Participant Engagement Specialist, Supervised Release Program

Staten Island, NY

Full Time

Staten Island Justice Center, Supervised Release Program

Entry Level

THE ORGANIZATION

The Center for Justice Innovation is a community justice organization that centers safety and racial justice. Since our founding in 1996, the Center has partnered with community members, courts, and the people most impacted to create stronger, healthier, more just communities. Our decades of experience in courts and communities, coupled with our field-leading research and practitioner expertise, help us drive justice nationwide in innovative, powerful, and durable ways. For more information on how and where we work, please visit www.innovatingjustice.org.

The Center is a 900-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.

Center Support

A dedicated support team within the Center ensures the smooth functioning of operations across various domains, including finance, legal, technology, human resources, fundraising, real estate, and communications. Comprising 15% of the organization's staff, these teams provide essential infrastructure support and innovative solutions aligned with the Center's mission and values.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Staten Island Justice Center (SIJC) seeks to re-engineer the experience of criminal court in Staten Island, New York, by providing judges and attorneys meaningful alternatives to bail, fines, and jail sentences. Operating out of Richmond County Criminal Court along with community-based offices, SIJC is a team of social service providers, court-based resource coordinators, mental health practitioners, compliance specialists, and others who seek to improve the quality of justice. Supervised Release offers an alternative to jail by providing pretrial supervision, case management, and voluntary social services to people charged with misdemeanor and felony offenses, and in doing so, uses an arrest as a window of opportunity to change the direction of a participant’s life, avoiding the harmful effects of incarceration. Program participants are monitored to ensure their appearance at court dates and mandatory programming, and receive referrals to services like job training, drug treatment, and mental health counseling.

SIJC seeks a Participant Engagement Specialist for the borough’s Supervised Release Program (SRP) which provides supervision, case management, and social service connection to thousands of court-mandated participants each year. Reporting to the Clinical Intake Coordinator, the Participant Engagement Specialist will leverage interpersonal and data-management skills to support participants’ successful engagement with the program. The Participant Engagement Specialist will provide outreach to program participants who missed program orientation, intake, and those who have been disengaged for 30 days or more. Additionally, this role will effectively communicate and collaborate with intake, case management, and compliance teams to ensure accurate court reporting and continued program engagement.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Complete outreach to all disengaged participants mandated to SRP in Staten Island to re-engage them in the program;
- Engage in weekly outreach efforts by phone and email to participants and their collateral contacts and defense attorneys to support program engagement;
Monitor all participants simultaneously assigned bail and SRP, collaborating with the clinical intake team as appropriate;
Maintain accurate and timely data entry and case documentation aligned with the program model, court reporting obligations, and best practices;
Collaborate with the Clinical Intake Coordinator and the intake, case management, and compliance teams to ensure outreach to all participants whose orientations or intakes are incomplete or who have been disengaged from the program for 30 days or more;
Contribute to consistent and effective cross-team communication;
- Participate in team and inter-team meetings;
Participate in individual supervision and regular staff trainings to develop program expertise and related skill sets;
Participate in all-staff and departmental meetings to build team cohesion, communication, and morale;
Attend project events, community events, and meetings after hours, as needed; and
Additional relevant tasks, as necessary.

Qualifications:

High school diploma or equivalent required;
Minimum 1 year direct practice or customer service experience required;
Excellent written and verbal communication skills required;
Comprehensive knowledge of and/or experience with the criminal legal and related systems is valued but not required;
Must be detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills;
Must be able to work effectively and independently and as part of a highly interdependent, multi-disciplinary team within a fast-paced and dynamic work environment;
Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with a variety of program stakeholders, including judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, court staff, and site partner agencies; and
Bilingual (English-Spanish) strongly preferred.

Position Type: Full-time in-person work required; weekend and evening hours required, as needed.

Position Location: Staten Island, NY.

Compensation: The compensation range for this position is $53,500 - $60,000 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.

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