Job Description

THE ORGANIZATION

The Center for Justice Innovation is a community justice organization that centers safety and racial justice. Since our founding in 1996, the Center has partnered with community members, courts, and the people most impacted to create stronger, healthier, more just communities. Our decades of experience in courts and communities, coupled with our field-leading research and practitioner expertise, help us drive justice nationwide in innovative, powerful, and durable ways. For more information on how and where we work, please visit   

The Center is a 900-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 Justice Center, 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

The Center's research teams are staffed with social scientists, data analysts, and lawyers who are academically-trained or have lived experience and who conduct research in the U.S. and globally on diverse criminal-legal system and justice issues. Their work includes evaluating programs and policies; conducting exploratory, community-based studies; and providing research translation and strategic planning for system actors. The Center has published studies on topics including court and jail reform, intimate partner violence, restorative justice, gun violence, reentry, sixth amendment rights, and progressive prosecution. The research teams strive to make their work meaningful and actionable to the communities they work with, policymakers, and practitioners.

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. 

Center Support

A dedicated support team within the Center ensures the smooth functioning of operations across various domains, including finance, legal, technology, human resources, fundraising, real estate, and communications. Comprising 15% of the organization's staff, these teams provide essential infrastructure support and innovative solutions aligned with the Center's mission and values. 

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Staten Island Justice Center (SIJC), an operating project of the Center, seeks to re-engineer the experience of criminal court in Staten Island, New York, by providing judges and attorneys meaningful alternatives to bail, fines, and jail sentences. Operating out of Richmond County Criminal Court and community-based offices, SIJC is a team of social service providers, court-based resource coordinators, mental health practitioners, compliance specialists, and others who seek to improve the quality of justice. The Criminal Justice Programs 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. 

SIJC seeks a Group Work Facilitator for the borough’s Criminal Justice Programs, which provides case management and social service connection to thousands of court-mandated participants each year. Reporting to the Director of Criminal Justice Programs, the Group Work Facilitator will manage the participant group work portfolio. Specifically, the Group Work Facilitator will assist with the development, implementation, facilitation, and quality assurance of a diverse catalog of groups that will run throughout the year and vary in content and format. Group content will vary from psycho-educational to skill-based; group formats may include one-time sessions, ongoing series, and closed and open formats. All groups will aim to substantively address participant needs and count toward their court’s mandates. 

The Center for Justice Innovation strongly encourages and seeks applications from women, people of color, LGBTQIA community members, as well as individuals with lived experience with the legal system.

• Develop, schedule, and lead facilitation for a diverse and robust calendar of groups for SIJC participants; 
  • Collaborate with colleagues, co-facilitators, and direct practice leadership to develop innovative groups relevant to SIJC; 
  • Assist in creating new groups in an on-going capacity in response to staff and participant feedback regarding preferences, needs, interests, and limitations;
• Develop group materials and teaching aids to support a variety of learning styles and needs;
• Maintain a rotation schedule for group co-facilitators, including Clinical Coordinator, Case Managers and Senior Case Managers; 
• Work with the Director of Criminal Justice Programs to develop, implement, and manage training for co-facilitators on the group content, structure, and engagement;
• Assist with development of group evaluation tools to gather participant feedback; 
• Develop and implement participation tracking tools to ensure accurate and timely data entry and case documentation aligned with the program model, court reporting obligations, and best practice; 
• Contribute to consistent and effective cross-team communication; 
  • Participate in team and inter-team meetings; 
• Participate in individual supervision and regular staff trainings to develop program expertise and related skill sets; 
• Participate in all-staff and departmental meetings to build team cohesion, communication, and morale;
• Attend project events, community events, and meetings after hours, as needed; and
• Additional relevant tasks, as necessary. 

Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have:

• A Bachelor’s degree and two years of direct group facilitation experience in a related social service field;
• Strong ability to facilitate and co-facilitate groups required; 
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills required;
• Ability to work effectively independently and as part of a highly interdependent, multi-disciplinary team within a fast-paced and dynamic work environment required;
• Exceptional interpersonal skills required; 
• Expert knowledge of de-escalation and conflict intervention required;
• Experience working with people impacted by the criminal legal system strongly preferred; and
• Bilingual (English-Spanish) preferred.

Position Type:  Full-time, in person work required.

Position Location: Staten Island, NY.

Compensation: The compensation range for this position is $54,500 - $65,000 and is commensurate with experience. The Center for Justice 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%.

The Center for Justice Innovation is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace, and as such, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, national origin, age, military service eligibility, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other category protected by law. We strongly encourage and welcome applications from women, people of color, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, as well as individuals with prior contact with the criminal justice system. Our aim is to create a supportive and respectful environment where every individual, irrespective of their background or identity, feels valued and included.

As of February 10, 2023, New York City Executive Order 25 rescinded the requirement of the COVID-19 vaccination for City workers, new hires, and contracted employees. Accordingly, the Center does not require all new hires be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus; however, the Center recommends all staff, interns, and volunteers stay up-to-date on the vaccination.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete an employment eligibility verification document form upon hire. Kindly refer to the job posting for the relevant contact information. If the contact details are not provided, we kindly ask that you refrain from making inquiries via phone or email, as only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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