.

The Strong Starts Court Initiative is seeking a Clinical Supervisor. Reporting to the Clinical Director, the Clinical Supervisor will be responsible for supervising and guiding the Clinical Coordinators in their day to day work as well as their clinical practice; participating in Clinical Conferences and other Strong Starts court appearances; supporting the Clinical Coordinators and other program staff in their work; and maintaining a small caseload of court-involved families.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Provide reflective individual and peer clinical supervision to Strong Starts Clinical Coordinators on a weekly basis;
• Participate in Clinical Conferences, observe court conferences and establish relationships with stakeholders such as Strong Starts Judges, attorneys, ACS, foster care agencies, and other systems who participate in Strong Starts cases in each county;
• Guide Clinical Coordinators on managing the clinical needs of their clients, and provide the attentive, reflective support of a supervisor who recognizes the personal impact of this work, the vicarious trauma that it so often brings, and the personal and professional dilemmas that always present when working with a highly stressed and under-resourced population of clients; 
• Help the Clinical Coordinators consider best strategies for conflict resolution while maintaining important professional relationships and boundaries, and continuing to relentlessly advocate for the child;
• Become familiar with the particular Family Court in which the Clinical Coordinators work, and spend time within those respective courthouses observing proceedings and meeting with stakeholders;
• Provide infant development/infant mental health psycho-education to the Judge and SSCI Partners by way of formal trainings, day-to-day consultation, and ad hoc case management and additional comprehensive, clinically-informed case management services to Strong Starts clients;
• Engage community-based service providers and government systems serving infants and families with ongoing outreach in order to form meaningful relationships, collaborate and support SSCI’s program goals, and to include community resources in the Court process so they can in turn support families with a greater knowledge of court practices and expectations;
• Participate in quarterly meetings of SSCI Steering Committees and Leadership meetings as needed;
• Participate in, and assist with providing training in infant development and infant mental health to the wider Court community and a variety of child welfare system stakeholder groups;
• Ensure that staff maintain appropriate and up-to-date case information in an electronic database to ensure that programming is effective, performance measures are met, and services have the desired outcomes;
• Maintain a small caseload of court-involved families;
• Oversee the professional development of staff;
• Additional relevant tasks, as necessary.

Qualifications:  The ideal candidate will have:

• An LMSW or LCSW with at least 2 years of supervisory experience preferred; and 3-4 years of relevant experience preferred working with infants and families, with a strong background in infant mental health including attachment theory and research; 
• Background in trauma and trauma-responsive interventions;
• Knowledge of local infant/family-serving systems and organizations including Early Intervention, Early Head Start, home visiting programs, parent-child dyadic therapeutic models and services;
• Ability to work collaboratively with, and provide leadership to, a multidisciplinary practitioner group;
• Ability to engage and support court-involved parents;
• Knowledge of screening assessment tools for infants and caregivers;
• Knowledge of issues related to child abuse/neglect;
• Knowledge of systems that interface with court-involved families and how to navigate these systems;
• Excellent written skills are a must;
• Bilingual (English-Spanish) preferred;
• Knowledge of Family Court, CPS and/or foster agency practice;
• Experience with systems change and community building; and
• Trained in Child Parent Psychotherapy.

Position Type: Full-time.

Position Location: Manhattan, NY; temporarily remote

Compensation: The compensation range for this position is $78,000 - $98,500 and is commensurate with experience. The Center for Justice Innovation offers an excellent benefits package including comprehensive healthcare with a national network, free basic dental coverage, vision insurance, short-term and long-term disability, life insurance, and flexible spending accounts including commuter FSA. We prioritize mental health care for our staff and offer services like Talkspace and Ginger through our healthcare plans. We offer a 403(b) retirement plan with a two-to-one employer contribution up to 5%.

The Center for Justice Innovation is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace, and as such, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, national origin, age, military service eligibility, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other category protected by law. We strongly encourage and welcome applications from women, people of color, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, as well as individuals with prior contact with the criminal justice system. Our aim is to create a supportive and respectful environment where every individual, irrespective of their background or identity, feels valued and included.

As of February 10, 2023, New York City Executive Order 25 rescinded the requirement of the COVID-19 vaccination for City workers, new hires, and contracted employees. Accordingly, the Center does not require all new hires be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus; however, the Center recommends all staff, interns, and volunteers stay up-to-date on the vaccination.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete an employment eligibility verification document form upon hire. Kindly refer to the job posting for the relevant contact information. If the contact details are not provided, we kindly ask that you refrain from making inquiries via phone or email, as only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.