Job Information
CITY of SOMERVILLE COHR Director in Somerville, Massachusetts
The Community Outreach and Help & Recovery (COHR) Director leads the COHR unit within SPD. The employee in this role manages and trains staff; identifies and advances collaborations with sworn officers, City agencies, emergency services, service providers, community groups and academic partners; identifies best practices in police-led intervention and data collection around issues of behavioral health, which encompasses mental illness, substance misuse, trauma, neurodiversity and personal crisis COHR?s mission is to divert individuals from the criminal justice system, through assessment, intervention and coordination across systems to connect and redirect individuals impacted by behavioral health to services better able to meet their needs. . Utilizing a social determinants of health lens to further understand systemic barriers and to provide advocacy and supportive presence related to these issues to improve outcomes and quality of life for populations served. The COHR Director sets strategic goals for the unit, manages its staff and day to day operations, identifies and advances collaborations and process improvements, and shares best practices with high-level decision makers and influential community groups. Provides clinical supervision to COHR staff including, graduate level interns and fellows. Employee is required to perform all similar or related duties. Essential Functions: The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position. Manage employees within the COHR unit, as well as multiple Research Fellows and interns. Administrative tasks include hiring, staff supervision and management; budge/grants management; policy development and management of academic partnerships. Project management for COHR?s 3 primary grants, MB CIT TTAC; State Overdose Response; Jail Diversion Program. This includes budget management, ensuring that deliverables are met and continually ensuring that work reflects current best practice strategies. Identify and advance collaborations with local and state government agencies, service providers and community groups to improve prevention and intervention efforts for target populations. Develop data collection and data sharing best practices for sworn officers, emergency services personnel and service providers regularly dealing with target populations. Identify evidence-based best practices for prevention and harm reduction related to issues behavioral health, including mental illness, addiction, trauma, developmental conditions and personal crisis. Organize meetings with high-level decision makers to communicate crisis intervention and prevention best practices for target populations. Collaborate with City, State and non-profit service providers to identify trends and provide forums to inform community. Identify academic partners and selects COHR Research Fellows to generate data on intervention leverage points through in-depth case studies. Identify or provide training to COHR staff, sworn officers, emergency personnel and service providers as necessary to further COHR?s mission. Organize quarterly COHR Stakeholder meetings. Develop and present self-evaluation benchmarks for COHR. Identify and secure funding streams for prevention and harm reduction for at-risk populations. Recommended Minimum Qualifications Education and Experience: Master?s degree in Clinical Social Work, Psychology or other Licensed Mental Health certification (LICSW preferred) and five (5) years? experience in clinical role, with a minimum of 3 years working with partners in the criminal justice system; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience providing the required knowledge, abilities and skills to perform the essential functions