Intake Specialist

State of Washington; Olympia (WA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 76,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

State retirement

Paid holidays

Job summary

State of Washington’s Office of Corrections Ombuds (OCO) in Olympia is seeking an intake-focused role to be the first point of contact for health, safety, welfare, and rights concerns from incarcerated individuals and families. This on-site position may transition to a hybrid schedule after one year, with a strong emphasis on accurate documentation and timely escalation.

You will handle hotline and mail complaints, draft communications, and support investigators while maintaining strict

Qualifications

• Experience providing administrative support, customer service, or intake services.
• Ability to conduct intake by phone, written forms, email, or other methods and determine next steps.
• Attention to accurate data entry and case documentation in CMS or similar system.
• Ability to communicate respectfully with distressed individuals and de-escalate as needed.
• Discretion handling confidential records and information.
• Familiarity with Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and standard office tools.

Responsibilities

• Handle intake for concerns via hotline, mail, email, and online submissions.
• Process and route complaints, gather information, and determine next steps.
• Provide on-site intake support and assist investigators with information gathering.
• Draft clear communications for internal and external audiences.
• Engage with incarcerated individuals with trauma-informed approaches.
• Process mail intake, document scanning, and CMS updates.
• Assist investigators and support case management activities.
• Ensure confidentiality and proper records management.
• Create and process public records requests in GovQA.

Skills

Administrative support

Customer service

Case management

Intake and triage

Trauma-informed communication

Communication under distress

De-escalation techniques

Record keeping

Education

Knowledge of DOC/corrections environment

Tools

Microsoft 365

SharePoint

Excel

Adobe Acrobat

Job description

Description

This role is an in-office position with the possibility of going to a hybrid schedule after 1 year

Why work for the Office of the Governor?

At the Office of the Corrections Ombuds (OCO), we are driven by a powerful mission: to create a more humane, transparent, and equitable Washington Corrections system. As an independent and impartial agency established by the Legislature, we are committed to advocating for incarcerated individuals, resolving conflicts, and fostering systemic improvements within the Department of Corrections (DOC). Our vision is to empower those impacted by incarceration to raise their concerns, reduce harm, and influence positive change across the system.

Our work is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. We provide crucial information to incarcerated individuals and their families, raising awareness about their rights and responsibilities, and ensuring that our services are equitable and inclusive. Diversity and lived experience are at the heart of our mission as we work to build a corrections system that serves everyone fairly.

The Job Opportunity

Join the Office of Corrections Ombuds (OCO) and make a real impact for incarcerated individuals across Washington State. As part of our intake team, you’ll be the first point of contact for concerns about health, safety, welfare, and rights, ensuring every voice is heard and urgent issues get quick attention.

You’ll handle and analyze complaints from our hotline, mail, email, and online system, identify public records requests, elevate critical situations, and support our investigative staff. You’ll also draft clear, professional communications for internal and external audiences.

In this role, you’ll regularly speak with incarcerated individuals, use strong communication and trauma-informed approaches, assist people in crisis, and provide self-advocacy information to them and their families.

What You’ll Work On

Complaint Intake and OCO Hotline

• Receive concerns, complaints, and requests from incarcerated individuals and their loved ones through the OCO hotline, mail, internal email, online submissions, and facility visits.
• Processes and determines the next course of action to best support the individual and address the concern.
• Performs hotline duties primarily on-site and works regularly scheduled hotline shifts as required to ensure consistent coverage.
• Provides intake support for investigators by receiving and assessing concerns, complaints, and requests, gathering relevant information, and determining next steps appropriate for investigations or other responses.
• Engages with individuals incarcerated in DOC facilities who contact the OCO hotline, obtains and clarifies information as needed, and provides appropriate technical assistance.
• Follows established procedures to accurately document complaint information and demographic information provided by individuals incarcerated in DOC facilities.
• Enters and updates complaint information, case notes, and supporting documentation in the OCO Case Management System (CMS).
• Reviews information for completeness and accuracy and takes appropriate action to ensure cases are properly documented and assigned.
• Ensures timely assignment of new complaints to “Triage.”

Mail and Document Processing

• Performs mail intake and document processing primarily on-site to support timely receipt, processing, scanning, and filing of incoming correspondence.
• Provides intake support for investigators by reviewing and assessing written concerns, complaints and requests, reading relevant information and determining next steps appropriate for investigations or other responses.
• Processes incoming mail by date-stamping, reviewing, scanning, and digitally storing documents in accordance with established procedures.
• Creates new cases and updates existing cases based on information received through mail and other sources.
• Uploads supporting documentation to the appropriate CMS case and ensures records are properly associated with the case.
• Reviews DOC records and other available information to verify addresses and facilitate accurate delivery of OCO correspondence.
• Processes Closed Case Reviews and maintains related records in CMS and OCO SharePoint.

Investigative and Administrative Support

• Provides administrative and casework support to OCO investigative staff.
• Handles “intake investigations” by identifying relevant self-advocacy information and providing closing letters with useful information for the incarcerated individual.
• Prepares, processes, and sends acknowledgement and closing correspondence using established procedures.
• Monitors and processes documents remotely printed by OCO staff to ensure timely distribution.
• Supports case intake and documentation during facility visits.
• Performs other administrative and case management activities as assigned to support OCO operations.

Confidentiality and Records Management

• Handles sensitive and confidential information in accordance with applicable laws, policies, and OCO procedures, including RCW 43.06C.060.
• Uses appropriate discretion when communicating with individuals incarcerated in DOC facilities and when accessing, documenting, storing, and sharing confidential records.
• Maintains accurate, organized, and secure case records throughout the intake and case management process.
• Creates and processes public records requests in GovQA in accordance with established procedures.

What We Need You To Bring

Experience in providing administrative support, customer service, case management, or similar intake services, including receiving, documenting, and processing information from the public.

• Proficiency in conducting intake by telephone, written correspondence, email, or other communication methods; gathering and clarifying information; and determining appropriate next steps within established procedures.
• Proficiency in accurately entering, reviewing, organizing, and maintaining case information and supporting documentation in a case management system or similar database.
• Proficiency in communicating calmly, respectfully, and effectively with individuals experiencing distress, frustration, crisis, or other challenging circumstances, including using appropriate de-escalation techniques.
• Ability to recognize sensitive, urgent, or potentially significant concerns and take appropriate action, including escalating matters in accordance with established procedures.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and appropriately handle sensitive, personal, protected, and case-related information in accordance with applicable laws, policies, and procedures.
• Proficiency in using common office software and technology, including Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, and standard office equipment such as scanners and printers.
• Proficiency in organizing and prioritizing multiple assignments and time-sensitive tasks while maintaining accuracy and meeting established deadlines.
• Ability to communicate respectfully and effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, including individuals who are incarcerated and others involved in the correctional system.
• Demonstrated commitment to treating all people with dignity and respect and contributing to an equitable, inclusive, and respectful workplace and community.
• Commitment to actively participating in the ongoing evaluation and improvement of practices and strategies that promote equity and inclusion within the organization.
• Demonstrated communication skills, including the ability to effectively and respectfully dialogue with people who are incarcerated, stakeholders, Department of Corrections staff and leadership, as well as diverse groups of people in a variety of other professional settings and situations.
• The ability to learn and grow: Curious about themselves and others, who take responsibility for knowing their own strengths and weaknesses, and who use their learning to make government programs and processes more efficient and effective to serve all in Washington.
• The ability to meet the needs of others: Flexible, adaptable, customer-service focused, and willing and able to empathetically respond to the unique needs of the people we work with and serve.

Desired Qualifications

• Knowledge of the Washington State Department of Corrections and correctional system, including the experiences and circumstances that may affect individuals who are incarcerated. Academic, professional, and lived experience may be considered, with a combination of these experiences preferred.
• Experience in providing telephone-based customer service or intake support in a high-volume environment, particularly when working with individuals experiencing distress, crisis, or other challenging circumstances.
• Proficiency in using Microsoft Excel to organize, review, and analyze information and maintain complex spreadsheets.
• Proficiency in creating and processing mail merges and other routine correspondence or document-processing functions.
• Commitment to public service and a demonstrated interest in serving the needs of the community.

Supplemental Information

At OCO, we foster a culture of integrity, innovation, inclusion, and belonging. We value both learned and lived experiences, believing that diversity makes us stronger. To support your health and well-being, we offer a variety of benefit programs for our employees.

This position requires unescorted access to Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities and access to DOC’s OMNI system. To meet DOC facility access requirements, individuals must have been released from prison or probation for at least two years. Additionally, to meet DOC requirements, a DOC background check, including a review of criminal history, will be conducted before hire to determine eligibility for the required facility and system access. A criminal history or other information identified through the background check will not necessarily disqualify an individual from employment but will be considered in determining suitability and competence to perform in this position.

Benefits

Please visit our Recruitment site for a full list of employee benefits. Here’s a glance at some of the unique benefits that ORIA offers:

• A culture that values and strives to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging
• Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance
• 12 paid holidays, 14 paid vacation days (minimum), and 12 days of sick leave per year
• State retirement programs

Note: Some sections and questions like the application questions and test prompts have been removed for refinement purposes.