Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Case Manager

Overview of the LEAD Program

Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is an inherently collaborative community-based public safety and order program that reduces police contacts and chronic criminal law violations. LEAD is a non-coercive program that diverts eligible individuals who have repeated encounters with law enforcement, and who are in extreme need due to poverty, mental health issues and/or substance use disorder, to long-term intensive case management instead of arrest and further involvement with the criminal justice system. LEAD gives law enforcement officers, who are the default responders for people struggling with unmet behavioral health needs, an option other than arrest in a moment of encounter. LEAD provides true public safety by addressing the underlying personal and systemic challenges that result in repeated arrest and incarceration. It provides equity-based solutions for individuals who have been historically overrepresented in the criminal justice system due to the racist criminalization of poverty and homelessness, as well as the “War on Drugs” which has disproportionately harmed communities of color. LEAD is a national model, guided and operated by an array of local stakeholders in the communities that implement it.

Job Summary

This field-based position is a critical component of the LEAD project, providing engagement and intensive case management services to individuals who have repeated contacts with law enforcement, who are suspected of committing specified low-level crimes in the moment of encounter, or are known to be at risk for arrest for these offenses in the near future. LEAD Case Management is based on non-negotiable principles that provide the essential framework to support Participants referred to the program: a harm reduction philosophy, a client-centered and driven approach, intensive case management, a non-displacement principle, peer outreach and counseling, a trauma-informed care perspective, specially-tailored interventions to address individual and community needs, and cultural competency. The LEAD Case Manager provides low barrier continuous long-term services to a case load of approximately 20-25 individuals. Set hours may include evening or after-hours shifts.

LEAD Case Managers provide Participant-tailored, long-term comprehensive case management services that are consistent with LEAD policies. In this position, your duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Direct Service

• Be on-call during assigned shifts to take referrals from officers and dispatch quickly to referral locations within designated municipalities in areas throughout Allegheny County designated as local cohort areas. 
• Respond to and follow-up on social contact and community referrals in a timely manner, and according to processes determined in collaboration with the Operational Workgroup.
• Initiate engagement, obtain consent, and complete an initial screening with individuals referred by law enforcement, service providers, community members and authorized others.
• Assess Participants for immediate needs, as well as for housing status, substance use dependency, physical health, mental health, health insurance and other needs. 
• Engage Participants in street level outreach, at their homes and in the community to establish an ongoing working relationship and offer services.
• Collaborate with Participants to develop, accomplish and periodically update an individualized service plan that addresses the Participant’s basic needs, health care and insurance needs, substance use dependency, mental health, safety, and/or self-change.
• Connect Participants to Harm Reduction services for drug users, if indicated. 
• Transport Participants as needed, including from police encounters and to/from case management meetings, treatment sessions, and appointments.
• Help Participants reach the goals they set in their individualized service plans (e.g., help them to access human services, navigate local resources, complete applications and forms, and accompany them to appointments)
• Help Participants access federal and state social programs including cash assistance, health insurance, food assistance, housing subsidies, energy and utilities subsidies and assistance, education and childcare assistance, and similar programs operated and administered in the nonprofit sector.
• Help Participants find and maintain housing.
• Help Participants with basic financial management, including creating a budget and taking them shopping.
• Advocate for Participants with other providers and within the criminal legal system, at court appearances and via written communication, in a manner that advances the LEAD core principles.
• Work closely with community providers to refer and place parents into services that also accommodate their children, wherever possible.
• Identify systemic barriers and potential solutions that address the needs of Participants, and share those observations with local stakeholders responsible for LEAD.

Administrative

• Develop and maintain Participant files according to LEAD, County and state requirements.
• Consistently utilize internal processes and procedures that facilitate communication and coordination within the LEAD Case Management Team.
• Utilize required database technology to support Participants in staying connected to their current service providers.

Partnership-Related

• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with LEAD partners, including law enforcement officers, DHS and ACHD staff, LEAD program staff, other relevant providers, and other community stakeholders who can support Participants.
• Regularly communicate with other case managers working on similar diversion initiatives in the County and elsewhere, to share lessons learned and collaboratively develop best practices.

•  Attend and participate in meetings of the Operational Work Group, the group in the LEAD governance structure that is responsible for day-to-day execution of LEAD operations in the Cohort(s) where they are working.

Must Haves for this Position:

• A commitment to social and racial justice.
• Experience building trust with, and a passion to serve, populations impacted by extreme poverty, behavioral health conditions including mental illness and substance use disorder, and who have had repeated encounters with the criminal legal system.
• Ability to create and maintain collaborative partnerships with police officers, other partners from the criminal legal system, and community and government stakeholders.
• A trauma-informed perspective, and believe in/practice a non-coercive, Harm Reduction, Participant-driven philosophy.
• Experience supporting and advocating for Participants within the criminal legal system, including at court appearances and in written communication.
• Street outreach experience providing services and resources to LEAD target populations.
• Experience working with groups of diverse individuals in respectful, equitable and inclusive ways.
• Capacity to work with participants in the long term with acceptance and patience.
• Ability to advocate, effectively communicate, solve problems and stay calm under pressure in high-stress situations.
• Regularly engage in self-care.
• Valid driver’s license, good driving record, and a personal vehicle to travel between work locations and transport Participants. 
• MUST HAVE TIES TO the North, South, or East Cohort areas, and be familiar with resources in those communities. Residence in or near the Cohort areas is preferred.
• LIVED EXPERIENCE with the criminal legal system, homelessness, substance use, and other behavioral health or human service needs is preferred.
• CANDIDATES FOR THIS ROLE MUST BE FULLY VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19. 

Required Combinations of Education and Experience:                              

• A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college with a major in sociology, social welfare, social work, psychology, gerontology, anthropology, other related social sciences, criminal justice, theology, nursing, chemical dependency, counseling or education.
• A registered nurse, with 2 years’ experience in public health.
• An Associate degree from an accredited college with a major in sociology, social welfare, social work, psychology, gerontology, anthropology, other related social sciences, criminal justice, theology, nursing, chemical dependency, counseling or education; and one year of direct client experience in a health or human service agency.
• A high school diploma or GED, and 12 semester credit hours in sociology, social welfare, psychology, gerontology, anthropology, or other social sciences, criminal justice, theology, chemical dependence, nursing, counseling or education; and two years of experience in public or private human services with one year of direct client contact.
• A high school diploma or GED, and five years of experience in public or private human services with two years of direct client contact.