Community Engagement Assistant

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 www.innovatingjustice.org.

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.

AVAILABILITY
Applicants must be available to commit to serve 15 to 20 hours a week, 2-3 days per week (Monday-Friday), 9am-5pm with occasional evenings and weekends.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:Meet with participants and connect them with service referrals;Assist with packing and distributing care packages to program participants;Attend and table at community events;Assist with presentations of referral partnership information to internal staff and participants;Add to our list of community resources and organizations by utilizing prior knowledge or conducting research to address key participant needs;Maintain accurate data entry; andAdditional tasks as necessary. Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have:
High School Diploma or equivalent;Interest in working with communities and/or service;Bilingual (English-Spanish) preferred;Ability to communicate appropriately with varying levels of stakeholders;Highly organized, excellent communication skills, and strong writing ability with the capacity to be detail-oriented within a fast-paced;Candidate must be proficient in Microsoft and Google Suites, and be able to use Skype for Business; andThe ideal candidate will have the ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds in a culturally-responsive manner and work independently and collaboratively. Position Type: Part-time for 3-5 months.

Position Location: Brooklyn, NY.

BENEFITS OF SERVING
Our program has a variety of full-time and minimum-time opportunities. Serving is a great way to strengthen your professional network, make a difference within communities and social justice.

During service, you will receive:
Minimum-time members receive a living allowance of $1,500 and an educational award of $1,565.08 upon successful completion of their term.Skills-based and professional development training; andAs an AmeriCorps Member we offer services like 24/7 toll-free telephonic access to services for members, Unlimited in-the-moment telephonic counseling services with master's degree-level counselors, a Mobile app with resources and appointment scheduling access, Medical advocacy, Financial and legal assistance (30-minute consultations), Life Coaching, Personal concierge for everyday needs, Work and life resources and referrals.
After service, you will receive:
Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to use on future educational expenses or to pay back qualified student loans. The value is dependent on length of service. Members 55+ are eligible to transfer their Education Award to a family member.Competitive job edge in your job search, including access to a network of over 600 employers of National Service
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.