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
Full-time 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. or as assigned
The Court operates five specialized dockets that undergo recurring certification evaluations by the Supreme Court of Ohio. As a requirement for operation, each docket must receive approval and certification from the Supreme Court, including submission of written materials and a site review to ensure that statewide minimum standards are met.
The Specialized Docket Department links participants to behavioral health treatment providers, encourages independent recovery, sets individualized goals, and monitors personal progress while providing trauma-competent services and balancing accountability for criminal actions. The mission of the Specialized Docket Department is to enhance public safety, rebuild lives, and reduce recidivism through restorative justice while providing community education and support. Our goal is to provide high-quality programming for high-risk, high-need individuals using promising and evidence-based practices. All the Court's Specialized Dockets are certified by the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Each specialized docket program has Coordinator positions with minimum educational, experience, and/or licensure requirements that an individual must meet to perform the position's duties and responsibilities.
The LINC (Learning to Identify and Navigate Change) was created to serve better defendants who are impacted by severe mental illness and who have pending cases before the Court. The program promotes public safety by providing a structure that enables participants to receive appropriate treatment while holding them accountable for their actions. LINC works with LINC community providers to make sure participants are complying with mental health and substance use treatment recommendations.
The CATCH program (Creating Autonomy Through Collaborative Healing) serves defendants who have been charged with misdemeanor solicitation, prostitution, loitering to solicit, or have a related criminal history. Participants may have severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other mental illnesses and may be dependent on alcohol and/or drugs. Because many of the participants have been the victims of human trafficking, CATCH promotes healthy choices through incentives and utilizes therapeutic intervention where deficits may lead to compliance issues.
Recovery Court addresses the needs of defendants whose primary dependency on alcohol or non-opiate drugs results in criminal charges and low-level felonies. The program establishes effective treatment as an alternative to incarceration, improving quality of life and increasing community safety by providing Court oversight and linking defendants to appropriate treatment and service providers.
The h.a.r.t. program (Helping Achieve Recovery Together) is an opioid-specific drug court giving defendants with a history of treatment refusal or non-compliance the opportunity to engage in addiction treatment. Participants are allowed to engage in treatment as an alternative to incarceration, thereby improving quality of life and increasing community safety by providing court oversight and linking defendants to appropriate treatment and service providers.
The Military and Veteran Service program (MAVS) is a voluntary specialized docket with a focus on helping Veterans or those with military service history to recover from addiction, deal with mental health issues, and regain their honor by reducing criminal behavior. MAVS strives to honor the commitment of the participants who serve their country by guiding and assisting them in rebuilding their lives in the face of addiction and/or mental health issues that have led them to become involved in the criminal justice system.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION
1. Engaged team member, willing to meet new challenges while staying flexible and maintaining a positive work attitude.
2. Meet with individuals to ensure that those referred to the specialized docket satisfy clinical eligibility requirements for program admission.
3. Assist with crisis intervention situations, with clinical supervision, by meeting with and interviewing participants, defendants, or citizens visiting the Court who have concerns or issues to determine and recommend an appropriate course of action.
4. Strength-based, trauma-informed, clinical, and professional approach.
5. Schedule all appropriate referrals for follow-up diagnostic assessments.
6. Assist with diagnostic assessments of program participants by conducting participant bio/psych/social interviews and documenting data.
7. Track participants' progress via clinical documentation.
8. Link defendants to appropriate treatment and service providers, and make treatment recommendations for individuals not accepted into the specialized docket program.
9. Coordinate services with all participating agencies and community partners to ensure collaboration and continuity of care.
10. Participate in the Supreme Court of Ohio certification process.
11. Utilize clinical and administrative supervision for clinical case review, case load management, cultural diversity awareness, professional development, identification of implicit bias, and program utilization, evaluation, and development.
12. Schedule and coordinate weekly treatment team meetings to review new referrals to the specialized docket program.
13. Facilitate strong multi-disciplinary team relationships and weekly team meetings.
14. Ensure timely receipt of weekly progress reviews from treatment and service providers.
15. Generate weekly Status Review Reports which provide a compilation of client progress, outcomes, and talking points for the Court.
16. Collect outcome data and create reports as required by the specialized dockets manager.
17. Prioritize diversity and inclusion.
18. Provide positive student intern instruction.
19. Coordinate weekly courtroom status review hearings, manage courtroom decorum, and provide support to the specialized docket judge during the hearing.
20. Participate in off-site visits to monitor and evaluate community resources and participant progress, and to ensure a collaborative treatment approach.
21. Make recommendations for participant rewards/sanctions based on information gathered from the treatment team.
22. Participate in research to enhance, pilot, and implement emerging clinical and best practices at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
23. Identify, research, write, and meet reporting requirements for existing and new funding opportunities.
24. Collaborate with community and government partners to develop new programs that address existing service gaps.
25. Coordinate program development and engage in short- and long-term planning to ensure adherence to best practices.
26. Attend training and other activities to enhance skills that contribute to the mission of the Court and the specialized docket, and also the individual's professional development plan.
27. Creativity and flexibility to conceive and implement innovative approaches to solve problems and meet objectives in an ever-changing field.
28. Philosophically aligned with procedural and restorative justice.
29. Ability to recognize the need for Change, respond with flexibility to changing program demands and funding environments, propose solutions, and ensure that solutions are implemented.
30. Good time management skills; highly organized and detail-oriented.
31. Ability to prioritize work, work independently without daily supervision, perform a variety of duties, and manage a variety of projects simultaneously.
32. Represent the Court at speaking engagements and training at civic, professional, and academic organizations, and perform other activities engaging the public, providing access, and building trust in the services offered by the department.
33. Has full understanding and knowledge of all duties and responsibilities of the Coordinator I position and can perform duties of the Coordinator I as needed.
34. Perform other tasks as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
Candidates must have a combination of education, experience, and personal characteristics that demonstrate their ability to perform the duties of the position.
Minimum requirements are:
1. Licensed by the State of Ohio as a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) or Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).
2. Scope of practice and skill set appropriate to the population served.
3. A bachelor's degree in psychology, sociology, social work, or a related field.
4. Minimum one year of experience in direct clinical care with diverse populations.
5. Trauma competent skills.
6. Education, experience, or clinical proficiency in mental health, chemical dependency, and co-occurring disorders.
7. Experience in the diagnostic assessment of complex issues.
8. Experience developing and facilitating groups.
9. Knowledge of common office practices, procedures, and equipment.
10. Proficiency in operating a personal computer as well as with Microsoft Office products such as Word, Outlook, and Excel for the purpose of tracking client progress and program outcomes.
11. Ability to collect, manage, analyze, and evaluate data promptly.
12. Ability to effectively and professionally communicate verbally and in writing with diverse audiences.
13. Pleasant personality, ability to deal with potentially difficult people; ability to interact and maintain effective working relationships with judges, other elected officials, employees, law enforcement officers, lawyers, community treatment providers, and others conducting business with the Court.
14. Flexibility and willingness to communicate openly, listen generously, compromise, and resolve conflict with team members to build support, share knowledge, and generate a healthy work environment.
15. Patience, objectivity, maturity, effectiveness under pressure, initiative, and adaptability.
16. Creativity and ability to conceive and implement innovative approaches to solve problems and meet objectives.
17. Conscious of and sensitive to the diversity within the Court's jurisdiction and ability to interact professionally with this diverse population of people from many different geographic, socioeconomic, religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds regularly.
18. Self-awareness and willingness to grow personally and professionally in a rapidly changing field.
19. Professional appearance and demeanor appropriate for the position and the work environment expected of a representative of the Court.
20. Demonstrated dependability, reliability, and excellent attendance record.
21. Ability to recognize the need for Change, respond with flexibility to changing program demands and funding environments, propose solutions, and ensure that solutions are implemented.
22. Good time management skills; highly organized and detail-oriented.
23. Ability to prioritize work, work independently without daily supervision, perform a variety of duties, and manage a variety of projects simultaneously in a high-pressure atmosphere.
24. An understanding of clinical and legal terminology.
Preferred qualifications include:
1. A master's degree in social work or professional counseling.
2. Knowledge of the Rules of Superintendence and the statutes applicable to the Specialized Dockets.
3. Implementation and intervention expertise in evidence-based practices.
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 and serve at the Court's pleasure; 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.
