Community Health Worker

The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Excellent benefits package

Retirement plan with company matching

Paid time off accrual

Headspace subscription

Job summary

The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD in Texas is seeking a Community Health Worker to join our Integrated Primary Care and Behavioral Health Home. The CHW will perform outreach, engagement, care navigation, and barrier reduction to promote continuity of care for adults with serious mental illness, coordinating across behavioral health, primary care, and community partners.

You will build trusted relationships, connect individuals to services, assist with appointments, and document

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• DSHS-Certified Community Health Worker or ability to obtain certification.
• DSHS-approved training and continuing education per state requirements.
• Compliance with Texas CHW Scope of Practice and Code of Ethics.
• Experience with individuals with serious mental illness and complex social needs preferred.

Responsibilities

• Outreach to engage individuals in care across EDs, crisis services, and community locations.
• Link individuals to Integrated Health Home and CCBHC services with warm handoffs.
• Coordinate with the care team and assist with appointments and treatment plans.
• Document outreach, engagement, navigation, and support in the EHR.
• Support transitions after hospital discharge or re-entry to reduce crises.

Skills

Outreach & Engagement

Linkage to Care

Care Coordination

Documentation (EHR)

Team collaboration

Communication skills

Confidentiality

Time management

Problem solving

Basic Word & Excel

Education

High School Diploma or GED

DSHS-Certified CHW or ability to obtain

DSHS-approved training & continuing education

Tools

Word

Excel

Job description

Brief Description

The Harris Center for mental Health and IDD (The HARRIS CENTER) is looking for a Community Health Worker (CHW) to join our team. The CHW serves as a frontline member of the Integrated Primary Care and Behavioral Health Home, supporting adults with serious mental illness (SMI). The CHW provides outreach, engagement, care navigation, and barrier reduction services to promote continuity of care, improved health outcomes, and long‑term stability. Operating within a CCBHC framework and utilizing a “Channels of Reveal” approach, the CHW connects individuals who are disengaged from care or cycling through hospital, crisis, justice, and community systems to evidence‑based treatment and wrap‑around supports. This role emphasizes relationship‑based engagement, whole‑person care, and coordination across behavioral health, primary care, and community partners.

Your Role in Action

Outreach & Engagement

• Conduct proactive, community‑based outreach through “channels of reveal,” including emergency departments, inpatient units, crisis services, justice settings, and other community locations where individuals with untreated or poorly managed SMI frequently present.
• Engage individuals who are treatment‑naïve, disengaged from care, or identified as high utilizers of emergency or inpatient services.

Linkage to Care

• Connect individuals with SMI to Integrated Health Home and CCBHC services using warm handoffs.
• Support appointment scheduling, care engagement, and follow‑through with recommended treatment plans.

Care Coordination & Navigation

• Serve as a trusted connector between individuals and the multidisciplinary care team, including behavioral health clinicians, primary care providers, nursing staff, peer support specialists, and external partners.
• Assist individuals in navigating healthcare appointments, preparing for visits, understanding care plans, and following treatment recommendations.
• Support medication access and adherence in collaboration with the care team.

Addressing Health‑Related Social Needs

• Identify and address social determinants of health impacting stability and recovery, including housing, food insecurity, transportation, employment, legal issues, and access to benefits.
• Connect individuals to appropriate community resources and social service supports.

Transitions & Continuity of Care

• Support individuals during high‑risk transitions such as hospital discharge, emergency department visits, or community reentry following incarceration.
• Conduct follow‑up outreach to reinforce discharge instructions, coordinate follow‑up appointments, and support medication continuity to reduce avoidable crises and relapse.

Documentation & Team Participation

• Document outreach, engagement, navigation, and support activities in the electronic health record.
• Participate in team huddles, case conferences, and care planning meetings.
• Contribute to quality improvement activities and support data collection related to engagement, retention, and utilization outcomes.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Education

• High School Diploma or G.E.D required.
• Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS)–Certified Community Health Worker or ability to obtain certification within required timeframe.
• Completion of DSHS‑approved training and continuing education in accordance with state requirements.
• Compliance with Texas CHW Scope of Practice and Code of Ethics.
• Experience working with individuals with serious mental illness and complex social needs preferred.

Experience

• One (1) year of related experience, required.

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Ability to adapt to constant changes in a fast‑paced environment.
• Ability to maintain absolute confidentiality of all work‑related matters with the ability to communicate effectively and tactfully within all levels of the agency.
• Ability and willingness to provide emotional support, encouragement and motivation to patients.
• Demonstrates knowledge of the correlation of physical and mental health challenges with the population served.
• Effectively collaborate with others.
• Strong communication skills.
• Identify and offer solutions to resolve problems using knowledge of the agency to identify helpful resources.
• Effective time management and organizational skills.
• Basic Word and Excel capabilities.

What We Have To Offer

The Harris Center not only offers a competitive salary but also a suite of excellent benefits designed to enrich your life both professionally and personally. Payback for prior service, a robust retirement plan with company matching, paid time off accrual, cell phone discounts, entertainment deals, a free Headspace subscription, Employee Assistance Program, and student loan forgiveness program.

Contributes to suicide care and prevention by embracing our values and applying a trauma‑informed approach rooted in safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and empowerment.

What Else You Should Know

• This posting is associated with position #2838-26115.