Reentry Coordinator with The Pennsylvania Innocence Project

Qualifications

• MSW preferred, with a minimum of 2 years of work experience.
• Candidate must be willing to travel throughout Pennsylvania to support clients and for training and other job-related activities.
• Strong case management skills, the ability to work as part of a team, and excellent communication skills with a passion for social and racial justice.
• Must have a reliable car and valid driver’s license.
• Knowledge of services and benefits available in Pennsylvania, as well as experience working with people who are incarcerated or who are returning home from prison or a similar experience. Sensitivity to the unique needs facing freed and exonerated people who have spent years wrongly incarcerated is required.

Responsibilities

• Client Case Management- Conduct needs assessments for individuals as they prepare to reenter the community outside prison walls.
• Provide trauma-responsive case management services, collaborating with participants to develop and implement a reentry plan based on assessed needs and participant interests.
• Ensure that basic needs are met (housing, employment, benefits, transportation, healthcare, mental health support, etc.).
• Listen to clients’ concerns and provide emotional support and assistance as required.
• Coordinate client applications to the Project’s emergency fund.
• Support participant engagement in services, including referral to and follow-up with external providers in areas including, but not limited to: health and mental health, substance use treatment, parenting support, and educational programming.
• Facilitate bi-weekly support group.
• Intern Supervision & Support- Supervise one to two MSW students per year, which may include interns in both the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh offices.
• Conduct guest lectures at the Project’s legal clinics to provide training on trauma-informed practice and on reentry services to law student and undergraduate interns.
• Program Development & Partnership Building- Continue to grow reentry programs as the needs of Pennsylvania’s freed and exonerated community continue to grow and change.
• Regularly update the Homecoming Handbook and Family Resource Guide.
• Engage with local and national reentry resources, including but not limited to, representing the Project in the Philadelphia Reentry Coalition and actively engaging with the Innocence Network’s reentry community.
• Coordinating support activities for both freed and incarcerated clients, including holiday packages and a fall food drive, and developing new support programs as needed.
• Legal Team Support- Work with the Project’s attorneys and legal staff members to conduct mitigation investigations and prepare materials for sentencing hearings and clemency and parole applications.
• Provide support to incarcerated clients with active cases through participating in legal calls and prison visits.
• Testify at bail and sentencing hearings about the Project’s reentry services program.
• Additional Responsibilities- Help coordinate travel and registration for annual Innocence Network Conference.
• Work with the Project’s Development and Communications team to facilitate client access to Project events and to opportunities to share their stories.