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.
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 Staten Island Justice Center (SIJC), an operating project of the Center, 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 and 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.
Reporting to the SIJC SRP Senior Director, the Clinical Director will oversee primarily non-caseload carrying direct practice staff, which includes the Clinical Intake and specialty teams for internal referrals (SRP Clinicians, Community Engagement team, Housing Specialists, Education and Employment Specialists, and Group Work Facilitator) who provide meaningful mental health intervention and social services to thousands of court-mandated SRP participants in Staten Island each year. This position leverages managerial and clinical expertise to effectively collaborate with members of site leadership, ensuring service to participants aligns with program standards for operational excellence, best practice, and organizational values. Through clinically-informed supervision, case conferencing, and interdepartmental communications, the Clinical Director will ensure staff adhere to the program model through a trauma-informed lens.
In close collaboration with the centralized SRP Court Reform team and site leadership, the Clinical Director will be responsible for developing, revising, and implementing policy, protocol, and practice related to clinical work; designing and co-facilitating staff training, and collaborating to create new initiatives and interventions. The Clinical Director also plays a key role in creating and overseeing quality assurance systems and internal audits to ensure that the program is consistently adhering to the program model, fulfilling its mandate, and providing accurate court reports and quality service to participants.
The Center for Justice Innovation strongly encourage and seek applications from women, people of color, LGBTQIA community members, as well as individuals with lived experience with the legal system.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
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Collaborate effectively with Pretrial Services Director, Director of Practice, Deputy Project Directors and Project Director to identify operational successes and challenges towards the goal of developing and maintaining responsive and appropriate direct practice program policy, structures, and systems;
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Collaborate with other Clinical Directors across the Center, as needed;
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Responsible for creating and implementing policy and protocol for clinical and specialty teams;
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Work closely with the centralized SRP Court Reform Team to ensure alignment with program-wide policies, procedures, and protocols;
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Provide quality assurance oversight and guidance for all components of Supervised Release clinical practice, including: assessments, case assignments, treatment recommendations, and therapeutically-informed sessions;
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Develop and maintain quality assurance systems to support consistent quality services to participants within and across teams, including trauma-informed and culturally competent protocols and practices;
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Identify and maintain relationships with high quality service providers; ensure that community-based resource referrals are robust and appropriate;
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Responsible for supervision and oversight of direct practice staff, including clinical and specialty teams;
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Provide weekly supervision to the Clinical and Community Engagement Coordinators and the Group Work Facilitator toward the goals of consistent quality service provision to participants, accurate and timely data entry, substantive staff support, effective cross-team communication and collaboration, and professional growth and development opportunities for staff;
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Support and ensure the Coordinator’s and the Group Work Facilitator’s facilitation of weekly individual task and clinically-informed supervision for their direct reports;
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Maintain a bi-weekly departmental meeting composed of all clinical and specialty teams
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Work collaboratively with the SRP Court Reform team to co-create, co-facilitate, and implement trainings on a variety of topics including conducting assessments, intimate partner violence, cognitive behavioral intervention, and de-escalation;
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Oversight of consistent and effective cross-team communication and collaboration to proactively identify successes, challenges, and opportunities to strengthen programming, create opportunities for meaningful collaboration, and maximize internal and external resources and expertise;
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Participation in bi-weekly meetings across teams, specifically, Court Operations, Case Management, Compliance, Community Engagement, and specialty teams;
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Collaborate closely with compliance and direct practice leadership to ensure direct practice staff maintain appropriate and up-to-date participant information in the Center’s SRP case management data system;
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Support direct service staff serving participants presenting with unique or high-needs to provide effective support and intervention in such areas as mental health, substance use, domestic violence, unstable housing, and youth-focused services;
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Work with site leadership to ensure that appropriate crisis intervention and de-escalation protocols are routinely trained on and consistently operationalized by appropriate staff
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Provide direct crisis intervention and de-escalation support as needed;
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Support comprehensive data collection and program evaluation initiatives;
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Participate in regular staff trainings, including crisis management and de-escalation;
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Liaise and work collaboratively with judges and stakeholders, including the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, as needed;
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Support grant writing, as needed;
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Participate in SIJC events and programming during the evenings and weekends;
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Additional relevant tasks, as necessary.
Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have:
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LCSW required;
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Minimum 3 years supervisory experience required;
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Minimum 7 years direct practice experience (i.e., therapeutic or case management) required;
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Experience in pretrial services strongly preferred but not required; experience working with people impacted by the criminal legal system required;
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SIFI certified or eligible preferred;
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Knowledge of the needs of the homeless and/or unstably housed population, and familiarity with housing programs and related community resources to assist participants facing housing instability required;
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Experience working with substance use treatment, mental health services, co-occurring disorders, adolescent development, trauma-informed, and strength-based approaches strongly preferred;
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Commitment to, and experience using, holistic and strengths-based approaches, meeting “participants where they are,” as well as the ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds in a culturally-responsive manner;
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Excellent communication and writing skills;
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Excellent organizational skills;
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Ability to work professionally and collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team
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Ability to work effectively and collaboratively in a court setting, including working collaboratively with judges, court personnel, and partner agencies in a high-pressure and fast-paced work environment;
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Openness and ability to engage constructively with differing and, at times, competing perspectives; and
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Bilingual (English-Spanish) 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 $89,250- $130,000 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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