Clinician, Court-Based

Court-Based Clinicians

Brooklyn Justice Initiatives (BJI), the largest operating project of the Center, seeks to re-engineer the experience of criminal court in Brooklyn, New York, by providing judges and attorneys meaningful alternatives to bail, fines, and jail sentences. 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.

BJI seeks Court-Based Clinicians for the borough's Supervised Release Program (SRP). Reporting to the Clinical Intake Coordinator, the Clinicians are the front line of service delivery and key to ensuring that the program meets its mandate. Clinicians play a key role in providing timely emergency referrals, delivering crisis intervention and de-escalation support, and conducting intakes and assessments for participants. Clinicians also work with participants to identify and address barriers to compliance and court attendance;

conduct outreach to participants, court stakeholders, community-based service providers, and collateral contacts; lead cognitive behavioral therapy-informed sessions and other suitable programming; connect participants to appropriate services in the community to support their stabilization; and ensure accurate and timely court reporting on participants' compliance with program requirements. Accurate and timely data entry is a core responsibility for this position.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Conduct intakes and holistic assessments; create voluntary service and resource plans that address criminogenic needs and responsivity factors; make referrals to address immediate needs; provide assistance to participants to support engagement with referrals made, as needed; and provide participants with information regarding any additional court mandates, including, but not limited to, mandatory programming and Tactics and Choices class.
• Work with supervisors to complete and submit mandatory programming recommendations to court.
• Determine case assignments and facilitate warm handoffs to case managers: schedule participants for their first check-in with their assigned case manager; case conference with case managers to discuss participant needs and/or service and resource plans and/or mandatory programming, as appropriate.
• Facilitate mandated and voluntary evidence-based practice sessions to enhance motivation for change and engagement in services.
• Develop and facilitate group and individual programming to address participant needs and court mandates.
• Provide comprehensive, clinically informed case management services: orchestrate internal and external resource allocation and service referrals; work with participants to identify and address barriers to compliance with supervision requirements and court attendance; monitor participants' compliance with supervision requirements; and conduct outreach to participants, their collateral contacts, and defense attorneys to maximize compliance with supervision requirements.
• Provide de-escalation and emergency intervention in response to incidents occurring in the courthouse and offices.
• Maintain accurate and timely data entry and case documentation aligned with the program model, court reporting obligations, and best practices.
• Submit accurate and timely reports to court within designated time frames, including compliance, noncompliance, rearrest, and mandatory programming court notifications.
• Maintain professional, productive, and positive relationships with external stakeholders, including court staff, judges, and attorneys.
• 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.
• Participate in individual, group supervision, and regular staff trainings to develop program expertise and related skill sets.
• Attend project events, community events, and meetings after hours, as needed.
• Please note that this role is eligible for clinical hours; and additional relevant tasks, as necessary.

Qualifications:

• Master's degree in a mental health field and 3 years direct practice (e.g. therapeutic or case management or counseling) experience required, LMSW or mental health license preferred.
• Experience working in pretrial, court-based, or criminal legal system strongly preferred.
• Experience with crisis intervention and de-escalation required.
• Must be detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills.
• Experience working with people…