District of Columbia Department of Human Services

Position Description: Director of PINS diversion program

I. BACKGROUND:
The District of Columbia Department of Human Services is seeking a project director to
launch a service intervention program to prevent the formalization of status offenders. The
Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS) diversion program is being launched to bring much
needed reform to the District’s status offender system by creating a social-service oriented,
single point of entry system to prevent status offenders and their families from entering the
juvenile justice and child welfare systems.

The Department of Human Services provides services that enhance self-sufficiency and
quality of life for residents that enable them to address economic and social challenges. The
director position will be located within the Family Services Administration in the Department
of Human Services and the director will be responsible for management and supervision of
all PINS diversion staff.

II. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

This is a unique opportunity to design and staff an evidence-based program to reduce PINS
cases in the District of Columbia.

The primary roles and responsibilities of the director include, but are not limited to:
A. Design and implement the new Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS) diversion
program for the District of Columbia.
B. Communicate effectively with agency partners and key stakeholders to develop the
necessary support to foster the collaboration necessary for system change and
improved outcomes for status offenders.
C. Build the internal team that will help implement the PINS diversion program.
D. Design and develop an assessment system for the PINS diversion program that will
streamline status offender intake and bring more efficiency to the District’s status
offender system.
E. Coordinate efforts with social service providers within the District of Columbia to
create a seamless referral system that refers status offenders and their families to
the appropriate social services they need.
F. Design a program that will effectively identify the target population for the program
and fill the gaps in current services provided to status offenders.

III. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Candidates should hold a master's degree, J.D., or its equivalent and possess: (1)
professional experience in the areas of juvenile justice or child and family services;
(2) general knowledge of DC’s juvenile justice and child welfare systems; (3) knowledge of
current best-practice policies, programs, services, and support systems for repeat status
offenders and youth who are at risk; (4) experience in evaluating and managing programs;
(5) a demonstrated ability to successfully advocate for and implement new policies and/or
programs (6) excellent problem solving skills. In addition, candidate should be able to
develop and administer an operational and programming budget, communicate effectively
and travel within the District of Columbia to attend meetings and events.
IV. TO APPLY:
Interested candidates should send a resume and cover letter via email to laura.zeilinger@
dc.gov. Applications may also be forwarded to:
Laura Green Zeilinger
Deputy Director for Program Operations
Department of Human Services
District of Columbia Government
64 New York Ave., NE, Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20002