Youth Engagement Specialist

THE ORGANIZATION

The Center for Justice Innovation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community safety and racial justice. Since 1996, we have worked alongside communities, courts, and those most directly affected by the justice system to build stronger, healthier, and more equitable neighborhoods. With a team of over 900 staff and an annual budget of $130 million, the Center carries out its mission through three core strategies:

• Operating programs that pilot new ideas and address local challenges.
• Conducting original research to evaluate what works—and what doesn’t.
• Providing expert assistance and policy guidance to reformers across the country and beyond.

Learn more at www.innovatingjustice.org
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Staten Island Justice Center (SIJC) offers an array of programming for both youth and adults in Staten Island, focusing on engaging those with current or past justice involvement or at risk of justice involvement. SIJC operates diversion, alternative to detention and incarceration, supervised release, reentry, mental health and wellness, workforce development, peer‑led restorative justice and leadership development programs. The Youth Justice initiatives provide judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys with alternative community sentencing options that hold individuals accountable in a meaningful, proportionate, and restorative manner.

The goal is to provide participants with individual and group services that help them avoid future contact with the justice system and promote swift case resolutions that bolster public confidence in justice.

SIJC is seeking a Youth Engagement Specialist who will serve as a mentor for youth justice initiative participants ages 13 to 18. Reporting to the Youth Justice Initiatives Program Manager, the Youth Engagement Specialist will develop and oversee mentorship programming activities—including group workshops and individual mentorship sessions. These activities will take place virtually, on‑site, and in the community. The specialist will work individually and with a team to assist participants in addressing the individual and societal factors that may impact their behavior.

• Engage in one‑on‑one relationships with mentees and their families, scheduling and facilitating individual mentorship meetings in participants' homes and in the community several times per week and participating in family events and outings.
• Facilitate group programming including community engagement projects, group outings, weekly trauma‑informed group sessions, restorative justice circles, and workshops on positive youth development, skill‑building, and leadership development.
• Carry out accurate and adequate case planning for mentees, scheduling and participating in meetings related to mentees’ well‑being, family team meetings, school meetings, meetings with external service providers, court appearances, and probation meetings.
• Assist with monitoring youth compliance for mentees, including curfew monitoring, educational outreach, and weekly programming activities with probation, court mandates, disposition orders, and maintain consistent communication with family and court stakeholders such as lawyers, probation officers, and judges.
• Act as point person for participants’ support system—family members, neighborhood supports, and school staff—as needed.
• Utilize online databases to track participant activities and outcomes.
• Operate company vehicle in the community for outreach and immediate client engagement and drive participants to referred services when needed.
• Help with loading and replenishment of materials needed in the vehicle.
• Provide coverage and support for other SIJC youth programming as needed.
• Participate in SIJC all‑staff meetings, committees, and staff development activities.
• Attend SIJC events or community meetings after hours or on weekends.
• Perform other activities and duties, as assigned.

High‑school diploma with 2‑5 years of experience working with youth from marginalized communities and/or youth who have been involved in the juvenile or criminal system, or equivalent lived experience in a related area, preferably as a criminal…