Be a part of a first-of-its-kind program that’s transforming lives and systems at the intersection of behavioral health and criminal justice.
About Us
We proudly believe in equitable access to employment at Bridges. If you are interested in becoming employed with us but feel you may not meet the qualifications, please see our substitutions below.
Bridges of Colorado, established in 2018, places Court Liaisons across Colorado's 22 judicial districts to serve defendants (referred to as participants) in the criminal justice system who have significant mental health needs. Due to the high success of the program, Bridges was legislatively established as an independent state office within the Judicial Branch in April of 2023. See legislation here: Bridges of Colorado Act 2023
Bridges Court Liaisons are appointed by the court and facilitate collaboration between the criminal justice and mental health systems by partnering with providers, courts, and often families to provide wraparound care for participants. Liaisons provide person-centered care, working with participants to identify needs and address barriers, such as mental health, disabilities, housing, or transportation.
Because liaisons work with participants both in and out of custody, they are integral to outpatient planning when a participant is in custody and support engagement into identified services once a participant is released. Advocating for the best behavioral health interests of the participant, Court Liaisons keep judges and attorneys informed of participant needs and barriers, available services, and progress with engagement into services through regular reports to the court and attendance at hearings.
Individuals with high acuity mental health needs are ten times more likely to be jailed and nationally there are three times more individuals with serious mental illness in jails or prisons than in hospitals. Bridges of Colorado has been identified nationwide as a promising practice that focuses on the whole person. It is intentionally designed to address disparities often experienced by this population in the criminal justice system. Court Liaisons advocate for each participant’s inherent worth and dignity by centering their lived experiences and voice to ensure their behavioral health best interests. At its very core, Bridges is person-centered advocacy rooted in solution-focused, collaborative practices intended to promote positive outcomes for participants.
The Need
The majority of Coloradans with severe mental illness do not receive services, with many receiving services only through entering the justice system. Individuals with serious mental illness are twice as likely to be arrested again within a year of leaving prison.
The Vision
All individuals within the criminal justice system are treated fairly and humanely, regardless of their behavioral health history or mental state.
The Mission
To promote positive outcomes for Coloradans living with mental health conditions who encounter criminal justice involvement by fostering collaboration between both systems.
Our Values
We approach our work grounded in the following values:
How We Live Our Vision, Mission, and Values
We connect to resources. We amplify voices. We shed light on situations.
We inform decision-making. We offer our support. We speak up.
We provide education. We embrace equity.
Our JEDI Vision
We are devoted to advancing equity of all intersectional identities, including (but not limited to) race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, education level, age, language, religion, mental or physical ability, economic, marital, or family status, justice system involvement, and geographic location. This is our commitment to our participants, partners and collaborators, each other, and all Colorado residents. It is who we are at our core.
Position Purpose
To support the Bridges mission of promoting positive outcomes for participants by managing, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting organizational-wide and cross-systems data and outcomes. This position drives data strategic design and planning for the organization, including conducting relevant research, mission-aligned data collection, and program outcomes reporting.
Position Location and Travel Requirements
This position works in a hybrid, work-from-home base blended with occasional state and regional travel. Occasional travel to the Bridges office in Denver may be expected. Reliable transportation is required.
Essential Functions
Person-Centered
- Ensure mission-aligned data collection to assess the overall impact of our work on those we serve.
- Educate staff on timely, ethical, and person-centered data collection practices for entry into the case management system.
- Communicate data entry and collection needs with staff to ensure data integrity and completeness.
- Conduct surveys, focus groups, and/or individual interviews with participants, to ensure the voices of those directly affected by service delivery are represented in relevant research and information collection.
- Monitor participant trends and characteristics, as they relate to desired outcomes.
- Ensure that the data management system fields use clear and person-centered language.
- Perform cross-systems cost-benefit analyses to determine the systemic impact of our work on participants.
- Function as the narrator in detail-oriented research and reporting on participant experiences and outcomes using mixed information (e.g. participant interviews, survey responses, and case management data).
- Interpret data to identify trends, conduct root cause analyses, and suggest areas for process improvement that will lead to enhanced participant outcomes.
- Present engaging content with visuals (as appropriate) and share quantitative and qualitative findings using understandable and human storytelling approaches for various audiences.
- Assist in developing and delivering relevant learning modules (e.g., case management system techniques or ethics of data-sharing) tailored to the needs of various audiences.
Solution-Focused
- Develop and execute an ongoing data evaluation plan to assess organizational impact and ongoing areas for enhancement.
- Use computer applications to clean and process data and produce or aid in producing reports from the case management system and other sources, and to identify patterns within the data.
- Review data to understand it and make corrections where needed to ensure data integrity, including auditing of internal data.
- Oversee day-to-day management of the case management system to ensure required data is being entered for quality control and to prevent future data collection or integrity concerns.
- Drive external research and information collection as it relates to program outcomes.
- Responsible for data analysis, summaries, and reporting, that meet organizational and legislative reporting requirements.
- Identify and recommend solution-focused opportunities, applying strong analytical thinking skills and statistical knowledge.
- Use software applications and online resources to gather, analyze, and organize data effectively.
- Compile and report on predictive analysis for forecasting trends and identifying participant, organization or systems needs.
- Responsible for data and subject matter specialty on data systems and data approaches within the organization.
- Identify data-related learning needs and design an agency-wide learning strategic plan to develop and deliver.
Collaborative
- Serve as the lead authority and central point of contact within the organization for programmatic data, evaluation, and research.
- Collaborate with team members and leadership regarding data trends and data integrity.
- Discover and share trends, findings, and recommendations, as part of regular data and analysis reporting or upon request, including preparing all data requests for annual and intermittent reporting to the legislature.
- Work closely with the contracted case management system administrating agency to request and implement timely changes within the unique case management system.
- Support accompanying administrative efforts, as they relate to organizational data monitoring and outcomes.
- Provide project oversight and collaborate on partnerships with universities, colleges, and other research institutions for third-party evaluation and research opportunities.
- Oversee and assist in research and program evaluation initiatives with third-party evaluators.
- Provide internal and external recommendations to support data-driven decision-making with external parties.
- Work closely with staff to ensure timely and reliable data collection and entry into the case management database.
- Collaborate with the administrative director and executive director for guidance on existing and future data collection and reporting to meet legislative requirements.
- Integrate research and quantitative and qualitative data from multiple sources (internal and external). Ensure data accuracy and integrity, and update data as needed.
May supervise up to 6.0 full-time employees (FTE).
Other Responsibilities
This is a dynamic and new position where the scope of responsibilities and duties will evolve, and the incumbent should anticipate fulfilling other duties as assigned that are reasonable and necessary to fulfill the Bridges mission. The ideal candidate for this role will not only possess the ability to fulfill the outlined duties but will also be a proactive, adaptable, and capable contributor to the development of the role's scope and responsibilities, aligning them with the evolving needs of the Office.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
The ideal candidate is passionate about working to improve the systems of care for those caught in the intersection of behavioral health and the criminal justice system.
- Person-centered, solution-focused, collaborative, and deeply committed to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Client-driven and values-driven.
- Demonstration of professional alignment with Bridges values, culture, and principles of justice and equity throughout the organization, and passionate about supporting them throughout the organization.
- Awareness of trauma-informed approaches and systems of care.
- Capable of, and enjoys, thriving in a fast-paced, multi-tasking environment with thoughtful decision-making skills.
- Creative, self-motivated, and able to work in a decentralized environment without close supervision.
- Ability to communicate and collaborate with varying levels of positions of power and manage conflict proactively and responsively with confidentiality.
- Emotional intelligence; able to create and sustain helpful, professional work relationships thoughtfully and responsively with empathy, respect, and collaboration.
- Ability to synthesize complex data and research from a variety of sources into clear and cohesive written and visual products.
- Experience translating data across various platforms.
- Capable of delivering training, guidance and support to internal staff on data standards and expectations.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to listen and articulate concepts and ideas clearly.
- Expert-level proficiency in applications such as Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio), Adobe Acrobat with DocuSign, and shared drive applications.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in public administration, statistics, mathematics, business intelligence, or related fields. Equivalent work experience will be considered.
- Minimum of five (5) years of experience in local and cross-systems data analysis, reporting, or other relevant experience.
- At least two (2) years of direct employee supervision.
- The above years of work and supervisory experience may overlap.
- Demonstrated experience analyzing and problem-solving quantitative and qualitative questions and proposed concepts.
- Experience in case management databases, high-performance computing, and information filtering.
- Experience utilizing data visualization tools to prepare and present data, trends, and findings to various internal and external stakeholders.
OR
- At least two (2) years as an employee or contractor with Bridges may substitute for the minimum qualifications above, with additional specialized training that may be required upon hire.
- Years of relevant work experience may substitute for the educational requirement, with the exception of any required licenses, certifications, or accreditations.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in public administration, statistics, mathematics, business intelligence, or related fields.
- Seven or more (7+) years of experience in local and cross-systems data analysis, reporting, and other relevant experience.
- Advanced knowledge, experience, or training in statistical modeling or inferential statistics.
- Experience with longitudinal data collection and translating.
- Experience working with behavioral health and justice-involved populations.
- Demonstrated understanding of systemic disparities and adverse outcomes, applying a DEI, JEDI, or social justice data framework to promote equity.
Work Environment
Outside the home workspace, the noise level in the work environment is variable. This position is subject to varying and unpredictable situations; may handle emergency or crisis situations; is subject to many interruptions; may handle multiple calls, emails, and verbal inquiries simultaneously.
Accommodations
The Bridges Office is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to Jori Dovey, People & Culture Manager, jori.dovey@bridgesofcolorado.gov.
Compensation
We are proud of our equity-conscious pay scale for all positions, providing livable wages, robust benefits, and meaningful time-off policies.
This position's initial hiring pay range is $101,391 to $116,600. For equity, the pay for this position (and all Bridges positions) is based upon the cost-of-living adjustment for the Denver metro area. Actual compensation offered will be determined based on prior experience, education, knowledge, skills, and abilities relevant to the position. As a person grows in this role, the full pay range is currently $101,391 to $136,878.
In addition, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, dental, and vision coverage for spouses, families, and domestic partners; employer-paid basic life and AD&D insurance and short and long-term disability insurance; Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA) benefits; family and parental leave benefits; generous paid time off. Click here for further information about State of Colorado employee benefits.
We also offer professional and career development opportunities, including clinical supervision toward relevant licensure. A cell phone will be provided, along with a hybrid work arrangement when feasible for your position’s responsibilities. Each employee will receive a laptop for their home office or travel for work. All employees will also receive exclusive parking at a discounted rate in the Ralph Carr Judicial building for easy access to the in-person meetings in Denver.
How to Apply
You will be required to provide the following documents:
- List of three (3) references with contact information (2 of 3 must be professional)
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Faxed, mailed, or emailed applications will not be accepted unless you are instructed to do so. Please direct any additional inquiries or questions to bridges@bridgesofcolorado.gov
If you are offered employment, the following are the conditions of employment:
- Be a current resident of the State of Colorado or become a resident of the State of Colorado within 30 days of the hire date;
- Have reliable transportation to meet your position’s travel requirements;
- Ability to work remotely, in an office setting, and travel throughout Colorado or region, depending on the position’s responsibilities;
- Be willing to submit to a routine background investigation, including a criminal history check;
- If hired, the Immigration Reform and Control Act requires you to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the United States within three (3) workdays of your start date.
Bridges of Colorado is an equal-opportunity employer committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion of all voices in the workplace. We consider applicants equally and do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, religion, social class, national origin, marital or parental status, pregnancy, disability status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or political affiliation. We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion and an environment of representation of diversity. We highly encourage individuals of all identities, backgrounds, and experiences to apply.
