Behavioral Health Specialist in Victorville, California at Greater Hope Foundation for Children Inc.

Job Description:

The Behavioral Health Specialist (BHS) provides intensive, individualized, and strength based, needs-driven intervention activities that support the engagement and participation of the client and significant support persons and to help the client develop skills and achieve the goals and objectives of the plan. BHS services are not traditional therapeutic services.

Providing behavioral services may include, but not limited to, assistance in improving, maintaining or restoring a client’s or group of client’s functional skills; daily living skills; social and leisure skills; grooming and personal hygiene skills; obtaining support resources; and/or obtaining medication education. Services will be provided under any of AGH’s programs which include Foster Care, Intensive Services Foster Care, Therapeutic Foster Care, Mental Health Counseling, Prevention and Early Intervention Services and CalAim Services. BHS will be trained to provide services under each treatment level and billing source.

This position requires regular and consistent attendance, excessive unplanned absences are disruptive to our Agency business.

Starting Salary: $22.50-$23.18/Hour

Duties and Responsibilities

• Developing and maintaining a constructive and collaborative relationship among a client, their family or caregiver(s), other providers, and other involved child-serving systems to create a CFT;
• Care planning and monitoring to ensure that the plan is aligned and coordinated across the mental health and child serving systems to allow the client to be served in their community in the least restrictive setting possible;
• Ensuring services are provided that equip the parent/caregiver(s) to meet the client’s mental health treatment and care coordination needs, described in the client’s plan;
• Ensuring that medically necessary mental health services included in the client’s plan are effectively and comprehensively assessed, coordinated, delivered, transitioned and/or reassessed as necessary in a way that is consistent with the full intent of the Core Practice Model;
• Providing active coordination of services and resources as required to meet the goals of the plan;
• Providing active participation in the CFT planning and monitoring process to assure that the plan addresses or is refined to meet the mental health needs of the client:
• Will participate in ongoing education requirements of 24 hours per year.

Assessment

• Assessing client’s and family’s needs and strengths
• Assessing the adequacy and availability of resources
• Reviewing information from family and other sources
• Evaluating effectiveness of previous interventions and activities.

Planning

• Developing a plan with specific goals, activities and objectives that are in line with the case carrying Social Worker/Clinician treatment plan
• Ensuring the active participation of client and individuals involved and clarifying the roles of the individuals involved
• Identifying the interventions/course of action targeted at the client’s and family’s assessed needs.

Monitoring and Adapting

• Monitoring to ensure that identified services and activities are progressing appropriately, changing, and redirecting actions targeted at the client’s and family’s assessed needs, not less than every 90 days.

Transition

• Developing a transition plan for the client and family to foster long-term stability, including the effective use of natural supports and community resources.

Rehabilitation

• Assistance in restoring or maintaining an individual’s or group of individual’s functional skills, grooming, medication compliance, and support resources;
• Age-appropriate counseling of the individual and or family, support systems and involved others;
• Training in leisure activities needed to achieve the individual’s goals/ desired results/ personal milestones;
• Medication education for family, support systems and others involved in the case.

Reporting Relationship

Behavioral Health Program Director/Supervisor

Subordinate Staff (providing direct supervision)

None

Qualifications. A successful candidate must have the following skills and experience

• One of the following: 30 semester (45 quarter) units of completed college coursework in behavioral or social science. OR 60 semester (90 quarter units) of college coursework which includes 15 semester (23 quarter units) in psychology, behavioral or social science. OR In lieu of college credit requirements, 3+years related experience with 1 year of direct work under a licensed clinician is accepted.
• Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, Social Work, Counseling or other related fields is preferred
• Bilingual/Spanish preferred.
• Two years experience working in a Mental Health Setting preferred.
• Knowledge of African American history and culture preferred.
• Maintain a welcoming environment for families and other community partners.
• Ensure compliance with HIPAA privacy practices.
• Maintain a welcoming environment for families and other community partners.
• Ensure compliance with HIPAA privacy practices.
• Adhere to our attendance and punctuality policy.
• Must pass and remain current in CPR/First Aid.
• Must be able to effectively utilize computers and basic computer software.
• Must be available to work nights, weekends and some holidays as needed.
• Must meet Community Care Licensing and insurance requirements.
• Must have a valid California Driver’s License and a good driving record. Must be at least 18 years old with at least 2 years of driving experience.
• A Greater Hope includes all employees in the DMV pull notification process, notifying AGH of infractions throughout the process.
• All Employees are required to report all arrests within 48 hours of arrest as per Community Care Licensing requirements.
• Must pass a drug screen, physical exam, and Tuberculosis skin test. Must agree to COVID 19 Vaccination.
• Be able to obtain Criminal and Child Abuse Clearance from the State of California/Department of Justice.
• A Greater Hope participates in E-Verify and will verify your Social Security Number.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, strong conflict resolution, communication and organizational skills; with great attention to detail.
• Foster Family Agency experience preferred.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, sit, move quickly, run, use hands, handle or feel, reach with hands and arms, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl, and taste or smell. There are physical demands associated with this position. The employee must also be able to remain in a seated position while working in the office. Employees may be required to and must often lift or carry items 10-50 lbs., usually holding it in the hands or arms or on the shoulder. There may be situations where the employee will have to care for the personal needs of infants and children such as managing personal accidents/bathroom support, feeding and, cleaning up infants and children. The employee may be working outside for periods of time in all seasons of weather Note if community work or home visits are required for the position.

Employees will be required to drive a motor vehicle.

All employees, regardless of position, serve as role models for children, adolescents and others who are served by our agency. Therefore, each employee must at all times be emotionally stable and able to function effectively with children, adolescents and adults who may have mental or behavioral health problems. The staff must be able to demonstrate appropriate daily behavior, appropriate expression of emotions, as well as appropriate role modeling. Hostility, aggression and unnecessary or inappropriate physical actions as well as inappropriate emotional expression are not acceptable.