Human Services Specialist II - Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Therapist/Case Manager

IMDiversity; Alexandria (VA); On-site; USD 58,000 - 78,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Alexandria is seeking a Human Services Specialist II for Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Therapy/Case Manager position. This role delivers community-based outreach and intensive support to individuals with serious mental illness and co-occurring disorders, focusing on engagement and recovery coaching.

Responsibilities include developing treatment plans, coordinating services, conducting assessments, and advocating for housing, health care, and entitlements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in psychology, social services, public health, guidance, or a related field.
• Three years of experience in mental health and/or substance abuse treatment services, including some experience at the level of Caseworker.
• Valid driver's license issued by the state of residence.

Responsibilities

• Provides intensive outreach and engagement services and case management/clinical recovery coaching for clients.
• Interviews consumers to assess current status, history, strengths, areas for growth, stages of change, and preferences.
• Provides supportive services such as crisis intervention, counseling, problem solving, and wellness planning including medication psycho-education.
• Develops individual treatment plans with clients and provides case management/recovery coaching, addressing housing, relationships, activities, health care, and employment.
• Conducts clinical assessments such as Beck Depression Inventory and MMSE.
• Locates and coordinates delivery of necessary services for clients and families.
• Advocates for clients through court systems, social services, housing, and shelters.
• Attends daily ACT team meetings and participates in staff development.

Skills

Substance abuse knowledge

Adolescent development

Behavioral health disorders

Counseling

Communication skills

Prevention and education

Education

Bachelor's degree in psychology or related field

Driver's license

Job description

Human Services Specialist II - Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Therapist/Case Manager

Salary
$58,320.86 - $78,122.72 Annually

Location
Alexandria, VA

Job Type
Full-Time

Job Number
2027-00526

Department
Department of Community and Human Services

Division
CENTER FOR ADULT SERVICES

Bargaining Unit
N/A

Description

Human Services Specialist II

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) - Therapist/Case Manager

The City of Alexandria is located in northern Virginia and is bordered by the District of Columbia (Potomac River), Arlington and Fairfax counties. With a population of approximately 150,000 and a land area of 15.75 square miles, Alexandria is the seventh largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Alexandria has a charming waterfront and is a unique and historic place to live and work. If you are interested in working for the vibrant City of Alexandria, we invite qualified candidates to apply for our Human Services Specialist II position.

An Overview

The Human Services Specialist II is responsible for working with individuals with a serious mental illness and /or co-occurring (MH/SA) disorders who, because of reasons related to their illness, are often reluctant to engage in services or have been unable to achieve recovery on their own. These individuals may experience homelessness, housing instability as a result of their mental illness, frequent psychiatric hospitalizations, or incarcerations. Services are delivered almost entirely in the community as these individuals have a demonstrated history of difficulty engaging in traditional office-based mental health services. Duties include intensive outreach and engagement; assessing, referring, and monitoring consumers in the shelters or detention center; evaluating consumer progress; and maintaining clear, concise consumer records.

What You Should Bring

The ideal candidate will have thorough knowledge of substance abuse, child and adolescent development and behavioral health disorders; good knowledge of available community resources, such as medical, legal, mental health and social services; good knowledge of treatment issues related to behavioral, emotional and social problems, including dual diagnosis, and chemical dependency; skill in engaging a variety of consumers and in communicating clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing with consumers, other professionals and citizens; ability to perform individual and group counseling and or provide prevention and education services; ability to evaluate consumer needs and formulate goals to resolve social and emotional problems.

The Opportunity

• Provides intensive outreach and engagement services and case management/clinical recovery coaching services for clients in the program.
• Interviews consumers to assess current status, history, strengths, areas for growth, stages of change, and preferences.
• Provides supportive services to clients such as crisis intervention, counseling, problem solving, and wellness planning including medication psycho-education.
• Develops individual treatment plans with clients and provides case management/recovery coaching, attending to needs such as housing, family relationships, meaningful activities, day care, family planning, health care, financial management, education, training, and employment.
• Conducts clinical assessments as indicated, including but not limited to Beck Depression Inventory, Mini Mental Status Exam, internal agency bio-psychosocial assessment, diagnostic reviews.
• Locates, procures, coordinates, and monitors the delivery of necessary services for the client and/or their family.
• Completes disability determination reports and assists clients with navigating access to entitlements and benefits.
• Acts as a liaison between substance abuse services, social services, mental health, housing, and shelters.
• Provides advocacy for clients via the court system, social, employment and child care services, and in securing housing.
• Attends daily ACT team meeting to coordinate services for ACT clients.
• Participates in staff meetings and staff development programs.
• Prepares reports and completes records of client and related family contact with the agency
• Attends regular team meetings, relevant training sessions, and conferences.
• Completes and tracks Case Management Pre-Authorization for clients with Medicaid.
• Participates in on-call phone rotation as assigned to help clients needing support after hours
• Works weekend, holiday, and evening shifts as needed to help the program cover required hours of service
• Performs related duties as assigned.

About the Department

The Center for Adult Services (CAS) provides programs and services in Aging; Adult Protective Services; Clinical & Emergency Services; and Community & Residential Support Services for seniors and for persons with mental illness, intellectual disabilities and substance use disorders. CAS provides compassionate and effective person-centered services based on best practices. Our teams support self-determination, safety and recovery for Alexandria residents affected by abuse, neglect, mental illness, intellectual disabilities and substance use disorders.

What we offer you:

The Center for Adult Services provides clinical supervision for employees who are working toward licensure in social work or professional counseling. Students pursing a master’s degree in social work, counseling, and other human service fields are encouraged to apply.

The benefits of this job include supervision toward licensure, a flexible work week, opportunities to earn additional on-call pay, and excellent exposure to clinical training on an interdisciplinary team. This position provides training in an evidenced based model of care and is an excellent career entry point into a robust mental health system. The ACT Team and Center for Adult Services has opportunities for career advancement once employees obtain licensure in social work and professional counseling.

The Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) is also a qualified employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

Use the following link to access the PSLF website and learn about this program in detail:

https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

Minimum & Additional Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in psychology, social services, public health, guidance, or a related field; three years of experience in the provision of mental health and/or substance abuse treatment services, including some experience at the level of Caseworker; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities. Employees must possess a valid driver's license issued by the State of their residence.

Preferred Qualifications

Master’s Degree in Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, Human Services or a related field; three years of experience in the provision of mental health and /or substance abuse treatment services to adults with a serious mental illness. MSW graduates seeking supervision toward licensure are encouraged to apply. Experience should include working with clients in crises; engaging individuals and their families in Recovery oriented treatment; working with individual’s involved with the criminal justice system; Bilingual English/Spanish, French, African or Middle Eastern language skills.

Notes

This position requires the successful completion of pre-employment background checks including but not limited to: FBI/Federal Records Check; VA State Child Abuse/Neglect Registry; Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Database; education/certifications; and driver’s license.

Schedule: Monday–Sunday, including weekends, holidays and evenings.
The City of Alexandria is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity in its workforce. All qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, genetic information, military status, or disability.