juvenile
Justice specialist
BASIC PURPOSE:
Positions in this job family
are assigned responsibility for providing services in the areas of
rehabilitation of juvenile offenders and protection of the public through
clinical and case management activities in the areas of juvenile intake,
probation, parole and custodial responsibility for delinquent children and
their families. Within an Office of
Juvenile Justice facility provides clinical social work services to residents
and their families. Employees perform
both program delivery and client intervention functions.
TYPICAL
FUNCTIONS:
The functions within this
fob family will vary by level, but may include the following:
·
Carries a
differentiated case load in the area of juvenile justice; provides services and
supervision to youths in custody or on probation or parole status or covered by
the provisions of the Interstate Compact on juveniles.
·
Conducts intake
interviews with juvenile offenders, families, and victims and develops
appropriate treatment plans.
·
Provides individual and
group counseling; arranges for health screening; recommends and implements
placement, including out-of-home placement and community reintegration; visits
clients in out-of-home placements and ensures that appropriate services are being
provided.
·
Prepares reports for
the court, District Attorney’s office and Parole Board; may testify in court as
an expert witness; acts as liaison with the court. Staffs cases with the District Attorney’s office; establishes restitution
amount. Initiates, develops, implements
and monitors contracts with private nonprofit and for-profit entities;
coordinates with providers for delivery of services.
·
Serves as liaison to
facilities, agencies and schools and participates on community councils and
planning boards.
·
Conducts foster care
studies and recruits foster parents.
·
Conducts diagnostic and
evaluation interviews with residents placed in facilities and their families;
prepares written social assessment of diagnostic factors; participates as a
member of multidisciplinary team of professionals and paraprofessionals in formal
evaluation staffing to recommend treatment methodologies; prepares written
clinical treatment plans with resident and family; coordinates efforts of
psychological, residential and educational staff to provide services to meet
treatment needs of resident.
·
May develop and
maintain a specialized area of training and expertise in one or more of the
following areas: HIV/AIDS education,
Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Abuse Survivors and Sexual Offenders.
·
Makes application for
Title XIX and Title IV-E for custody juveniles.
·
Provides detention
screening for law enforcement entities and coordinates detention placement.
·
Serves as advocate,
presenter or administrative hearing officer in due process District Review
Hearings, which may result in the imposition of sanctions against a juvenile.
lEVEL DESCRIPTORS:
This job family consists of
four levels which are distinguished by the level of complexity and diversity of
the specific job assignments, the extent of responsibility assigned, the
expertise required for the completion of the assigned duties and the responsibility
assigned for providing leadership to others.
This is the basic level where
employees perform entry-level work in a training status in learning technical
skills in providing juvenile services to clients and their families. Casework determinations are tentative and
require supervisory approval. Employees
at this level work with low risk clients and provide routine services in the
areas of intake, custody, probation and parole; or entry-level work within a
Juvenile Justice facility.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required at this level include knowledge of laws,
rules, regulations, legislation, policies and procedures as they pertain to the
state administration of Juvenile Justice and the investigation of juvenile
delinquency; of community resources; of human developmental stages and related
dysfunction; of social work theory and practices; of emotional, physical and
mental needs of children and families; of sensitivity to cultural diversity; of
courtroom terminology and procedures; and of clinical and counseling techniques
and treatment of juvenile delinquency.
Ability is required to perform crisis intervention; to gather necessary
information to determine the needs of the child; to perform casework
management; to provide courtroom testimony; to communicate effectively; to
develop, evaluate and modify an intervention plan on an ongoing basis; to
establish and maintain constructive relationships with children and their
families; to help families become and maintain as functional family units; and
to work with courts and law enforcement entities.
Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of a bachelor’s
degree in a behavioral science; or a bachelor’s degree and one year of
professional experience in juvenile justice, social work, community-based
prevention and diversionary youth services programs, guidance and counseling,
correctional case management or probation and parole.
NOTE: No substitution of experience for education
will be allowed for the bachelor’s degree.
At
this level of this job family employees provide juvenile services to youth and
their families at the full performance level.
In addition to differentiated casework activities and development of a
treatment plan and provision of services, employees at this level will evaluate
residents placed in facilities; monitor provider contracts; conduct foster care
studies; act as liaison with community resources; act as client advocate; and
develop and maintain expertise in specialized areas of treatment.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required at this level include those identified in
Level I plus knowledge of statutes, policies and procedures concerning
contracts for Juvenile Services; of statutes, policies and procedures for
foster care.
Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of a master’s
degree in a behavioral science; or a juris doctorate degree; or a master’s
degree and one year of professional experience in juvenile justice, social
work, community-based prevention and diversionary youth services programs,
guidance and counseling, correctional case management or probation and parole;
or a bachelor’s degree in a behavioral science and one year of professional
experience in juvenile justice, social work, community-based prevention and
diversionary youth services programs, guidance and counseling, correctional
case management or probation and parole; or a bachelor’s degree and two years
of professional experience in juvenile justice, social work, community based
prevention and diversionary youth services programs, guidance and counseling,
correctional case management or probation and parole.
NOTE: No
substitution of experience for education will be allowed below the bachelor’s
degree.
This
is the specialist level of this job family where employees are responsible for
the lead work and training of Level I and Level II Juvenile Services
Specialists. Employees at this level
will perform complex and difficult casework activities, which may include
acting as a court liaison in large metropolitan areas where juvenile bureaus
are located. Employees will assign and
monitor caseloads, provide training in policies and procedures and may be
designated as backup supervisors.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities required at this level include those identified at
Level II plus knowledge of the principles and practices of planning and
monitoring the work of others and the ability to train and assist other
professional staff.
Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of those
identified in Level II plus one additional year of qualifying experience.
This
is the leadership level of this job family where employees are responsible for
the direct supervision of lower level Juvenile Services Specialists. Employees acting as direct supervisors will
supervise a staff of juvenile service specialists; act as experts in a
specialized field, and implement and direct of juvenile services programs in
multiple counties or a metropolitan area.
Employees at this level may be designated backup supervisor in the
absence of the District Supervisor.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities required at this level include those identified at
Level II plus knowledge of the principles and practices of effective
supervision and the ability to plan and direct the work of professional staff.
Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of those
identified in Level III plus one additional year of qualifying experience.
Special
Requirements:
Applicants
must be willing and able to perform all job-related travel normally associated
with this position, possess a valid Oklahoma driver’s license at time of
appointment and be willing to be on-call twenty‑four hours a day, seven days a week.