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

Brooklyn Justice Initiatives (BJI), the largest operating project of the Center, seeks to re-engineer the experience of criminal court in Brooklyn, New York, by providing judges and attorneys meaningful alternatives to bail, fines, and jail sentences. Operating out of Kings County Criminal Court along with community-based offices, BJI 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. Supervised Release 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. Program participants are monitored to ensure their appearance at court dates and mandatory programming, and receive referrals to services like job training, drug treatment, and mental health counseling.

BJI seeks a Housing Specialist for the borough’s Supervised Release Program (SRP). Reporting to the Community Engagement Coordinator, the Housing Specialist will leverage a deep and comprehensive knowledge of housing opportunities and challenges in the NYC area to provide in-house assistance to participants experiencing housing instability. Responsibilities will include assisting participants in obtaining both short-term and permanent housing opportunities. The Housing Specialist will work closely with the Clinical Director to build and maintain relationships with and knowledge of local housing providers to complete housing referrals and help ensure case management staff are knowledgeable about housing providers and opportunities by facilitating in-house information sessions. 

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

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Work with participants and their case managers to understand participants’ housing needs, including any relevant factors such as family size, safety needs, mental health, conviction history, and other special circumstances that may impact housing opportunities and needs; 
• Assist participants with the completion of housing applications including supportive housing, housing subsidies or vouchers, rental assistance, and other similar programs and opportunities; 
• Assist participants in accessing emergency housing at shelter locations and drop-in centers; 
• Assist participants in obtaining identification and vital documents needed to obtain housing; 
• Work with the Clinical Director to develop and maintain relationships with and knowledge of local providers of housing to understand housing-specific services, eligibility, intake requirements, and opportunities and challenges towards the goal of optimizing participants’ access to housing; 
• Provide referrals and warm handoffs for services that are outside the scope of the Housing Specialists’ work, such as legal services;
• Provide training to direct practice staff (including Community Engagement and Case Management staff) on supporting participants' housing needs, including developing and facilitating presentations on housing service providers to optimize successful, quality referrals;
• Explore new and additional housing service providers to assess quality and accessibility of services offered; 
• Work collaboratively with the case management team to effectively maintain accurate and timely data entry and case documentation aligned with the program model, court reporting obligations, and best practices; 
  • Case conference with participants’ Case Managers; 
  • Ensure that meetings with participants also fulfill the obligations of check-ins and are recorded in the program database; 
• Responsible for consistent and effective cross-team communication and collaboration to proactively identify successes, challenges, and opportunities to strengthen programming, create opportunities for meaningful collaboration, maximize internal and external resources and expertise, and substantive and comprehensive services to participants; 
• Collect and maintain secure storage of hard copy and electronic documents containing sensitive participant information; 
• Participate in the Housing Justice Working Group, including monthly meetings, retreats, and other gatherings;
• Required to participate in designated trainings upon hire; 
• Attend project events, community events, and meetings after hours, as needed; 
• Please note that this role will not hold a standard SRP caseload; and
• Additional relevant tasks, as necessary. 

Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have:

• High school diploma or equivalent required; 
• Two years experience helping people to access housing required; 
• Comprehensive expertise related to housing opportunities and challenges in NYC required; 
• Comprehensive knowledge of and/or experience with the criminal legal, child welfare, and/or mental health systems preferred; 
• Must be detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills;
• Must be able to work effectively and independently and as part of a highly interdependent, multi-disciplinary team within a fast-paced and dynamic work environment;
• Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with a variety of program stakeholders, including judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, court staff, and site partner agencies; and
• Bilingual (English-Spanish) strongly preferred. 

Position Type: Full-time

Position Location: Brooklyn, NY

Compensation: The compensation range for this position is $54,000 - $63,500 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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