Batterer’s Intervention Program Specialist (2nd Shift)

ABOUT FRANKLIN COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT

The Franklin County Municipal Court is the largest and busiest municipal Court in the State of Ohio. The Court has fourteen judges in the General Division and one judge in the Environmental Division. Judges preside over civil, criminal, and traffic cases and conduct both jury and court trials. The Court's jurisdiction includes traffic cases, misdemeanor criminal cases, and civil cases where the amount at issue is $15,000 or less. The Environmental Division has exclusive jurisdiction to enforce local codes and regulations affecting real property, such as fire and building codes. The geographic jurisdiction of the Court is all of Franklin County and those portions of the City of Columbus that extend beyond the boundaries of Franklin County. Despite its jurisdiction and name, the Franklin County Municipal Court is the judicial branch of the City of Columbus government.

JOB PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW

The Pretrial and Probation Services Department consists of approximately 120 employees. The mission of Pretrial Services is to promote community safety and pretrial success through research-informed recommendations and supervision services that maximize court appearance, remove barriers to fair and efficient justice, and promote harm reduction. The mission of Probation Services is to promote community safety by reducing recidivism, changing offender behavior, and fostering accountability through the effective use of evidence-based practices. Department functions include pretrial, investigation, and supervision services. Supervision structures are determined by risk and need and encompass all types of cases referred by the Court's judges. The staff operates specialized caseloads, including domestic violence, sexual offenses, soliciting, mental health, work release, and electronic monitoring. The probation staff strives to stay current and relevant with the ongoing goal of being an evidence-based organization.

The Batterer's Intervention Program (BIP) Specialist is under the general direction of the Chief Probation Officer and the immediate direction of the Batterer's Intervention Program Supervisor within the Department of Pretrial and Probation Services. This position is responsible for coordinating and facilitating a range of behavioral health interventions and programs, such as the Duluth and Emerge (BIP) models, for the justice-involved population. This role is full-time, Tuesday- Friday, 12 p.m. to 8:30 p.m./Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or as assigned.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Promote, model, and abide by the Vision, Mission, policies, and procedures of the Probation Department.
• Facilitate and effectively deliver all BIP programming offered within the Probation Department.
• Facilitate and effectively deliver all CBT programming offered within the Probation Department as needed.
• Contributes to the development of programming curricula to ensure services support evidence-based practices.
• Establish and enforce a classroom code of conduct to maintain a positive learning environment for all participants.
• Prepare materials and training rooms for all programs.
• Provide a positive environment that encourages participants to be actively engaged in the learning process.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with participants, co-workers, and other professionals regularly.
• Collaborate with co-workers to enhance the instructional environment.
• Deliver the curriculum in accordance with the program's content and standards.
• Screens participants for eligibility and placement in the appropriate groups.
• Conducts individual and group sessions.
• Reviews database and attendance records for accuracy regarding statistical information of assigned programs.
• Conducts workshops and provides training as necessary to ensure the programs are effective.
• Conducts research, compiles and analyzes data, makes recommendations, develops procedures, and coordinates activities with the appropriate agencies and departments.
• Maintain accurate, current, and thorough documentation and records.
• Complete weekly and monthly reports, group reports, and documentation promptly, in accordance with policy.
• Maintain confidentiality of department information.
• Attend conferences, seminars, and workshops to maintain progressive techniques in probation supervision and stay current with departmental initiatives and programs.
• Maintain professional conduct and attire.
• Operates a variety of modern office hardware and software.
• Maintains effective working relationships with judicial officers, court staff, and justice partners engaged in the provision of services to Court users.
• Perform other related duties as assigned and may fulfill roles of other positions in other departments of the Court as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university with core coursework in areas related to criminal justice, criminology, corrections, psychology, or a closely related field.
• One (1) year of experience facilitating a curriculum and managing an educational or therapeutic program.
• Willingness to be trained in curricula such as Duluth and Emerge BIP models.
• Willingness to be trained in CBT curricula such as T4C, ACT, and DP.
• Demonstrate leadership skills, including effective use of the principles of influence and motivation, and knowledge of organizational behavior and team-building techniques.
• Possess a demonstrated strong work ethic.
• Possess a pleasant personality, ability to deal with potentially difficult people, and ability to interact and maintain effective working relationships with judges, employees, attorneys, litigants, law-enforcement officers, and others conducting business with the Court.
• Ability to problem-solve and resolve office problems.
• Ability to communicate verbally effectively and professionally, and in writing in English, to diverse audiences.
• Ability to receive feedback, willingness to learn, and embrace continuous improvement.
• Ability to engage productively and sensitively with persons of varying cultures and diversity.
• Ability to apply principles of influence systems, such as motivation, incentive, and leadership, and to exercise independent judgment to apply facts and principles for developing approaches and techniques to resolve problems.
• Willingness to work with the domestic violence justice-involved population.
• Conscious of and sensitive to the diversity within the Court's jurisdiction and able to interact professionally with this diverse population of people from many different geographic, socioeconomic, religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds regularly.
• Excellent time-management skills, ability to prioritize work, ability to work independently, and ability to work under time constraints.
• Demonstrated dependability, punctuality, and an excellent attendance record.
• Efficient and effective case- and time-management skills, and multi-tasking.
• Maintain a valid Ohio driver's license.

KNOWLEDGE OF:

• Human behavior with particular emphasis on criminally oriented or deviant behavior.
• Psychological counseling techniques, attitude/behavior assessment, and symptoms of maladaptive behavior.
• Techniques involved in preparing and facilitating program material, assessments, and case plans.
• Interviewing techniques.
• Basic socioeconomic principles.
• Functions and programs of the probation department , public safety agencies, and other health and human services community organizations and resources.
• Effective responses to non-compliant and/or anti-social behavior and incentives to reinforce pro-social behavior.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Three (3) years of experience facilitating a curriculum and managing an educational or therapeutic program group.
• Current certification in and experience with facilitating Batterer's Intervention Programming in either the Duluth or Emerge model.

BENEFITS

The Franklin County Municipal Court offers an excellent benefits package that includes medical, prescription, vision, dental, and life insurance; short-term disability; generous vacation, sick, and personal leave; 11 paid holidays; longevity service payments; sick-leave reciprocity; employee assistance and deferred-compensation programs; tuition reimbursement; and credit-union membership.

Court employees are members of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, which provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for public employees. The Court pays the required employer 14 percent of the employee's salary. Court employees do not have Social Security taxes withheld from their paychecks because they are members of OPERS.

COURT EXPECTATIONS OF EMPLOYEE

In completing the duties and responsibilities of the position, the Court expects the employee to adhere to all Court policies, guidelines, practices, and procedures; act as a role model both inside and outside the Court; perform duties as workload necessitates in a timely, accurate, and thorough manner; be conscientious about meeting department productivity standards; and communicate regularly with the supervisor about department issues.

AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT

Employees of the Court are at-will employees and serve at the pleasure of the Court; they are not in the classified civil service system and are not members of bargaining units.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The Court is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based on age, gender, religion, race, color, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability, military status, or genetic information.