Director of Co-Response, Bureau of Health Promotion for Justice-Impacted Populations

Division/Program Summary Description: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Mental Hygiene seeks a full-time Director of Co-Response for the Bureau of Health Promotion of Justice Impacted Populations (HPJIP) with the primary responsibility of overseeing the Co-Response Teams (CRT).

The Bureau of Health Promotion for Justice-Impacted Populations (HPJIP) in the Division of Mental Hygiene aims to reduce the negative social and health consequences of criminal legal system involvement through innovative policy and practice change. By centering community, addressing racial inequities, honoring lived experience, and elevating trauma-and-resilience-informed-approaches, we promote evidence-based best practices to address the needs of those disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system.

The Co Response Team (CRT) is a collaboration between the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and the New York Police Department (NYPD), with a mission of serving individuals presenting with behavioral health challenges (mental health and substance misuse) as well as an elevated risk of harm to themselves or others. Teams consist of two uniformed NYPD officers and one behavioral health professional who engage individuals together in the community. CRT is deployed pre and post crisis to provide clinical assessments to determine service connection needs.
CRT will be operational 14 hours a day, 7 days a week – including holidays. Staff are assigned one of 2 shifts (7:00am – 3:00pm or 1:00pm – 9:00pm); (Sunday-Thursday or Tuesday-Saturday). The Director of Co-Response’s schedule would be Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm. Please note there must be flexibility in schedule to meet program needs.

Position Summary: Reporting to the Senior Director of Programs in the Bureau of Health Promotion for Justice-Impacted Populations (HPJIP) the Director of Co-Response will:

Job Duties and Responsibilities:
- Provide operational and clinical oversight of the Co-Response Unit.
- Maintain excellent communication and collaboration with NYPD management to support program operations.
- Develop, implement, and manage policies and procedures to ensure quality services for clients and accountability for staff.
- Manage concerns relating to coverage, productivity, client service skills, and workload expectations.
- Collaborate with HPJIP Epidemiology Unit (EPI) to track and monitor program outcomes and maintain detailed, accurate and timely reports on productivity and quality for case review and staff supervision.
- Work with the EPI team to design, implement, and refine data collection instruments, protocols, and processes to enhance monitoring and evaluation of CRT.
- Work with EPI team on dashboards and contribute to analyses to monitor publicly available data as well as data from criminal legal system agencies.
- Contribute to the interpretation of program data to support data-informed decision-making for CRT.
- Provide support and input to program and EPI team in planning, conducting, and coordinating specific research projects.
- Maintain communication with senior leadership, with detailed and accurate reports or presentations.
- Participate in conferences, meetings, planning and development in partnership with EPI team, of research projects.
- Conduct research and writes technical articles relevant to program.
- Plan and implement activities to develop effective coordination between the research efforts of the program and other research projects.
- Initiate and set goals for program according to the strategic objectives of the Bureau and program.
- Develop evaluation strategies to monitor performance and determine the need for improvements.
- Manage and ensure timely response to requests from internal and external parties, including Executive Deputy Commissioner’s Office or City Hall.
- Coordinate with EPI and relevant staff, indicators, data collection and reporting for the CRT for Quality Performance Review, Mayor’s Management Reports, Office of Community Mental Health requests and other reports.
- Continue and build new relationships with other City agencies, community providers and relevant collaterals.
- Work closely with Senior Director of Programs, to ensure program strategies are well-documented and executed effectively.
- Develop an effective intra-disciplinary communications process within the program and across the Bureau for evidence based collaborative projects.
- Collaborate with clinical and administrative stakeholders to develop project details including definitions, metrics, specific and global aims including workable plans for implementation.
- Provide clinical education and training for staff.
- Develop and implement clinical policies, procedures, and protocols.
- Ensure clinical services provided by staff/program, adhere to evidence-based protocols and procedures.
- Implement quality improvement initiatives to enhance outcomes and clinical service delivery.
- Conduct audits and assessments of clinical services, identifying opportunities for improvement.
- Flexibility in schedule, including working other shifts, weekends, staying later or coming in earlier as needed.
- Must travel between offices/work location, promoting effective communication with programs

NOTE:
- All staff traveling in NYPD patrol vehicles are required to wear bullet resistant vests.

Preferred Skills:
- Strong understanding of intersection of NYC’s legal system (e.g. NYPD, courts, parole, probation, Dept. of Corrections) and behavioral health systems.
- Demonstrated knowledge and experience with best practices around violence risk identification, crisis intervention.
- Experience with Psychological evaluations/testing, behavioral assessments, CBT, DBT, clinical documentation.
- Knowledge of performance evaluation techniques, key metrics, data analysis and reporting.
- Experience implementing and monitoring the success of new programs as well as organizing program activities using teamwork and goal setting.
- Ability to work flexibly and multi-task in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong research and communication skills (written and verbal).
- Ability to act independently and exercise good judgment, escalate accordingly.
- Working knowledge of MS office and program management software.


Why you should work for us:

- Benefits: City employees are entitled to unmatched benefits such as:
o a premium-free health insurance plan that saves employees over $10K annually, per a 2024 assessment.
o additional health, fitness, and financial benefits may be available based on the position’s associated union/benefit fund.
o a public sector defined benefit pension plan with steady monthly payments in retirement.
o a tax-deferred savings program and
o a robust Worksite Wellness Program that offers resources and opportunities to keep you healthy while serving New Yorkers.
- Work From Home Policy: Depending on your position, you may be able to work up to two days during the week from home.
- Job Security - you could enjoy more job security compared to private sector employment and be able to contribute to making NYC a healthy place to live and work.

Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health Department) is the oldest and largest health department in the U.S., dedicated to protecting and improving the health of NYC. Our mission is to safeguard the health of every resident and cultivate a city where everyone, regardless of age, background, or location, can achieve their optimal health. We provide a wide array of programs and services focused on food and nutrition, anti-tobacco support, chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment, family and child health, environmental health, mental health, and social justice initiatives. As the primary population health strategist and policy authority for NYC, with a rich history of public health initiatives and scientific advancements, from addressing the 1822 yellow fever outbreak to the COVID-19 pandemic, we serve as a global leader in public health innovation and expertise.

Come join us and help to continue our efforts in making a difference in the lives of all New Yorkers!

The NYC Health Department is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation to all individuals. To request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, contact Sye-Eun Ahn, Director of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, at sahn1@health.nyc.gov or 347-396-6549.

CITY RESEARCH SCIENTIST - 21744