Social Worker

Title: Social Worker Unit: Better Living Center Status: Full-Time; Regular, Exempt Salary Range: $65,000 to $70,000 Annually Reports to: Senior Director of Behavioral Health Location: Better Living Center Bronx: 502 East 163rd Street Bronx, NY 10451 Days/Hours: Two days per week from 9am-5pm and three days per week from 10am-6pm

Organization Overview:

The Fortune Society, Inc. (Fortune) has been working for over 57 years in service to our mission: to support successful reentry from incarceration and promote alternatives to incarceration, thus strengthening the fabric of our communities. The organization has evolved into one of the nation's preeminent reentry and justice-informed service organizations, providing formerly incarcerated people with the skills and wrap-around services needed to break the cycle of crime and incarceration and to build productive lives in their communities.

Fortune has grown steadily over the years to an agency with close to $90 million in annual budget with just under 600 staff. We anticipate that we will keep growing, both in size and depth of service. Fortune has a dual mission: both advocacy and service. The advocacy portion of our mission focuses on building a more just criminal legal system and reducing the barriers to reentry into society. The service side of Fortune has evolved to encompass a broad range of programs that started with employment and education and now includes a robust array of services, among them: alternatives to incarceration, supervised release, court advocacy, discharge planning within correctional facilities, licensed substance use and mental health treatment, a housing continuum ranging from emergency and transitional through permanent congregate and scattered site housing, assistance in obtaining benefits, a care management unit, HIV services, a food and nutrition program, and an arts program. Each service we provide is informed by the needs of the population we serve. Fortune currently serves approximately 14,000 people a year. Our program models are recognized, both nationally and internationally, for their quality and innovation. We have locations in Brooklyn, The Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens.

Position Summary:

The Social Worker is a member of the Better Living Center, an Article 31 Office of Mental Health Outpatient Mental Health Outpatient and Treatment Rehabilitation Services program (formerly OMH Outpatient Mental Health Clinic) at the Bronx satellite. The Social Worker is responsible for providing therapy to clients with histories of criminal justice involvement. The social worker will also have supervisory responsibilities to peer support specialists and serve as the clinical liaison with the care management team.

Core Competencies:

Mission and Fit

This person shall demonstrate an interest in, and talent for, working with persons with criminal justice system involvement. The successful candidate will have an understanding of the impacts exposure to the criminal justice system may have on clients and will demonstrate commitment to helping them overcome these difficulties. The successful candidate will also have demonstrated a commitment to using respectful, constructive means of communication when interacting with clients and colleagues. The individual will utilize a strengths-based, person-centered model and endorse the concept of looking for the best in people, rather than judging them by their worst decision(s).


Client Engagement

The successful candidate will be able to practice multiple theoretical frameworks and tailor their therapeutic approach to the client based on ongoing assessment and clinical need. The person will also demonstrate positive attitude with flexibility of schedule in rolling with the changes that a person entering treatment may demonstrate.


Time Management & Personal Organization

This person shall demonstrate excellent time management skills including making, keeping and/or rescheduling appointments on their own personal calendar as well as psychiatric appointments for clients on their caseload. Successful candidate will be excellent at maintaining personal organization in pursuing numerous tasks in parallel, managing his/her/their time to maximize efficiency, and will be good at completing paperwork accurately and in timely manner. All of this requires good computer navigation skills as well as effective typing speed.


Basic Office Skills

This person shall have to record their client interactions into Fortune Society's databases, and therefore have competency using a computer (knowledge of MS Office and electronic health record systems) and use of other tools such as cell phones and Teams.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Conduct initial client assessment and psychosocial interviews;
• Develop a therapeutic alliance with clients;
• Provide ongoing individual counseling and weekly group counseling
• Write and update individual client-based, goal-orientated treatment plans following agency guidelines and timeframes;
• Maintain proper case records, with all case notes completed within 48 hours of interaction;
• Maintain on-going clinical communication with supervisor;
• Communicate with other Fortune staff members in the same and other programs/locations that share common client(s);
• Provide linkages to outside agencies for additional services;
• Participate in case conferences and clinical supervision meetings;
• Provide rotating on-call coverage;
• Provide supervision to one or more peer support specialists;
• Provide clinical support and collaboration to the care management team for Bronx cases;
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• LMSW, LCSW, MHC-LP, or LMHC, required;
• CASAC credential is a plus;
• Minimum of three years overall clinical experience required;
• Experience in dealing with either psychiatric issues, trauma or incarceration desired;
• Ability, on some days, to work remotely via Zoom in a quiet, private home-office location required;
• Excellent client-engagement and counseling skills;
• Excellent clinical documentation and time management skills;
• Strong computer skills, particularly in electronic health records;
• Bilingual Spanish-speaking is a plus;
• SIFI certification is a plus;

We seek talented, dedicated individuals from all walks of life who possess a strong commitment to this mission. Relevant personal experience is a plus.

Physical Demands:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The responsibilities and requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skills, minimum education, training, licensing, experience and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.


The Fortune Society is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will be afforded equal employment opportunities without discrimination because of conviction history, race, religion/creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, predisposing genetic characteristics, victim of domestic violence status or marital status.