Mental Health Clinician - Los Angeles, United States - Step Up

Description

Job Description

(ACSW, AMFT, APCC)

Westside DMH

Service Coordinator II

REPORTS TO: Program Manager

HOURS: 40 hrs/week

CLASSIFICATION: Non-Exempt

SUMMARY: The Westside DMH programs provide intensive mental health services to Adults and TAY populations in community, field, and clinic-based settings. Members are generally homeless or at-risk of homelessness at enrollment, or are discharging from a hospital or jail mental health setting prior to enrollment. Step Up's Westside DMH team is a Department of Mental Health contractor with MHSA (prop 63) funded programs. Step Up embraces evidenced based practices of Mental Health Recovery, Housing First, Trauma Informed Care, and Motivational Interviewing. The teams and positions are field based and interdisciplinary in structure. The team provides services to all members on the census with "whatever it takes and is appropriate" including adequate outreach and engagement services prior to enrollment to ensure services will be successful.

DUTIES: The following reflects essential functions for this job but does not restrict other tasks, which may be assigned:

Leadership, Administration, Oversight

• Support the targeted outreach efforts of the Westside Mental Health team to initiate contact, develop rapport, and in coordination with multidisciplinary team members (SCI, SCII, LVN, and APM), assess homeless adults for mental illness, co-occurring substance use and other health care needs in the community until linkage and services are accepted.
• Attend all staff and community meetings as requested by Program Manager.
• Engage in all scheduled supervision with management to consult about caseload and discuss any pertinent issues related to consumer care and/or documentation.

Direct Service and Support

• Outreach and engage potential members in community settings like (but not limited to) jails, hospitals, board & cares, and street settings to evaluate and determine if referral is appropriate fit for Step Up services.
• Provides clinical therapeutic and case management services for adults with psychiatric disabilities to assist them in improving their current level of functioning in the community.
• Make home visits as needed to support independent living skills and subsidized housing certificates. Assist consumers with relevant skill building and self-care to support independence and housing retention.
• Monitor for compliance, stability, and report any warning signs of decompensation and crisis.
• Completes comprehensive initial and ongoing assessments for diagnosis and evaluation of level of functioning, support network, adequacy of living arrangements, financial status, physical health, and level of self-care.
• Assist clients in identifying needs, setting goals, establishing concrete objectives, and developing a Client Treatment Plan with a set timeframe from enrollment and annually.
• Actively outreach clients on caseload who have not been in contact and ensure engagement in services in their homes, transitional housing placements, or on the streets.
• Provide needed therapeutic interventions: individual, group, and crisis to address symptoms as defined in the assessment and to improve level of functioning or develop insight to reduce defined distress or stressors.

Documentation and Data Collection

• Complete all program-required paperwork such as HMIS or DMH/Medi-Cal and maintain documentation according to those program standards of practice in Electronic Health Records, Welligent or HMIS, within prescribed timeframes as outlined in the Step Up documentation policy.
• Maintain consumers' charts on EHR system by ensuring all relevant documents pertaining to client care have been scanned into attachments.
• Meet weekly, monthly, and quarterly billing quotas as outlined by Program Manager.
• Work cooperatively with other Service Coordinators including sharing responsibility for 24 hour on-call coverage.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

SKILLS: Knowledge of or experience with mainstream benefits and services, mental health diagnoses and level of functioning, EBPs such as Critical Time Intervention, Motivational Interviewing, Trauma Informed Care, Housing First, Harm Reduction, etc. Ability to work collaboratively with others and on a team. Initiative and solution focused practice. Uses good time management skills and resources to balance caseload, direct service, and paperwork. Works within skills and scope of practice asking for support and training to improve abilities when needed. Ability to work as a team member on the streets, in homeless facilities, or with other homeless community providers, such as police, churches, and hospitals. Ability to engage individuals on the streets in a meaningful manner, which imbues trust enough to accept services offered. Understand and promotes safety first to self and team members.

QUALIFICATIONS: Master's in counseling psychology or Social Work (MFT, MSW, ) and must be license-eligible and registered with the CA BBS. Experience working with mentally ill adults in a community setting. Case management experience is essential, also having the ability to charge patient progress to meet documentation requirements. Candidate must have their own transportation and current driver's license and insurance. Position requires frequent driving and transporting.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: Work with people experiencing homelessness whether on the streets, in shelters or other places of habitation or services, may present inherent challenges and difficulties such as: exposure to bed bugs or other infestations, unpleasant smells or odors, individuals who may have poor hygiene or unclean homes due to homelessness, mental health symptoms, or poverty. Additionally, in working with our members, employees may encounter instances of profanity, sexually explicit or derogatory language, or verbal or physical expressions of anger and trauma. Very rarely do these situations ever escalate to physical contact, and negative or derogatory communication patterns can often be negotiated successfully. All direct care staff are provided adequate training to develop skills to deescalate crisis situations that may arise and Step Up has established procedural safeguards for all employees to mitigate (but not eliminate) these inherent risks of employment.

Please Note: This position is part of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU721) Bargaining Unit.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands and fingers; handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; talk; and hear. The employee is frequently required to walk, balance, stoop, kneel, and/or crouch. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. Keyboard data entry required.

Step Up utilizes the principles of trauma-informed care and mental health recovery. These principles inform our Core Values of Hope, Wellness, Voice and Choice, Respect, and Collaborative Relationships. As representatives of Step Up, employees agree to adhere to these values in their interactions with members, colleagues, supervisors, and associated community members.

STEP UP CORE VALUES

HOPE – We believe all people have the capacity for positive growth and change. We use hope to inspire and motivate ourselves, our members, our colleagues, and our community.

WELLNESS – We believe in promoting a culture that supports healthy and fulfilling lives. We use a supportive environment to foster well-being for ourselves, our members, our colleagues, and our community.

VOICE AND CHOICE – We believe in the right to choose and be heard. We use voice and choice to create meaningful outcomes and empowerment for ourselves, our members, our colleagues, and our community.

RESPECT – We believe in promoting interactions that are non-judgmental, transparent. We use respect to guide all of our words and actions with ourselves, our members, our colleagues, and our community.

COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS – We believe in forming partnerships to share resources, knowledge, and experiences. We use collaborative relationships to strengthen accomplishments for ourselves, our members, our colleagues, and our community.

Step Up provides equal employment opportunities without regard to age, ancestry, color, creed, mental or physical disability, marital status, medical condition, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws.

STEP UP IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER