Social Worker

Housing Works; New York (NY); On-site; USD 65,000 - 78,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive healthcare plans

Paid Time Off (PTO) up to 30 days annually

Educational benefits for tuition reimbursement

Job summary

A community support organization in New York, NY seeks a Social Worker to provide supportive mental health therapy for recently incarcerated individuals residing in Emergency Transitional Housing. The role includes conducting assessments, offering psychotherapy, and collaborating with an interdisciplinary team. The ideal candidate needs a Master's in Social Work and experience in mental health counseling, preferably with justice-involved populations. The position offers a salary range of $65,000 to $78,000 annually, alongside comprehensive healthcare and professional development benefits.

Qualifications

• At least one year of experience providing mental health counseling.
• Experience with co-occurring substance use disorders is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience with justice-involved populations.

Responsibilities

• Provide individual supportive psychotherapy to residents with mental health needs.
• Facilitate therapeutic and psychoeducational groups focused on coping skills.
• Conduct initial psychosocial assessments to identify clinical needs.

Education

Master's Degree in Social Work from an accredited institution

LMSW issued by New York State or limited permit eligible

Job description

Pay or shift range: $65,000 USD to $78,000 USD. The estimated range is the budgeted amount for this position. Final offers may vary based on skill set, experience, location, qualifications, and other job‑related factors.

Description

Compensation Range: $65,000 - $78,000 yearly commensurate with experience and credentials.

Benefits: We have three comprehensive healthcare plans to choose from based on your priorities and budget. Housing Works covers most of the plan; you pay a portion, based on your salary. Staff begins accruing PTO immediately for a total of up to 30 days earned in the first year. We offer employees an educational benefit. This money is available for tuition loan reimbursement, tuition costs, and textbooks.

Overview: The Social Work – MOCJ Transitional Housing position provides short‑term, supportive mental health therapy to individuals recently released from incarceration residing in Emergency Transitional Housing. The primary clinical focus of this role is to increase emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial stability during a critical re‑entry period, in order to support residents’ successful transition to their next housing placement and engagement in ongoing community‑based care. Housing Works operates from a harm reduction, trauma‑informed, and recovery‑oriented framework, recognizing the complex impacts of incarceration, community re‑entry, poverty, racism, and unmet health needs.

Within the MOCJ ETH model, the Social Worker functions as part of an on‑site interdisciplinary team (medical, psychiatry, substance use, and re‑entry supports) providing integrated services to residents with high‑acuity mental health, substance use, and medical needs. The Social Worker delivers time‑limited therapeutic interventions focused on stabilization, engagement, symptom management, coping skill development, and readiness for transition from the ETH setting to longer‑term housing and treatment supports. This position requires flexibility, comfort working in a fast‑paced transitional setting, and experience supporting justice‑involved individuals during periods of heightened vulnerability. The facility operates 365 days on a 24‑hour basis daily, including evening and weekend hours, work on holidays (some positions will require non‑traditional work hours).

Responsibilities

• Provide individual supportive psychotherapy to residents with mental health needs related to re‑entry stress, trauma, mood disorders, anxiety, and co‑occurring substance use.
• Facilitate short‑term therapeutic and psychoeducational groups focused on emotional regulation, coping skills, stress management, community adjustment, and housing transition readiness.
• Conduct initial psychosocial assessments to identify clinical needs, re‑entry stressors, strengths, and barriers to stabilization.
• Collaboratively develop focused, time‑limited treatment goals that support safety, engagement, and readiness for transition to the next level of housing and care.
• Provide crisis intervention and clinical support following behavioral health incidents, decompensation, or significant stressors.
• Conduct outreach to residents within 24 hours of significant incidents to support stabilization and reduce risk of escalation.
• Collaborate with psychiatry, primary care, and leadership on higher‑risk or clinically complex cases.
• Integrated Care & Team Collaboration:
  • Actively participate in interdisciplinary case conferences to coordinate care and support treatment planning.
  • Communicate effectively with internal providers and external collaterals to support continuity of care and appropriate referrals.
  • Promote diagnostic consultation between primary care providers and consulting psychiatry when residents are not improving or present with diagnostic complexity.
• Documentation & Compliance:
  • Complete timely, accurate, and clinically substantive documentation, including progress notes aligned with diagnosis, treatment goals, and scope of practice.
  • Ensure all documentation is completed within 24–48 hours of client contact.
  • Maintain strict adherence to HIPAA, MOCJ, and Housing Works compliance standards.
• Other duties as assigned
  • Attend weekly interdisciplinary team meetings.
  • Participate in weekly individual clinical supervision and maintain ongoing communication with supervisor.
  • Engage in required trainings, certifications, and professional development activities.
  • Perform other duties as assigned to support program operations and quality of care.

Requirements

Required:

• Master’s Degree in Social Work from an accredited institution.
• LMSW issued by New York State or limited permit eligible.
• At least one year of experience providing mental health counseling; experience with co‑occurring substance use disorders is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience working with justice‑involved populations, individuals re‑entering the community after incarceration, or populations with complex psychosocial needs.

Preferred:

• Two or more years of experience providing services to individuals with substance use disorders, serious mental illness, and/or HIV/AIDS; experience working with justice‑involved populations, individuals recently released from incarceration, or residents in transitional or supportive housing.
• Experience providing short‑term, stabilization‑focused therapy.
• Familiarity with harm reduction, trauma‑informed care, and co‑occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
• Critical thinking skills, decisive judgment, and the ability to work with minimal supervision in a fast‑paced environment.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Housing Works provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. Housing Works complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment at all locations.

Union Representation

This position is included in a bargaining unit of Housing Works’ New York City employees represented by the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union (“RWDSU”). Accordingly, the RWDSU has the exclusive right to bargain over the terms and conditions of employment related to this position and this position may become covered by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement (a “CBA”) between Housing Works and the RWDSU.