Case Manager: Brooklyn Pre-trial Supervised Release Program

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 Center's problem-solving courts include the nation's first community court (Midtown Community Court), as well as drug courts, domestic violence courts, youth courts, mental health courts, and others. Nationally and internationally, the Center performs original research on topics of justice reform and provides consulting services to criminal justice innovators.

The Center for Court Innovation is seeking two (2) Case Managers for a new pretrial supervised release program operated out of Brooklyn Criminal Court. The pretrial supervised release program will provide regular monitoring and service referral services to approximately 250 misdemeanor defendants per year whose cases are pending in the Brooklyn Criminal Court. The goal of the program is provide community-based supervision for individuals who would otherwise be detained pretrial on low bail amounts. Each Case Manager will be responsible for monitoring a caseload of program participants and helping to promote their compliance with pretrial release conditions. The case managers will stay in regular contact with participants, including facilitating in-person case management meetings and sending frequent court date reminders.

The anticipated start date for this position is June 3, 2013. Each Case Manager's responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Maintain a caseload of program participants, as described below;
• Schedule and facilitate regular case management meetings in accordance with each participant's supervision schedule (one to four times per month);
• Administer a brief needs assessment with each participant during program intake to identify opportunities for voluntary service referrals;
• Use a variety of communication methods to maintain regular contact with participants (including but not limited to phone calls and text messages);
• Monitor other court-mandated supervision conditions as needed, including curfew checks and GPS monitoring;
• Work with other program staff to create and maintain relationships with local social service providers;
• Link participants to voluntary social services, as appropriate;
• Document all case management and supervision activities using the program's customized database;
• Work with other program staff to address participants' non-compliance in a timely and appropriate manner;
• Provide written and verbal case updates to the court and other court staff as needed;
• Participate in regularly scheduled staff meetings to ensure proper referrals and case management;
• Under the direction of the Program Manager, work with the program researcher(s) to effectively track, manage, and analyze all program data;
• Help prepare grant progress reports and other program reports as needed;
• Attend all required staff meetings and trainings; and
• Participate in regular reviews of program progress.

Qualifications

• One to three years of experience working in a human services field or equivalent;
• Experience working in a criminal court setting preferred
• Experience working with Brooklyn-based social service providers preferred
• Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds in a culturally-competent manner
• Experience using case management or other program management software required
• Bilingual preferred (English/Spanish)