Criminal Justice Specialist

About the role

The Criminal Justice Specialist is a Master’s level mental health clinician who outreaches clients in the community to provide treatment and services with high fidelity to the ACT model. The Criminal Justice Specialist provides engagement services and psychoeducation to clients, and liaises and advocates for clients within the criminal legal system, including but not limited to: providing court updates, coordinating clients’ care during incarceration, and providing advocacy letters to clients’ defense attorneys.

The Nathaniel Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team is a multi-disciplinary, alternative-to-incarceration (ATI) program that provides evidence-based, mobile, community mental health treatment to promote the recovery and community integration of individuals age 18 and up with serious mental illnesses, high rates of co-occurring substance use disorders, high utilization of emergency/crisis services, and criminal legal involvement in Manhattan or Brooklyn courts. The Nathaniel ACT Team focuses on providing intensive outpatient treatment to individuals with serious mental illnesses so that they can maintain stability in the community and successfully complete their ATI mandates.

Responsibilities

• Provide at least 80 percent of treatment contacts in the community and complete expected minimum monthly treatment contacts, including leading groups when clinically indicated.
• Attend and participate in daily team meetings to discuss clients’ clinical and case management issues and needs.
• Complete documentation required by the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s (DOHMH) licensing guidelines, NYS Medicaid billing guidelines as well as per CASES ACT Policy and Procedures.
• Collaborate with client’s support network and other service providers on treatment planning, service coordination, and case management support with the goal of promoting client’s recovery and stability in the community.
• Provide clinical services that are anti-racist, gender-responsive, culturally humble, trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, client-centered, and evidence-based.
• Complete required documentation and toxicology tests for clients with active Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) orders.
• Provide 24-hour crisis intervention on-call services on a rotating basis.
• Provide culturally competent services in accordance with CASES policies and practice.

Requirements

• LMHC, MHC-LP, LMSW, or LCSW with current New York State license.
• Experience working with individuals with serious mental illness and/or co-occurring substance use disorders.
• Experience with various evidence-based models pertaining to the treatment of substance use and mental illness.
• A team player, highly organized, and self-motivated.
• Individuals with lived experience are encouraged to apply.

Preferred Skills

• Experience working with individuals involved in the criminal legal system.
• Fluency in Spanish.

Pay

$68,959 per year.

Schedule

Full-time Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM (35 hours per week excluding breaks). Workplace flexibility: staff may complete their workday from home or another suitable space, typically after reporting to the office and/or engaging in field or community-based work. Office presence required 4 days per week; community work is 5 days per week. Documentation may be completed at home.