Intensive Case Manager - SAGE

DESC; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dental insurance

Life insurance

Long-term disability insurance

Medical coverage (no employee premium)

Job summary

DESC in Seattle seeks an Intensive Case Manager for the SAGE STAR Center to provide short-term behavioral health support and crisis intervention. You’ll coordinate services, advocate for clients, and work with the SAGE care team to promote recovery and housing stability.

You'll partner with STAR Center staff to connect guests to psychiatric, nursing, and community resources while documenting plans and ensuring timely care transitions in a trauma-informed, compassionate environment.

Qualifications

• WA DOH registration or superseding credential.
• Bachelor's degree in social work, psychology or related behavioral science, OR a combination of 1 year of relevant paid work experience and demonstration of the ability to perform required job duties.
• Ability to drive an agency or personal vehicle; WA driver’s license required.
• Interest in working with clients who are challenging to engage in traditional mental health/substance use programs.
• Knowledge of Recovery-focused, strengths-based work in mental health.
• Knowledge of Harm Reduction strategies.
• Ability to work with diverse staff and clients.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate all aspects of consumers' support and goal planners, including referrals to psychiatric and substance abuse treatment and 24-hour support services.
• Coordinate connections to STAR Center wraparound services with shelter Case Managers, Peers, psychiatric providers, nursing and occupational therapy.
• Develop crisis and safety plans for SAGE clients at STAR Center with the care team.
• Complete demographic and clinical updates, integrated service plans and clinical notes by deadlines.
• Provide crisis intervention and risk assessment; write DCR affidavits when appropriate.
• Facilitate transitions from STAR Center to housing opportunities and coordinate care.
• Maintain flexibility and adaptability; implement creative problem-solving.
• Advocate for consumers' access to community resources and ensure continuity of care.
• Provide and/or support therapeutic group facilitation and individual counseling as qualified.
• Engage in trauma-informed practice within DESC’s core values.

Skills

Case management

Trauma-informed care

Crisis intervention

Behavioral health

Documentation

Bilingual English/Spanish

Education

Bachelor's degree in social work or related field

MSW preferred

Tools

EHR software

Job description

Description

Intensive Case Manager – SAGE, STAR Center

Days Off: Saturday, Sunday

Shift: Office Day

Insurance Benefits: Dental, Life, Long-term Disability, Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage)

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan

Union Representation: This position is a part of a union and is represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.

About DESC:

Recognized nationally as an innovator and leader in developing solutions to homelessness, DESC is a social services organization, supportive housing operator, and licensed behavioral health treatment provider focused on meeting the needs of people experiencing long-term homelessness and living with complex behavioral health and other medical conditions. Approximately 3,000 people are actively receiving services from DESC at any given point in time. Our vision is a community where all people are shown compassion, treated with dignity, and everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

DESC operates five shelter/emergency housing programs, 19 permanent supportive housing facilities with over 1,750 units, several hundred additional scattered site apartments, and a range of behavioral health services including outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment, residential crisis stabilization, street outreach, mobile crisis response, and treatment for opioid use disorder.

JOB CONTEXT

SAGE Program

The SAGE (Support, Advocacy, Growth and Employment) Program is DESC's comprehensive outpatient mental health program. SAGE intake specialists, psychotherapists, case managers, psychiatrists and nurses assist adults with severe and persistent mental illness in their journeys towards recovery. SAGE services are licensed under the Washington State Behavioral Health and Recovery Division and are provided under contract with King County Mental Health.

STAR Center

The STAR (Stability Through Access and Resources) Center is a time-limited, 24/7, behavioral health-focused non-congregate shelter program. Services at the Center are tailored for unsheltered adults facing significant untreated and undertreated challenges related to mental health and substance use disorders. The center is located at 619 3rd Avenue and Cherry Street in downtown Seattle.

JOB DEFINITION

The SAGE Intensive Case Manager position is a case management position physically sited at DESC’s STAR Center providing short-term behavioral health treatment and interventions to STAR Center guests. STAR Center guests typically remain with the Center for 90 days, but longer stays are possible.

The SAGE Intensive Case Manager will primarily be assigned and work with guests of DESC’s STAR Center and will also receive support from and engage with the SAGE Program care team at DESC’s nearby Downtown Behavioral Health Clinic (“DBHC”), located at 515 3rd Ave.

The role will receive daily operational supervision and support from the on-site STAR Project Manager and clinical supervision from a member of the DBHC SAGE Leadership team. This position, while sited at the STAR Center, is not considered to be part of minimum staffing requirements for the building.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assume primary responsibility for coordinating all aspects of consumers' support and goal planners (e.g. providing and/or coordinating the delivery of and referral to psychiatric treatment and substance abuse treatment programs; 24-hour support services; and performing acute case management to facilitate consumer access to food, clothing, housing, medical care, financial assistance and vocational training or employment).
• Coordinate and facilitate connection to STAR Center wraparound services including shelter Case Managers, Peers, psychiatric providers, nursing, and occupational therapy (e.g. orienting guests to available services, developing and delivering shelter retention plans, providing live connections, proactively identifying and clarifying needs, and negotiating barriers to ongoing care through a behavioral health lens).
• Develop crisis and safety plans for SAGE clients at STAR Center, in collaboration with other STAR Center job roles and SAGE Program staff.
• Complete timely and accurate demographic and clinical updates, integrated service plans, and clinical notes (logs, EORs, DALs, and other documentation), meet strict administrative deadlines, adhere to clinical accountability policies and procedures, and participate in quality assurance reviews.
• Provide crisis intervention and risk assessment, and write primary and supporting DCR affidavits when appropriate.
• Facilitate guests’ timely transitions away from STAR Center to other shelter and/or housing opportunities, including care coordination, physical transportation, care team transitions, and/or referrals.
• Maintain an attitude of flexibility and adaptability in orienting, contacting, and treating STAR Center guests, and demonstrate a willingness to implement creative problem-solving.
• Advocate for consumers' access to community resources and services, ensuring that consumers' needs are met and rights maintained; consult and collaborate with community providers to ensure continuity of care.
• Provide and/or support therapeutic group facilitation in collaboration with STAR Center staff, SAGE staff, and other providers.
• Provide individual counseling, as qualified.
• Engage in trauma-informed practice, including reframing unusual or unpleasant behavior in the context of DESC’s Core Values.

Living Conditions

Support your clients with achieving and maintaining healthy living conditions. This can include but is not limited to attending care conferences related to living conditions, outreaching and supporting clients in their shelter units with tools and skills to maintain their units, coordinating with shelter staff, participating in cleaning out clients’ units, and documenting barriers to maintaining healthy living conditions.

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Participate in psychiatric consultation, supervision, program meetings and in-service trainings; participate in clinical reviews and case conferences for consumers on caseload and residing at the STAR Center.
• Travel locally to outreach consumers; make home visits and assist with home inspections, annual recertifications, address and report any maintenance-related concerns and housing retention barriers.
• Establish and maintain professional relationships with landlords and property managers, assisting in building rule enforcement and lease compliance as necessary.
• Fulfill role of protective payee for some consumers on behalf of the agency, creating monthly budgets with consumers, distributing funds, assisting with purchases, and keeping accurate records.
• Support basic operational functions of the STAR Center (monitoring ingress/egress, staffing front desk, serving meals, and responding to emergencies) in times of low staffing (e.g. holidays, or exigent or otherwise unplanned circumstances).
• Comply with applicable program research and evaluation procedures.
• Attend external and internal trainings relevant to the position or established professional development goals.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Ability to meet Washington Department of Health requirements for registration as a Registered Agency Affiliated Counselor (AAC) or any other superseding credential.
• Relevant bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, or related behavioral science, OR a combination of 1 year of relevant paid work experience and demonstration of the ability to perform required job duties.
• Ability to drive an agency or personal vehicle to conduct agency-related business. A current Washington State driver's license and insurable driving record are required.
• Interest in working with clients who are difficult to engage and maintain in traditional mental health/substance use disorder programs.
• Knowledge of Recovery focused, strengths-based work in mental health.
• Knowledge of Harm Reduction strategies.
• Ability to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of unpleasant and/or bizarre behaviors.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with staff from various backgrounds.
• Subscribe to the philosophy of cooperation and continuity across programs and of consideration and respect for consumers.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's degree in social work, psychology or other relevant behavioral science or Bachelor of Nursing degree with specialty in mental health.
• Eligible for a Licensed AAC credential or any other superseding credential that meets RCW 71.05.020 requirements to act as a Mental Health Professional whose scope of practice includes independently conducting mental health assessments and making mental health diagnoses. Mental Health Professionals are paid on a higher pay scale - please see above.
• Experience with using evidence-based clinical interventions designed for short-term treatment, such as solutions-focused therapy.
• Bilingual in Spanish and English, or ASL-proficient
• Bicultural background/experience and/or Qualified Minority Mental Health Specialist designation.

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 will be required sit for long periods of time, communicate with other persons by talking and hearing, required to lift and carry items weighing up to 25 pounds and to operate computer hardware systems. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

DESC is committed to diversity in the workplace and promotes equal employment opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, caste, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability in any employment practice, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. Minorities and veterans are encouraged to apply.