Juanita Hotchkiss

Licensed Master Social Worker, Director of Community & Incarcerated Services - Ulster County Sheriff's Office

Juanita Hotchkiss is a Licensed Master Social Worker who has dedicated her career to bringing behavioral health and criminal justice systems together, and closer to the communities that they serve. She is currently the Director of Community and Incarcerated Services at the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office. Previously, she worked with the Ulster County Department of Mental Health as the Project Manager for the Columbia University Healing Communities Study. In her tenure with Ulster County, Juanita has engaged key stakeholders to implement more than 26 strategies to address the Opioid Epidemic, securing more than $5 million dollars in federal grant funding to launch, enhance, and sustain initiatives such as; peer street outreach teams, 24/7 peer supports, and the expansion of the Sheriff’s Opioid Response as County Law Enforcement (O.R.A.C.L.E) program, CIT Mental Health Team (S.A.F.E), County-wide First Responder Wellness Unit, as well as, Jail based ReEntry Services for incarcerated individuals with Substance Use Disorder. In addition to this, she assisted the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office in launching the Anti-Violence Effort Response Team (AVERT) and the Medication for Opioid Use Disorder program in the Jail, as well as several community outreach initiatives to address the opioid epidemic. Juanita received her Bachelor of Professional Studies in Human Service, Program Development & Management from SUNY Empire State College and her Master’s in Social Work from Adelphi University’s Hudson Valley Center.

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