Internship: Juvenile Justice Book Club Facilitator

Hennepin County's Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCCR) is seeking a student to facilitate the Juvenile Justice Book Club program. This is a work service alternative program for court-involved youth promoting literacy, critical growth and community involvement through reading, reflection, and discussion. This program incentivizes youth participation by providing an alternative mechanism for the completion of court-ordered community service hours. The Book Club engages youth through representative, accessible, and engaging young adult literature, independent reading and small group discussion. The Juvenile Justice Book Club recognizes the role readership can play in positive identity development for youth and seeks to prioritize literature that meets this aim.
Current Hennepin County employees who refer a candidate hired into an open competitive position may be eligible for a $500 referral bonus. For more information visit employee referral program.

Location and hours:
This position is hybrid and will be performed both on-site at the Brookdale Probation Office 6125 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430 and remote as job duties require. There will be occasional need for in-person work at Hennepin County locations and/or community partner sites and remote as job duties require.
This internship is intended to start in March 2024 and last one year in duration. This internship will be a 450-hour year-long internship with a planned schedule of approximately 6-10 hours per week. Work time will be spent facilitating both cohort model Book Clubs and individual reading journals with youth; the remaining hours will be completed flexibly to include curricula planning and administrative management of this and other literacy initiatives in Field Services Client Programming. Groups will take a virtual format. While this position is designated as hybrid, based on current requirements hires must reside or be willing to locate to Minnesota or Wisconsin.
New employees who are hired into remote or hybrid positions between January 2, 2022 to December 31, 2024, will receive $500 toward the cost of establishing consistent internet connectivity, payable upon completion of 6 months of employment.
About this position:

In this position, you will:

• Facilitate virtual Juvenile Justice Book Club with justice-involved youth participants utilizing an existing framework for group structure and developing additional programmatic components.
• Facilitate the completion of guided reading journals for individual participation in literacy programming.
• Assist in recruitment of group participants.
• Facilitate youth access to virtual groups, audio, digital or physical copies of identified book titles.
• Perform administrative and adaptive management of groups: scheduling, group reminder notifications, attendance tracking, electronic client file participant notations, communications with interdisciplinary oversight group, curricula planning and implementation, youth engagement and participation, and other tasks related to group function and cohesion as assigned.
• Create and formalize curricula for individuals and groups based on best practices for improving literacy and promoting positive identity development; design additional literacy-promotion materials/programming and activities for juvenile probation.
  

Need to have:

• Must be in one of the following
  
  • Current enrollment in an associate, bachelor's or master's program in education, sociology, human services, cultural studies, anthropology, behavior sciences, law, library, social work, criminal justice, progressive Juvenile Justice, and/ or related fields.
  • Recent graduate (within 6 months) in an associate, bachelor's or master's program in education, sociology, human services, cultural studies, anthropology, behavior sciences, law, library, social work, criminal justice, progressive Juvenile Justice, and/ or related fields.
• Access to reliable transportation may be required for travel between offices, attending meetings, visiting community sites, and connecting with youth to ensure receipt of Book Club materials.
• Ability to commit to a unique schedule of 450 hours spread out through the duration of the term.
• Access to reliable internet connection and a self-support hybrid office space.

Nice to have:

• Experience:
  • Working with justice-involved youth in community settings
  • Facilitating groups with diverse youth; ability to connect with young people and promote engagement in a virtual setting; passion for centering youth voice and youth lived experience.
• Interest in:
  • Curriculum or formalized group content for high school-aged learners
  • Program planning and implementation around literacy achievement and youth identity development
• Strong organizational skills, ability to utilize technology to connect with participants and complete administrative tasks, ability to work independently
• Ability and willingness to design and implement a system for evaluating programmatic outcomes.
• Attended trainings, courses, or seminars to expand understanding and appreciation of diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness.
• Knowledge of:
  • Culturally responsive education modalities and community-based education supports in the Twin Cities metro area
  • Intersection between justice-involvement and literacy skills for juveniles in the United States; knowledge of educational disparities and inequities in systems of education in the United States

About the department:
The Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation works to enhance community safety, promote community restoration, and reduce the risk of re?offense. Department staff and volunteers serve Hennepin County at more than 20 service locations ranging from correctional facilities to probation reporting offices and occupational training centers, delivering sustainable correctional services to more than 26,000 adult and juvenile clients. It is the largest community corrections organization in Minnesota. Learn more at www.hennepin.us/corrections.
About Hennepin County:
Hennepin is the largest county government organization in Minnesota. Our employees work every day to improve the health, safety and quality of life for our residents and communities. All of our jobs align to one or more of our overarching goals -- that Hennepin County residents are healthy, protected and safe, self-reliant, assured due process, and mobile.
Our employees receive a combination of generous benefits and positive workplace culture not found at other organizations. This includes meaningful work that impacts our community, competitive pay, work-life balance, a variety of benefits and opportunities to grow. Learn more at www.hennepin.us/employees.
Hennepin County envisions an organization where our commitment to diversity and the reduction of disparities is fundamental in providing excellent service to our community.
Your future. Made here.

Invitations to interview will be based upon an assessment of education and experience.
Final candidates may be required to complete a drug test and/or background check.
This posting may be used to fill current and future vacancies.
Current Hennepin County regular and temporary employees are not eligible for consideration for this position, as the purpose of this internship opportunity is to allow individuals a potential pathway into employment with the county. If you are an employee looking for career resources for your personal and professional growth, please contact the Employee Career Center at HR.ECC@hennepin.us.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Jeffrey Smith-Sharp
Jeffrey.Smith-Sharp@hennepin.us
internship2000 internships Employment Type: Internship