Standards Specialist

BOARD OF CORRECTION; New York (NY); On-site; USD 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The New York City Board of Correction seeks a Standards Specialist to serve as the Board’s eyes and ears in jails, court pens, and hospital wards. The role involves monitoring, reporting, and enforcing the Board’s Minimum Standards to improve conditions for staff and people in custody.

Under supervision, you will conduct tours, compile findings, and provide technical assistance to DOC administrators while collaborating with a diverse team to advance justice and human rights in New York City’s

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a social science discipline, public policy or related field
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and two years of related experience; or equivalent education/experience as described in the Minimum Qualifications.

Responsibilities

• Conduct regular tours of assigned jails, court pens, hospital wards
• Provide written and oral reporting on conditions and minimum standards
• Enforce the Minimum Standards by visiting facilities and addressing complaints
• Analyze DOC compliance with Minimum Standards, decrees and policies
• Prepare written reports on investigations, surveys, and analyses
• Provide technical assistance to DOC administrators to achieve compliance
• Conduct investigations of unusual incidents and prepare related reports
• Assist in processing requests for variances and in responding to appeals

Skills

Teamwork

Strong writing

Interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

Time management

Bilingual Spanish

Education

Master’s degree in social science/public policy

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

About the New York City Board of Correction

The New York City Board of Correction ("BOC" or "the Board") is a nine-person, non-judicial oversight board, which regulates, monitors, and inspects the correctional facilities of the City. Established in 1957, BOC is one of the earliest independent oversight boards of custodial and detention settings in the United States. The Mayor, City Council and presiding justices of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court for the First and Second Judicial Departments (in joint nomination with the Mayor) appoint its members.

The City Charter mandates the Board’s five functions:

• Establish and ensure compliance with minimum standards for the care, custody, correction, treatment, supervision, and discipline of all persons held or confined under the jurisdiction of the Department of Correction ("DOC" or "the Department");
• Investigate serious incidents;
• Review grievances from people in custody and staff;
• Evaluate the performance of DOC; and
• Make recommendations on areas of key correctional planning.

The Board established the Minimum Standards on conditions of confinement in 1979, mental health care in 1985, and health care in 1991. In 2007, BOC finished a comprehensive review of the Minimum Standards and adopted a series of amendments. Since 2014, the Board has engaged in rulemaking five times, including rules related to the prevention of sexual violence, reporting on serious injuries, and the elimination of punitive segregation or solitary confinement.

With offices in lower Manhattan and Rikers Island, BOC works regularly with DOC and Health + Hospitals, and often with other partners, on a wide range of criminal justice issues germane to its oversight responsibilities. BOC is a key municipal partner in the movement for safer, smaller, fairer, more humane jails, which minimize negative consequences, such as violence to persons in custody and staff. The Board brings to this work a strong emphasis on public reporting.

With new staff leadership, funding, and Board members, along with increased public attention and jail reform efforts underway, BOC is in a period of growth and change.

The Board seeks a Standards Specialist ("Monitor") with a passion for justice, fairness, and human rights, and the ability to collaborate with administration, monitoring, legal and research staff to leverage the powers of the Board. This is an opportunity to work under the supervision of experienced directors, and collaboration with monitors who have spent years working inside of jails and enforcing the Minimum Standards. We are a nationally unique institution with broad powers of access and oversight under the New York City Charter.

The Standards Specialists are critical to the work of the Board. They serve as the Board’s and the City’s “eyes and ears” in the jails on Rikers Island, as well as the court pens and hospital prison wards. To promote compliance with the Board’s Minimum Standards, monitoring staff have unfettered access to the jails.

The Monitor will report to their assigned Director. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Conducting regular tours of assigned jails, court pens, hospital prison wards
• Providing written and oral reporting on conditions and minimum standards of assigned jails, courts, or hospital wards
• Enforcing the Minimum Standards by visiting jails, taking and resolving complaints from staff and people in custody
• Examining DOC’s compliance with the Minimum Standards, consent decrees, and other legal mandates and Departmental policies, procedures, orders and directives
• Analyzing compliance by the Correctional Health Services (CHS) with the Health and Mental Health Care Minimum Standards
• Preparing written reports on all investigations, surveys, and analyses
• Providing technical assistance to DOC administrators to achieve compliance and improve working and living conditions for staff and people in custody
• Conducting fact-finding and investigations of unusual incident such as deaths, disturbances, and escapes, and preparing reports, studies, surveys, and correspondence regarding such incidents
• Helping review and analyze requests from DOC and CHS for variances from the Minimum Standards
• Assisting in processing, evaluating and preparing responses to appeals from people in custody concerning the Minimum Standards

EXPERIENCE/QUALITIES/SKILLS STRONGLY PREFERRED

• Collegial approach to teamwork across disciplines
• Master’s degree in a social science discipline, public policy or related field
• At least three years of government, nonprofit, or comparable experience
• Experience at a regulatory agency or advocating before a regulatory agency
• Service as an inmate in a correctional or related facility may be substituted for a portion of the full-time, paid, preferred experience up to a maximum of two years on a year-for-year basis
• Interest in and experience with criminal justice and correctional policy, human rights, or social justice
• Experience conducting qualitative and quantitative research and expressing findings in report form
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Knowledge of and experience with statistical analysis
• Strong ability to write clear and concisely
• Working knowledge of New York City jails and corrections
• Excellent organizational and time management skills, and attention to detail
• Strong interpersonal skills with proven ability to collaborate with diverse colleagues and partners
• Ability to work well independently and on a team
• Ability to handle sensitive information in a professional manner, and with discretion and integrity
• Bilingual such as Spanish
• Tenacious fact finder with excellent organizational and writing skills
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced and changing environment
• Commitment to the mission of the New York City Board of Correction

The Board of Correction is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and culturally responsive workforce. We strongly encourage people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and gender non‑conforming persons to apply. All applicants will be considered without regard to actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, age, prior record of arrest, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Appointments are subject to Office of Management & Budget approval for budgeted headcount. This role is subject to funding availability and dependent on continued funding.

As a current or prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. You may check the eligibility for programs and how to apply at nyc.gov/studentloans.

Minimum Qualifications

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and two years of full-time paid experience in correction, social work, psychology, law, public administration or related field providing direct services to an inmate or detention population within a correctional or related facility; or
2. A four‑year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a State’s Department of Education or a recognized accrediting organization and four years of full‑time paid experience as described in "1" above; or
3. Education and/or experience equivalent to "1" or "2" above. Service as an inmate in a correctional or related facility may be substituted for a portion of the required experience up to a maximum of two years on a year for year basis. A graduate degree from an accredited college or university with a major in social work, psychology, law, criminal justice or public administration which includes a field placement performing duties as described above may be substituted for up to one year of full‑time paid experience as described above. However, all candidates must have at least one year of full‑time paid experience as described in "1" above.

Residency Requirement

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.

The City of New York and the Board of Correction is an equal opportunity employer and committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally‑protected status or protected characteristic, including, but not limited to, an individual’s sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.