Job Description

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   

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

The Brownsville Community Justice Center seeks to reengineer how the justice system works in Brownsville, Brooklyn. In particular, the Justice Center is dedicated to building 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 time restoring local faith in the justice system.

Brownsville Community Justice Center is seeking a Case Manager. Reporting to the Program Coordinator of Justice Initiatives, the Case Manager will be part of a team that provides clinically-informed case management services and restorative justice training to justice impacted youth. The Case Manager will be responsible for providing referrals to community-based services, offering comprehensive case management, and monitoring participant compliance.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Manage a caseload of young adults (15 - 21), which includes outreach, case management, coaching, crisis response, follow-up, coordination of care, referral services, and aftercare;
• Provide comprehensive, clinically-informed case management services to a caseload of justice impacted 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;
• Provide written updates for court stakeholders for all court-involved participants;
• Assist with data entry and ensure the accuracy of information in the electronic case management system, including entering case notes and assessment, case management, programming and case outcome data;
• Participate in regular interdisciplinary case conferences with Justice Center staff;
• Provide crisis intervention and de-escalation, as needed;
• Work closely with the  Program Coordinator of Justice Initiatives to develop and oversee the implementation of a comprehensive community outreach plan;
• Assist with scheduling and rescheduling participants for intakes, assessments, and programming with community-based partners;
• Assist with the development of BCJC’s youth workforce development strategies and partnerships, including the development and maintenance of a jobs and opportunities bulletin board and database;
• Facilitate orientation sessions and restorative justice circle keeping trainings;
• Assist in the development and implementation of strengths-based employment readiness assessments and plans with individual members based on their interests, skills and goals;
• Support members in developing a career pathway to living wage employment;
• Provide individual assessments to discover strengths for and barriers to educational, employment or entrepreneurship opportunities;
• Work closely with participants to obtain educational goals to support learning and job-readiness;
• Maintain records of identified participants’ contacts to produce regularly scheduled reports;
• Work with the Justice Center's Community Initiatives Manager to execute identified civic and community benefit projects;
• Work with the Justice Center's Program Manager to build and maintain relationships with local service providers and program partners, including law enforcement, faith leaders, stakeholder and community-based organizations to identify neighborhood resources;
• Attend community meetings and events to support recruitment, as requested;
• Organize and participate in all administration/management and program review meetings to ensure program progress and help communicate progress to other Justice Center staff;
• Maintain a work culture conducive to innovation and team building;
• Model and facilitate creative problem solving and youth development strategies for direct reports and subcontractors;
• Provide all services in a culturally competent manner, being responsive to the needs of urban court-involved youth; and
• Additional relevant tasks as necessary.

Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have:

• A Bachelor’s degree or a minimum of 3-4 years of experience working in a social service setting;
• Experience in pretrial, court-based, or criminal legal system strongly preferred;
• Must be detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills;
• Experience working within a specialized branch of service provision like substance use treatment, mental health services, co-occurring disorders, or adolescent development preferred;
• Experience using trauma-informed and strength-based approaches strongly preferred;
• Must be able to work effectively independently and as part of a highly interdependent, multi-disciplinary team within a fast-paced and dynamic work environment;
• Professional demeanor and ability to work collaboratively and effectively with a variety of program stakeholders, including judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, court staff, and site partner agencies;
• Openness to work collaboratively with people from diverse backgrounds in a culturally-competent manner; 
• Bilingual (English-Spanish) preferred.
• Mature grasp of community organizing and relationship building techniques;
• Strong administrative and computer skills for timely comprehensive tracking; and
• Familiarity with the Central Brooklyn and/or Brownsville communities preferred.

Position Type: Full-time; Monday-Friday, 11am-7pm; some nights and weekends.

Position Location:  Brownsville, NY.

Compensation: The compensation range for this position is $52,000 - $63,500 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.

Job Tags

Full time, Temporary work, For subcontractor, Local area, Flexible hours, Night shift, Weekend work, Monday to Friday,

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