School-Based Mental Health Therapist

Family Service Association of Greater Elgin Area; Elgin (IL); On-site; USD 49,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hiring bonus: $3,000

Job summary

Family Service Association of Greater Elgin Area is hiring a School-Based Mental Health Therapist to deliver direct clinical services in school, home, and community settings. The role maintains an active caseload, collaborates with school staff, and coordinates care across community partners to support student outcomes.

The position requires a Master’s degree in psychology, social work, or a related field, with bilingual skills in Spanish preferred.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in psychology, social work, LPC, or related field.
• Experience working with children/adolescents in mental health settings preferred.
• Bilingual in Spanish preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide individual and group therapy to students and families.
• Coordinate care with school staff and community partners.
• Maintain active caseload and meet productivity expectations.
• Respond to crises and provide risk assessment support.
• Complete documentation within required timelines.
• Engage in supervision and monthly clinical meetings.

Skills

Verbal communication

Written communication

Time management

Organizational skills

Analytical skills

MS Office

Education

Master’s degree in psychology / social work / LPC

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job Description

HIRING BONUS AVAILABLE

Classification: Exempt

Reports to: Manager of School-Based Mental Health

Type: Full Time

Location: Assigned School / Office / Community-Based

Hiring Bonus: $3000 total ($1500 at first paycheck and $1500 upon completing 90-day probationary period)

Summary

Provide comprehensive clinical services to students, clients, and families across school, home, and community settings. Maintain an active caseload and meet the established productivity expectations through direct clinical services, consultation, and crisis intervention, triage and other client-centered services.

School Based Mental Health Therapists provide direct and indirect services tailored to students and their family’s needs, including individual therapy, family, and group therapy, community support, case management, care coordination, consultation and advocacy. Therapists also participate in collaboration and consultation with school staff and community partners to identify needs, coordinate services, and support positive outcomes for students and families.

Therapists are expected to maintain a minimum of 18 appointments per week. Appointment times may include direct services, scheduled consultations, walk-in hours, risk assessment support.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
• The essential duties and responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
• Provides individual therapy and group therapy to students that promote personal growth through emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and/or psychological changes. These services can also include family therapy outside of school hours.
• Collaborating with the school personnel regarding individual treatment plans and outcomes that are expected in the treatment process with a student.
• Working with the student's family/guardian, including securing the appropriate releases to consult with school personnel or other collateral contacts to report on treatment progress.
• Responding to emergencies/crises and partnering with the SASS program as needed. Follow up with clients and families within an appropriate time frame after the crises.
• Collaborating and coordinating with partnering community agencies, such as Boys and Girls Club, to provide support services and care coordination.
• Meeting quarterly with school personnel to review outcomes of the program services and preparing quarterly outcome reports for FSA as needed.
• Provide case management and care coordination on behalf of active clients/students, including referral and linkage, discharge planning with inpatient psychiatric facilities, and advocating a client’s rights within the education, legal, children, and adolescent mental health systems.
• Educating the community regarding the School-Based Mental Health Program and facilitating positive networking relationships with community service providers and networks by attending at least 2-3 school-related community events.
• Maintain IM+CANS Certification and all trainings related to IM+CANS / TCOM.
• Responsible for knowing and understanding Medicaid Rule 132 and Medicaid Rule 140 and complying with documentation requirements. All documentation must be in the client's file or electronic health record and filed accordingly within 7 days of service delivery.
• Complete clinical paperwork accurately and on time; this includes annual enrollment paperwork for services and IM+CANS assessments.
• Timely completion and submission of administrative paperwork including timesheets, expense reports, training forms and other agency documents
• Complete all assigned Utilization Reviews, including self-review, on a quarterly basis.
• Weekly supervision, discussing cases with supervisor, and attending monthly clinical meetings.
• Promote collegiality at the workplace by working collaboratively and positively with others.
• Responsible for fulfilling agency requirements of training and documenting all training attended, which includes all mandatory agency in-service training, Department of Human Services/Division of Mental Health training.
• Responsible for meeting weekly appointment expectations as previously defined.

Other Duties

Please note that this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time, with or without notice.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

This role has no supervisory responsibilities.

PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

The incumbent will be sitting in the car for travel several times every day. The incumbent is frequently expected to walk, sit, stand, bend, and drive. The incumbent may also need to climb stairs on occasion. Must be able to lift up to 35 lbs. on occasion.

The work environment is mostly field-based and will have varying temperatures and noise levels. The incumbent can expect to work in client’s homes, schools, public libraries, community agencies, and some in-office time.

The physical demands and work environment described here represent those that an employee should meet to perform the essential functions of this job successfully.

POSITION TYPE/EXPECTED HOURS OF WORK

This position is full-time, 37.5 hours per week.

Typically, hours are school hours and include afternoon & evening appointments.

This position does require the ability to work 2 evenings and / or 1 evening and a Saturday.

Staff will be placed on a performance review if the expected weekly appointments fall below performance. The contract requirements will be reviewed, and staff will be assessed if contractual work is able to continue.

Salary Range

• In accordance with Illinois state law, we are committed to transparency in compensation. The salary range for this position is $49,000 to $64,198 per year, depending on experience and qualifications
• In addition to base salary, we offer a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, 401k, generous PTO and short-term disability, and opportunities for professional development and growth.

TRAVEL

This position requires travel through northern Kane County. Occasionally, there may be some travel outside the boundary of Northern Kane County.

The School-Based Therapist shall hold a current, valid Illinois Driver’s License, a reliable vehicle, and current insurance coverage for the vehicle they will be driving for this position. Proof of this will be required semi-annually.

Education And Experience

• Master’s degree in psychology, Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselor, or related field is required.
• Bilingual in Spanish is preferred; however, the ability to work with people from every diverse background and show cultural competency is a must.
• Experience working in community counseling related services and working with children and adolescents with mental health needs is desired.

Required Skills/Abilities

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills that may include public speaking and presentations.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.