Youth Justice Social Worker - Brownsville Community Justice Center

Brooklyn Alternative to Incarceration Program
Brownsville Community Justice Center
Youth Justice Social Worker

The Center for Court Innovation, a project of the Fund for the City of New York, is a unique public-private partnership that promotes new thinking about how courts and criminal justice agencies can aid victims, change the behavior of offenders, and strengthen communities. The Center creates demonstration projects that test new approaches to problems that have resisted conventional solutions.
The Brownsville Community Justice Center, one of the newest projects of the Center for Court Innovation, seeks to reengineer how the justice system works in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The Justice Center is dedicated to building multiple off-ramps for young people who come into contact with the justice system by providing much-needed services to young people arrested in Brownsville. The aim is to provide the kind of support that young people need to become law-abiding members of society. The ultimate goal is to reduce crime and the use of incarceration, while at the same restoring local faith in the justice system.
The Brownsville Community Justice Center is seeking a Youth Justice Social Worker for the Brooklyn Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) Program. ATI provides case management, community-based mandates, and referrals to social services (in lieu of jail) for young adults (ages 16-24) sentenced on misdemeanor cases. The program targets individuals who reside in, or were arrested in, the police precincts of Southwest and Central Brooklyn. Whenever possible, participants are connected with community service opportunities and social services in these communities, through the Center’s Red Hook and Brownsville Community Justice Centers and other partners. The program aims to serve 450 participants annually.
Reporting to the Clinical Coordinator of the Brownsville Community Justice Center and working directly with the Program Manager of the Brooklyn ATI Program, the Youth Justice Social Worker is primarily responsible for providing assessment, comprehensive case management, and coordinated service delivery for the Central Brooklyn participants of the Brooklyn ATI Program. Although the Youth Justice Social Worker will primarily operate out of the Brownsville Community Justice Center, s/he may be called upon to provide similar services at the Kings County Criminal Court.
Spring 2014 graduates are strongly encouraged to apply.
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Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
 Providing comprehensive case management services to criminal court defendants ages 16-24 (and, where appropriate, their families).
 Conducting clinical assessments and providing recommendations for services and treatment;
 Maintaining appropriate client information in electronic databases and hard files;
 Making appropriate referrals for additional social services;
 Facilitating coordinated service delivery from on-site and community-based agencies;
 Managing and monitoring participant compliance with treatment mandates;
 Producing weekly written treatment updates;

 Providing written and verbal participant reports to the court and other court staff (e.g. prosecutors, defense attorneys);
 Participating in interdisciplinary treatment meetings;
 Facilitating a range of on-site psychoeducational groups and conducting individual case management sessions;
 Overseeing data collection, management, reporting, and information sharing for Brownsville participants;
 Assisting with toxicology testing and reporting;
 Providing clinical services as described above to program participants on a voluntary basis post-mandate;
 As needed, assisting the Program Manager with the development and implementation of new programs, initiatives, and/or interventions;
 As needed, serving as a resource coordinator in various court parts to recruit eligible participants into the program;
 Providing clinical services to youth participants of other on-site Justice Center programs;
 Attending all required staff meetings and trainings.

Qualifications:
 MSW required; candidates must either be licensed or eligible for LMSW licensure in the State of New York within 90 days.
 Candidates must be willing and able to work collaboratively with a variety of court personnel and on-site partner agencies. Court-based social work is an incredibly unique and demanding area of practice, and candidates must be open to constructive engagement with differing and at times competing perspectives.
 Candidates must be committed to using holistic and strengths-based approaches.
 Candidates must have the ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds in a culturally competent manner. Candidates must also be comfortable working with adolescents and adults.
 Bilingual preferred (English/Spanish)
 Criminal background check required.

Compensation: Competitive salary commensurate with experience and excellent benefits package.

Position Type: Full-time

How to apply: Please submit a resume and cover letter via email to HR@courtinnovation.org. Include the job title, “Brownsville Case Manager” in the subject line. No phone calls please.

DEADLINE: 4/4/2013

Visit our website at www.courtinnovation.org. The Fund for the City of New York is an equal opportunity employer.