Case Manager, Bronx HOPE

THE ORGANIZATION
The Center for Court Innovation is committed to reducing crime and incarceration, addressing violence, supporting survivors, and building communities while strengthening public trust in justice. The Center seeks justice for marginalized groups, bringing an equity lens – particularly a racial and gender equity lens – to its work. For 25 years, the Center has worked to foster justice and equity to create safe, healthy, and thriving communities and, ultimately, to transform the justice system.

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 Court, 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
Researchers at the Center conduct independent evaluations, documenting how government systems work, how neighborhoods function, and how reform efforts change things. We believe in the “action research” model; accordingly, our researchers provide regular feedback on the results of the Center’s own operating programs. The Center has published studies on topics including youth in the sex trade, reentry, gun violence, and drug treatment as an alternative to incarceration. Our researchers have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals.

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.

Operating through Bronx Community Solutions (BCS), Bronx HOPE (Heroin Overdose Prevention Education) is a pre-arraignment diversion program being implemented in collaboration with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, New York Police Department, Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, and several community-based health providers. The program provides meaningful engagement between arrest and arraignment to individuals in the Bronx issued a Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT) for possession of a controlled substance. This is an innovative, new effort to be smarter about policing and prosecuting addiction by responding to low-level possessions of controlled substances –especially opioids – with harm-reduction alternatives to conventional court proceedings that rely on jail or the threat of jail as the corrective measure.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Bronx Community Solutions is seeking a Case Manager to provide extensive outreach to program participants and treatment services providers to help coordinate communication and mandated reporting. Reporting to the Program Coordinator, the Case Manager will work as a community-based peer outreach coach to inform and offer individuals about Bronx HOPE, provide and train how to use Narcan, coordinate the treatment referral process, and an initial assessment to ensure timely and responsive participant engagement and outcomes. 

Responsibilities include but are not limited to: 

• Collaborate with peer specialists to provide overall case management services for clients issued a DAT to help facilitate program referrals and assessments, as needed, and follow up with service providers on participants’ progress;
• Work with a diverse population in a mutually respectful manner, using a strengths-based approach and most importantly “meeting the clients where they’re at;"
• Assess individuals who are arrested for controlled substances and motivate clients to seek treatment, harm reduction, and/or recovery support assistance and collaborate on the development of an initial participant action plan, including a thorough review of substance use-related issues;
• Monitor and report on meaningful engagement in treatment and work to bring non-engaged program participants into programming compliance, as needed;
• Coordinate referrals and facilitate entry into Harm Reduction or substance abuse treatment based on the client’s need;
• Provide crisis intervention and support to clients, as needed;
• Accurately and efficiently document client interactions in a timely manner;
• Know how to properly administer and train individuals with a Narcan Kit;
• Additional relevant tasks, as needed. 

Additional temporary responsibilities include: 

• Respond to precinct-level arrest to meet with potential clients at Bronx Precincts; work as part of a collaborative team to ensure coordination of care; and
• Coordinate and facilitate individual education that is responsive to the specific interests and needs of the individual, which may include a focus on treatment, harm reduction, and/or relapse prevention. 

Qualifications:  The ideal candidate will have Bachelor’s degree or 3-4 years experience working in case management as an equivalency. Experience with integrated substance abuse assessment and treatment, motivational interviewing techniques, and stage-wise treatment required. Candidate should be CARC or CRPA certified or obtain credentials within one year of employment. The candidate should be comfortable working and collaborating with law enforcement and as part of a team in a collegial group environment. Superior communication skills with the ability to convey information clearly, accurately, and completely are required. Must be able to maintain a professional demeanor when handling difficult contacts. Strong work ethic, particularly in a team setting. Bilingual (Spanish/English) preferred. Additional requirements include:

• Must possess knowledge of the principles and practices of harm reduction and other treatment modalities;
• Ability to use lived experience and be comfortable serving as a role model of personal recovery to connect with clients and support them in their goals; and
• Ability to motivate clients in a courteous, empathic, and professional manner. 

Position Type: Full-time, non-exempt (flexible hours and rotating weekend schedule, shifts include 9 am to 5 pm, 11 am to 8 pm, 12 pm to 9 pm) 

Compensation: The compensation range for this position is $26.18 - $31.87 per hour based on a 35-hour work week and is commensurate with experience. This position is eligible for overtime at 1.5x the hourly rate above 40 hours per week. The Center for Court 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%.