Behavioral Health Emergency Services Clinician (Resident/Supervisee)

Arlington County Government; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 83,000 - 149,000; Full time

Job summary

Arlington County Government’s DHS seeks experienced Behavioral Health Clinicians to serve as Emergency Services Clinicians in the CSE Bureau. You will provide crisis intervention, stabilization, and de-escalation to individuals with serious mental illness, dual diagnosis, and substance use issues in a 24/7 operating environment.

Positions span Resident/Supervisee to Licensed clinician levels; licensure and prescriptive certifications must be pursued within defined timelines, with background

Qualifications

• Master's degree with clinical practicum involving diagnostic and treatment services.
• Two years post-Master’s degree experience providing mental health services, including one year with seriously mentally ill in crisis.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive crisis intervention and stabilization to persons with serious mental illness and related issues.
• De-escalate crises and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and lengthy ED stays.
• Deliver trauma-informed, culturally competent, strengths-based client services.

Education

Master's degree in Counseling, Psychiatric Social Work, Psychology, Art Therapy, Psychiatric Nursing or other directly related discipline

Job description

Please note: This position includes a $2,500.00 gross signing bonus at hire and $2,500.00 gross bonus at the completion of the probationary period.

Arlington County's Department of Human Services (DHS) is hiring experienced Behavioral Health Clinicians to serve as Emergency Services Clinicians in the Client Services Entry (CSE) Bureau of the Behavioral Healthcare Division (BHD). These employees will provide comprehensive crisis intervention and stabilization to persons with serious mental illness, dual diagnoses, and acute psychiatric and substance abuse-related issues, in order to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and lengthy emergency department stays, and to de-escalate and prevent future crises. Services offered are trauma-informed, culturally competent, strengths-based, needs-driven, and are responsive, adaptive, as well as respectful.

Arlington County DHS is committed to delivering client services in an effective, equitable, respectful, and trauma-informed manner. Our staff is dedicated to ensuring our clients are approached, engaged and cared for in ways that demonstrate competency, sensitivity and awareness of factors which impact the client experience including but not limited to: cultural identity, gender, racial, and ethnic diversity, religious/spiritual ascription, physical capability, cognitive and literacy levels, sexual orientation, and linguistic needs.

This position encompasses multiple levels in a career ladder ranging from Behavioral Health Emergency Services Resident/Supervisee to Behavioral Health Emergency Services Clinician (Licensed).

Minimum Qualifications (all levels):

• Master's degree in Counseling, Psychiatric Social Work, Psychology, Art Therapy, Psychiatric Nursing or other directly related discipline, all of which required a clinical practicum involving diagnostic and treatment services; and
• Two years post-Master’s degree experience providing mental health services, which includes one-year minimum of working with seriously mentally ill individuals in crisis.

Possession or obtainment of:

• Preadmission Prescreening Clinician Certification from the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health & Development Sciences (DBHDS) within 60 days of employment (90 days for on-call, temporary employees) (http://www.dbhds.virginia.gov/behavioral-health/mental-health-services/protocols-and-procedures);
• TOVA training from Arlington County within one year of employment;
• Medication Administration Certification from a CSB-approved vendor within 90 days of employment.

Clinicians may be hired at the following levels:

Behavioral Health Emergency Services Clinician (Licensed):

• Licensure by the appropriate board of the Virginia Department of Health Professions, appropriate to the employee's discipline (e.g. LPC, LCP, LMFT, or LCSW) at time of employment.

Behavioral Health Emergency Services Clinician (Resident/Supervisee):

• Within 90 days of hire, obtaining a temporary license as a Resident in Counseling (for LPC or LMFT), Resident in Clinical Psychology (for LCP) or registering as a Supervisee in Social Work (for LCSW) with the Virginia Department of Health Professions (VDHP). Licensure by the appropriate board of Virginia Department of Health Professions must be obtained within 3 years of hire.

Behavioral Health Emergency Services Clinician (Non-VA Licensed):

• Licensure in another jurisdiction at time of employment and licensure by the appropriate board of the Virginia Department of Health Professions, appropriate to the employee's discipline (e.g., LPC, LCP, LMFT, or LCSW) must be obtained within 90 days of employment.

Substitution

Directly related higher level clinical degrees may substitute for the Master's Degree education requirement and one year of experience.

Desirable:

• Providing services to individuals experiencing a behavioral health emergency;
• Working with clients with co-occurring substance use disorders;
• Collaborating with criminal justice partners (particularly law enforcement, correctional officers, and court staff); and/or
• Prescreen certified.

Special Requirements

• Background Check: A pre-employment criminal records check will be conducted. It will include checks of the following: criminal record, driving record, education, professional licensure, and credit history. You will be required to sign a release authorizing the County to obtain your background information.
• Must complete pre-hire federal background check and State of Virginia Central Registry check.
• Driver's License: Applicant must possess, or obtain by time of appointment, a valid driver’s license, and must provide or authorize Arlington County to obtain a copy of official driving record. Any offer of employment may be contingent upon favorable review of the applicant’s driving record. Alternatively, the applicant must have the ability and willingness to use alternative methods of transportation to perform assigned duties and responsibilities at locations other than the primary worksite.

Employment restrictions

• You cannot concurrently receive behavioral health services from Arlington County Community Service Board (CSB) programs while employed in an Arlington County CSB program (exception Crisis Intervention services).
• At least 24 months must have passed between receipt of CSB services from Arlington County and employment in an Arlington County CSB program.

Working Conditions

• The worker must be available to work after hours and in emergency situations.
• Work is performed as part of a 24/7 operation and the worker must be available to work shifts as necessary, based on assignment.
• The duties of these positions may be performed in an office environment and, based on assignment, may also be performed at locations throughout the community, including client homes, hospitals, and other facilities.
• *Emergency services with mobile response are considered “essential”, and therefore, must be available to provide overnight, weekend and holiday coverage, as well as inclement weather coverage.

Additional Information

This position is funded with ongoing State funds.

Work Hours

Work shifts are assigned as needed to provide coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Weekend work is required for all shifts. This position is classified as essential. Selected candidate must be available for call back, working on call, during weekends, holidays, and emergencies.

Salary Ranges

• Behavioral Health Emergency Services Clinician (Licensed) and (Non-VA Licensed): $96,304-$149,240 Annually
• Behavioral Health Emergency Services Clinician (Resident/Supervisee): $83,158.40-$128,876 Annually

This position is eligible for County government employee benefits that include health, dental, vacation and sick leave, commuter transportation subsidies, tuition reimbursement, as well as a generous retirement plan.

Arlington County is committed to advancing diversity, equity, access, and inclusion across all our services, activities, and programs. Learn more about our commitment.

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