Organization Description

Youth Justice Network (formerly known as Friends of Island Academy) was founded in 1990 on the school floors of Rikers Island to anchor, support and develop capacity among young people newly released from jail in New York City. Our mission is to break cycles of incarceration and build an equitable justice system by providing young people with individualized advocacy, mentorship, and opportunities to grow, thrive, and lead. Youth Justice Network builds on connections developed with young people whose lives have intersected with the justice system, and leverages those relationships to provide post-release, neighborhood-based supportive services. Young people become members of Youth Justice Network for the long-term and develop personal milestones and goals in health and well-being, education, employment, youth leadership and community participation.

New Initiative

Youth Justice Network is honored and excited to have been selected by the NYC Administration for Children’s Services/Division of Youth and Family Services to offer Workforce Development Services for young people held in secure detention at Crossroads, and limited secure and Close to Home placement settings in Brooklyn and Queens. The award represents an investment in the promise of so many of the City’s most resilient young people and reflects YJN’s experience in supporting justice-involved young people in and out of custody. This initiative will launch September 1, 2026. Youth Justice Network is building a team to provide young people in ACS custody with high quality career exploration, work readiness, vocational training, tutoring, and related supports. The vision and goal of this initiative is to leverage young peoples’ time in detention and placement by offering relevant, necessary skills and tools to build self-efficacy and agency. In collaboration with ACS, DOE, and key community partnerships, this initiative will provide justice-impacted young people with individualized advocacy, mentorship, coaching, and opportunities to grow, thrive, and lead.

Position Overview

The Coach plays a central role in Youth Justice Network’s ACS-funded Career and Education Pathways initiative. Serving as the primary, trusted point of contact for justice-involved youth, the Coach builds relationships of trust, provides consistent mentorship, and ensures access to academic, social-emotional, vocational, and workforce resources. Coaches maintain an average roster of 15 youth at a time and guide each young person in co-creating a Career Readiness Portfolio that builds and “thickens” over time, serving as a living record of academic progress, workforce training, and personal development.

Through individualized and group sessions, Coaches help young people navigate complex systems, develop agency, and build tangible skills for education and employment success. This position is modeled on YJN’s long-standing Youth Advocate approach and reflects practices proven in ACS-funded initiatives and community-based workforce programs.

Key Responsibilities

Youth Engagement and Relationship-Building

• Serve as the consistent, trusted mentor (“primary person”) for each assigned youth.

• Meet with young people immediately upon admission to detention or placement, establishing rapport and trust.

• Maintain a caseload of 15–18 youth at a given time, ensuring consistent contact and individualized support.

• Assess youth’s academic and career interests, strengths, and needs using trauma-informed, youth-centered approaches.

• Co-create and maintain a Career Readiness Portfolio for each young person, ensuring it follows them during and after ACS custody.

Program Delivery and Instruction

• Facilitate workforce development programming across all sites / tutoring, vocational training, housing resources, and comprehensive supports.

• Deliver sector-based career readiness training, financial literacy instruction, and work readiness workshops using YJN’s Career Services Center curriculum.

• Provide one-on-one coaching in resume development, interview preparation, communication skills, and workplace expectations.

• Collaborate with Tutors to reinforce academic skills, including literacy, numeracy, GED/HSE preparation, and credit recovery.

• Prepare youth for transitions from custody into schools, vocational programs, or employment opportunities in the community.

Collaboration and Case Coordination

• Work closely with Head Coaches, Tutors, vocational trainers, DOE/Passages Academy staff, ACS facility staff, and community-based partners to coordinate services.

• Participate in regular team meetings to review caseload progress, address barriers, and strengthen service integration.

• Document all sessions, assessments, and milestones in YJN’s Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) database in compliance with ACS reporting requirements.

Youth Empowerment and Advocacy

• Promote youth voice, agency, and leadership in service planning and intrinsic engagement in developing their own Work Readiness Portfolios.

• Embed trauma-informed care, restorative practices, and ACS’s LGBTQAI+ best practices into daily interactions.

• Actively support youth in overcoming barriers to success, advocating for their educational, vocational, and social-emotional needs

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Counseling, Social Work, or related field; or equivalent combination of education and lived/professional experience.

• Minimum 2–4 years of experience working with justice-involved or system-impacted youth in mentoring, advocacy, or coaching roles.

• Knowledge of NYC education and workforce development systems, including GED/HSE, vocational training, and postsecondary opportunities.

• Demonstrated commitment to trauma-informed care, racial equity, and culturally responsive pedagogy.

• Strong interpersonal, communication, and facilitation skills.

• Ability to maintain accurate records, manage caseloads, and use data for program improvement.

• Belief in the capacity of young people to grow, thrive, and lead. Youth Justice Network is privileged to have a profoundly committed and caring staff – one which believes unconditionally in our members’ ability to do right and do well. We take our work very seriously, but we strive to make time for self-care and joy. We look for staff from all walks of life who have integrity, humor, a strong work ethic, are passionate about our mission and work, and who are committed to address the harms caused by mass incarceration.

Depending on full or part-time status, benefits include a competitive vacation/sick leave policy including three days off between Christmas and New Year's Day, four-day summer weeks through July and August, generous health insurance, 403b match.

Salary Range: $50,000-$55,000

Target start date: September 1, 2026

For purposes of internal equity, we are unable to go outside of the salary posted.