Social Worker, Young Adult Initiatives

The Center for Court Innovation is a non-profit organization that works to create a more effective and humane justice system by performing original research and helping launch reforms by guiding justice innovators, nationally and internationally. The Center creates operating projects that have been documented to reduce the use of jail and prison, assist victims of crime, and strengthen communities.

Launched in 1993, the award-winning Midtown Community Court is one of the country’s first problem-solving courts. It provides alternatives to fines and jail as a response to low-level crime. Seeking to reduce crime and incarceration and increase public trust in justice, the Midtown Community Court works with neighborhood stakeholders to improve Midtown Manhattan, and to serve the vibrant Midtown community, specifically those in need of services. The court responds creatively to low-level offending, seeking sentences that are restorative to the victim, defendant, and community. Further, the Midtown staff engages in ongoing community engagement events to promote community wellness and to help connect people in need to voluntary services.

The Midtown Community Court is seeking a Social Worker, Young Adult Initiatives for its court-based, community-based, and voluntary programs, which includes a Adolescent Diversion Program, Overdose Avoidance and Recovery (OAR) court part and treatment readiness programming, a Human Trafficking Intervention program, and various alternative to incarceration programs that offer pre- and post-plea opportunities. 

Reporting to the Clinical Coordinator, the Social Worker will primarily work with the clinic to address the needs of 18 to 23-year-olds who have been arrested, as well as across other Midtown Community Court initiatives. Young adults who are arrested are served in a specialized court part dedicated to utilizing alternative sentencing and providing services to address the specific needs of young people. The Social Worker is primarily responsible for providing clinical assessments, designing and monitoring appropriate intervention plans, and providing short-term individual and group counseling sessions for court-involved young adults and voluntary clients.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Provide comprehensive case management and clinical services, including individual and group counseling, to a caseload of short- and long-term court involved clients that address issues such as substance use, mental health issues, trauma, interpersonal violence, housing, and vocational needs;
• Conduct individual counseling sessions and facilitate groups with court-mandated clients, as well as diversion programming through Project Reset, as needed;
• Attend court and interdisciplinary case conferences to help young adults and other clients navigate court and collaborate with court staff and stakeholders;
• Maintain appropriate client information and notes in electronic databases and paper files;
• Manage and monitor participant compliance with treatment mandates;
• Report on progress and compliance of mandated clients to court partners (judge, defense, prosecutors);
• Actively engage in new initiatives at Midtown Community Court, including the Rapid Engagement Initiative, a diversion program with the New York Police Department; and Youth Impact, a leadership program for youth in Midtown Manhattan;
• Establish and maintain linkages with community partners who can provide appropriate interventions and services to court-involved individuals;
• Make appropriate referrals to community-based organizations for additional services;
• Collaborate with Midtown’s sister project, Manhattan Justice Opportunities (MJO), to ensure linkages to Midtown programming;
• Design and participate in community events, in collaboration with community-based partners, to promote linkages to critical services and provide community-based access to services;
• Participate in staff meetings, team-building exercises, trainings, and site visits;
• Participate in evening and weekend community meetings, events, and programming, as needed;
• Perform other relevant duties, including coverage and support, as needed to support the Midtown Community Court and Center for Court Innovation.

Qualifications:

• LMSW and a minimum of 2 years of relevant experience in social work, the criminal justice system, and/or with justice-involved communities required; 
• Experience with young adult social services programming required;
• Experience with drug/alcohol treatment, harm reduction, mental health services, co-occurring disorders utilizing a trauma-informed and anti-oppressive practice required;
• Candidates must be willing and able to work collaboratively with colleagues and a variety of court personnel and partner agencies in a high-pressure/fast paced work environment. Court-based social work is an incredibly unique and demanding area of practice, and candidates must be open to constructive engagement with differing and, at times, competing perspectives.
• Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills;
• Knowledge of community-based resources throughout New York City;
• Experience and/or comfort working with both adolescents and adults;
• Strong organizational and excellent time management skills;
• A creative self-starter, who is comfortable working in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment; 
• Experience and commitment to creating, promoting, and maintaining a respectful, inclusive, and anti-racist work environment;
• SIFI certification preferred; 
• Bilingual (English-Spanish) preferred.

Position Type: Full-time, some evening and weekend hours are required.