Early Diversion Project Coordinator

About Casa Esperanza

Casa Esperanza, Inc. is a bilingual/bicultural behavioral health treatment provider serving Boston and the Merrimack Valley. Our mission is to empower individuals and families to recover from addiction, trauma, mental illness, and other chronic medical conditions; overcome homelessness and discrimination; and achieve health and wellness through comprehensive, integrated care.

About The Role

Casa Esperanza is currently seeking a motivated and detail-oriented individual who is passionate about criminal justice reform and fully understands the importance that diversion programs play in recovery and in maintaining well-being. The Early Diversion Program Coordinator will oversee the planning, development, and implementation of Casa’s new Early Diversion Program integrated with behavioral health treatment and recovery support services. The purpose of this program is to reduce the number of arrests for Latines within Middlesex and Essex County with substance use disorders by diverting them from justice systems to community-based behavioral health treatment and recovery supports. By increasing access to behavioral health services, the project aims to reduce symptomatology, improve health outcomes, and avoid long-term socioeconomic issues resulting from justice involvement and incarceration. The Diversion Project Coordinator will work with police departments and community partners in Middlesex County and Essex County to create a formal network that includes various diversion entry points for clients and multiple levels of outreach, support, and connections to community-based bilingual behavioral health services and other supports prior to arrest and booking. They will be responsible for facilitating monthly network meetings and overseeing the implementation of a Sequential Intercept Mapping process and strategic plan. 

The Project Coordinator will play a lead role in training law enforcement partners on SUD and providing educational resources to families and community members to address the stigma, health disparities, and barriers to culturally and linguistically appropriate treatment and support services.  The Project Coordinator will oversee the implementation of all grant requirements, including oversight of the frontline workers, which include a Community Support Specialist and a Co-response Clinician.  They will also work closely with the Research & Evaluation Department to ensure that benchmarks, timelines, goals, and objectives are being met and reported as required.

What You'Ll Do

Project Planning & Service Delivery:

• Serve as a law enforcement liaison to engage police departments to refer to Casa and other community providers.
• Engage external and internal service providers to better meet clients’ needs.
• Work with law enforcement partners to develop and implement an outreach strategy for reaching Latines at risk of entering the criminal system.
• Convene a monthly Behavioral Health Partnership workgroup (BHPW) comprising law enforcement partners, community stakeholders, Casa staff, and members of the target population. 
• Develop guidelines and shared protocols with law enforcement and BHPW members and coordinate diversion efforts before arrest and booking, transfers to care, and follow-up services.  
• Complete the Sequential Intercept Mapping project with BHPW, community partners, consumers, and family members to develop a visual map that illustrates how the proposed population served comes in contact with and flows through the local criminal justice system and identify strategies to divert Latines with SMI or COD away from the justice system into treatment.  
• Identify and develop methods for collecting additional data from underrepresented and traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups that may be hesitant or unable to participate in the SIM workshop.  
• Ensure same-day brief assessments are documented and evident by the co-response clinician in a timely manner.
• Meet with internal and external multidisciplinary teams on patient referrals, established needs, and integrated treatment planning.  
• Ensure supported referrals to behavioral health, primary care, peer support, medication management, and vocational/educational opportunities are completed, and follow-ups are documented. 
• Develop and deliver training workshops to law enforcement departments and community partners to increase knowledge and skills to respond to individuals with mental illness and co-occurring disorders and conduct warm hand-offs to the treatment and recovery support system of care. 
• Develop and deliver educational presentations to Latino-serving organizations and community groups regarding signs of substance abuse and mental illness; recovery resources; medical consequences of addictions and medically assisted treatments; and available family support resources.  
• Facilitate trainings and presentations by community partners to other partner agencies, whether in person or online, that provide resources to our mutual patients. 
• Attend community-based networking meetings such as, but not limited to, the Opioid Task Force, Greater Lowell Health Alliance, and other local recovery community gatherings.  
• Collaborate with outside agencies to conduct frontline outreach activities, including visits to homeless encampments, drop-in shelters, transitional housing facilities, and public spaces. 

Staff Management

• Ensures scheduling of staff is appropriate and within program needs/compliance.
• Develop, coach and mentor a team that will support direct service staff across the programs and in the community.  
• Ensures all staff receive training and regular performance evaluations.
• Work collaboratively with the HR department on all staff management needs. 
• Enforce a trauma informed, person centered approach to patient care is upheld.  
• Ensures staff maintains client and program records in accordance with agency, regulatory, and funder requirements and timelines.

Administrative/Data Management

• Collaborate with Clinical Leadership Team to ensure all project components and evidence-based practices are delivered to the target population and addresses barriers to implementation. 
• Work with Clinical Operations Director and Co-response Clinician to develop efficient workflow to ensure client utilization meets program goals and objectives.
• Collaborate with the Department of Research and Evaluation to ensure GPRA data collection and entry are completed.
• Train on how to navigate data collection in SPARS system and perform GPRA/NOMS assessments. 
• Works with the Evolv team to manage documentation needs.
• Meets all grant reporting and compliance obligations.
• Programmatic and operations on call Support.
• Other duties and special projects as assigned.
• Maintain patient tracking database and update all relative results. 
• Describe the specific responsibilities and job functions of the role.

Qualifications

• Degree in Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, Psychology, CADAC /LADC required.  Similar experience will be considered.  
• Minimum of 2 years supervisory and training experience required.
• At least 3 years of experience working with individuals with substance use disorders, homelessness, justice-involved and trauma preferred.   
• Self-directed with the ability to work both independently and as part of a team and interested in using data to help direct care.
• CPR, First Aid, and Narcan certification.
• Experience with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher.
• Database experience a plus; experience conducting web research and internet proficiency required.
• Strong attention to detail, tact, and understanding of complex systems and relationships.
• Bilingual Spanish/English preferred.
• Ability to meet the physical and training requirements of the position.

Schedule

• Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm
• Hybrid

What We Offer:

Casa Esperanza Benefits Package:

• Compensation:  $ 58,000 - $60,000/annual salary
• Holiday Pay (12 days per year + 1 floating holiday)
• Paid Time Off (PTO) - 18 days year one, 20.5 days at year 2, 23 days at year 5
• Sick Pay - 10 paid days per year
• Long/ShortTerm Disability 
• Paid by Company Life Insurance
• Health Insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision)
• Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
• FSA/DCA (Flexible Spending Account & Dependent Care)
• ComPsych Guidance Resources - EAP
• Educational Opportunities
• Tuition Remission
• Employee Ticket at Work (Discounts for Entertainment, travel, movies; etc.)
• Career Advancement Opportunities
• Increased Salary for Credentials
• and more....

Physical & Mental Requirements

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include distance vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception.

At Casa Esperanza, Inc., the health and safety of our people is our number one priority. That’s why all offers of employment are contingent on the candidate showing proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (currently one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and boosted, when eligible) to pass the pre-employment requirements. Individuals with medical issues or religious beliefs that prevent them from getting the vaccine may request an exemption from the vaccine requirement.

Casa Esperanza’s EEO Statement

Casa Esperanza, Inc. values its diverse workplace and encourages women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, older members of society, and others from minority groups and diverse backgrounds to apply.

We recruit, hire, employ, train, promote, and compensate individuals based on job-related qualifications and abilities. Casa Esperanza, Inc. also has a longstanding policy of providing a work environment that respects the dignity and worth of each individual and is free from all forms of employment discrimination, including harassment, because of race, color, sex, gender, age, religion or religious creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.  All employees, interns, volunteers, and contractors of Casa Esperanza, Inc. are responsible for maintaining a work culture free from discrimination and harassment by treating others with kindness and respect.

Casa Esperanza, Inc. also provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities or based on a sincerely held religious belief, in accordance with applicable laws. If you need to inquire about an accommodation or need assistance with completing the application process, please email hr@casaesperanza.org.