Position Summary:

This position provides vocational education, training, and support to clients served by the Early Psychosis Intervention Collaborative. The EPIC team provides treatment to adults with Severe and Persist Mental illness-who may also have co-occurring substance-related disorders in their homes and other community settings. EPIC is a 24/7 service to individuals who need frequent contact often daily in order to manage their symptoms sufficiently to remain out of the hospital.

• This position provides a broad range of paraprofessional social services to patients/clients/consumers and their families.
• Conducts patient/client/consumer intakes, participates in treatment team planning, and performs crisis intervention.
• Assists in dealing with personal and social problems.
• Provides supportive counseling to consumers and families and/or serve as a liaison for social services.
• Performs case management duties.
• Also links program participants to housing opportunities and resources.

Job Responsibilities & Performance Standard Details:

• Assists clients in locating and utilizing community resources including legal, medical, financial assistance, and other referral services
  • Interviews patient/client/consumer and/or families using acceptable techniques appropriate for the individual's level of functioning in accordance with established guidelines.
  • Contact other health care professionals within or outside the organization to obtain consumer background information in accordance with established guidelines.
  • Reviews patients/clients/consumers chart to obtain background information necessary to complete an assessment within established timeframe.
  • Completes and places in patient's/client's/consumer's chart a written individual/family intake profile and updates information according to accepted standards and time frames.
  • Complies with regulations on confidentiality of patient/client/consumer information as specified by established policy.
• Assists clients living in personal care homes and halfway houses; assists in pre-release and release planning
  • Schedules follow-up appointments in a timely manner to ensure services are provided.
  • Makes appropriate referrals for support services.
  • Completes or monitors the completion of required forms within prescribed time frame.
  • Meets with patient's/client's/consumer's continuity of care representative as required.
  • Transports, or makes arrangements for transportation of, patients/clients/consumers to appointments in a timely manner.
• Implements and organizes the delivery of specific social services within the community
  • Thoroughly observes patient's/client's/consumer's progress for compliance to and in obtaining treatment plan goals through one on one interviews and other contacts/interactions.
  • Writes concise, accurate and clear observation notes in patients/clients/consumers charts as required by departmental policy.
  • Promptly notifies appropriate professional of any unusual patient/client/consumer incident/situation..
• Maintains contact with other social service agencies and health care providers involved with clients to provide information and obtain feedback on client's overall progress
  • Thoroughly monitors available community resources and develops new sources to meet patient/client/consumer needs.
  • Effectively negotiates, writes and executes collaborative agreement arrangements for services.
  • Contacts other service providers on a regular basis to maintain effective inter-agency working relationships.
  • Serves as an effective resource person actively participating on work teams and school related special education transition planning teams.
• Maintains program statistics for purposes of evaluation and research
  • Develops and effectively maintains a network of appropriate community contacts.
  • Provides appropriate input in strategy or review sessions/staffings, committees and task forces to facilitate linkages and communication.
  • Provides appropriate information and/or input in meetings pertaining to case management and case collaboration.
• Monitors patient's/client's/consumer's progress towards treatment goals
  • Conducts individual sessions to provide appropriate guidance and direction pertaining to personal and social development within established guidelines.
  • Conducts family or educational sessions according to accepted methodologies.
  • Conducts group sessions using established procedures and methods to promote planned changes in patient/client/consumer support system.
  • Provides social and psychological support to patient's/client's/consumer's and their families through listening and discussing problems and progress as necessary.
  • Recognizes the need for patient/client/consumer crisis intervention and reacts appropriately to routine situations and/or promptly notifies person on call or immediate supervisor.
• Provides crisis intervention and emergency shelter services
  • Attends internal and external educational programs and professional meetings as available for continuing professional education.
  • Attends regular meetings of available and applicable professional organizations.
  • Reads and evaluates professional literature on continual basis.
  • Incorporates knowledge of pertinent new trends and developments into services. Makes recommendations for any related organizational changes.

Minimum Qualifications:

SST 1: High school diploma or GED AND One year of experience in a social services related position OR Two years at an accredited college or university with at least 15 credit hours in a social services related field.

SST 2: Bachelor's degree in a social services related field from an accredited college or university, OR Associate's Degree in a social services related field AND five years of experience in social services, OR High school diploma or GED AND ten years of experience in a social services related position.

SST 3: Master's degree in social services related field from an accredited college or university, OR Bachelor's degree in a social services related field from an accredited college or university AND five years of experience in a social services related field OR a combination of education and/or supervisory experience in the social services field of work that demonstrates the individual's ability to lead a team, as necessary.