Job Title:  Quality Assurance Manager

Department: Compliance & Quality Assurance

Reports To: Director of Compliance & Quality Assurance

Hours: Full Time, 40 hours (M-F; Occasional evening and weekend work required)

FLSA Status: Exempt, 

Employment Type: Contract to Hire

Field-Based: No, but regular travel between the Torrance and Glendale offices will be required .

About Us: Counseling4Kids (C4K) has been serving children and families for over 20 years. We were founded with the goal of providing mental health services to children in Los Angeles County’s foster care system. We responded to the immense need for mental health services to help these children heal from the abuse and neglect they had suffered. Initially, the C4K treatment program had eight therapists providing services for 25 clients. Our range of services include: individual therapy, family therapy, psychological evaluation, medication support, case management and referral to community resources. C4K is currently in a transformation state as we are looking to build a large team of highly skilled, licensed therapists providing assessments and weekly therapy to children and youth. Our goal is to create an agency that provides quality services to the community. You can be a part of this vision by joining our team.

Why Work for Counseling4Kids? Our success depends on attracting and retaining a diverse range of people who are committed to excellence, making a positive impact in the lives of children and families, and the overall promotion of healing. C4K strives to foster a community of respect, teamwork, growth and fun. In addition, we are able to offer our talented staff several benefits including but not limited to: Fully paid employee medical, dental and vision; Supplemental Insurance; Retirement plan matching up to 5%; and generous paid time off. If that weren’t enough we also offer several perks such as; time off to volunteer; access to discounted fun; lunch and learn sessions; fun team-building exercises; community networking opportunities; mileage and expense reimbursements; and CEUs, compliance and professional development access via Relias training portal and other community resources.

About the Role: This is for a contracted employee role, with an expected duration of six (months). At the end of the contracted period of employment, job performance, attendance, attitude and overall interest in the job will be assessed in a performance evaluation to determine if an offer of full-time at will employment will be made, if the contract period will be extended, or if the contract will be ended without further offer of employment. 

Job Summary:

The Quality Assurance Manager is responsible to the Director Compliance & Quality Assurance for general program support duties in line with the stated policies and procedures of C4K. The Quality Assurance Manager will support the Director in managing all related activities, including oversight of claims and billing and implementation of related policy and procedure changes. In addition, they will work with the Director to in the planning, development, implementation and coordination of agency-wide policies and programs that will contribute to its overall success and will work on special assignments upon the request of the Clinical Program Director or Chief Executive Officer. They use independent judgment and discretion to perform complex program reviews and analysis that support contract compliance and program performance, adhere to chart and program documentation requirements, program reporting and preparation for agency audits. This includes managing all documentation, quality improvement, outcome measurement and statistical analysis for departments. They shall perform the duties below.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: 

Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement

1. Uphold the mission and core values of Counseling4Kids.
2. Oversee agency’s Utilization Review program, including organizing and supervising regular chart reviews and implementing any necessary procedural changes or trainings resulting from chart review results.
3. Provide coaching and support to direct reports, via weekly supervision, evaluation of performance, and progressive disciplinary action, if needed.
4. Support the Director of Compliance in Quality Assurance in overseeing the agency’s Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement program in line with Los Angeles County DMH’s procedures and contractual requirements, including the following:
   1. Facilitate regular QA/QI committee meetings
   2. Recommend and implement policy changes within the Clinical Department and agency-wide
   3. Review and evaluate the results of quality improvement activities
   4. Institute needed quality assurance and quality improvement actions, projects, and procedures
   5. Monitor service delivery, including client satisfaction and service capacity.
   6. Maintain agency policies and procedures manual.
5.  Mentor and support Quality Improvement Coordinators in orientation and ongoing training of new clinical staff on the clinical documentation requirements and best practice standards, as well as provide follow up training sessions and create training materials as requested by the Director Compliance & Quality Assurance.
6. Complete clinical reviews of assessments, treatment plans, and progress notes for timeliness, high quality, and compliance with agency standards and external requirements. Provide proactive and responsive reports to Clinical Managers/Supervisors.
7. Ensure the diagnostic criteria in Assessments is met to support the diagnosis and client Treatment Plans.
8. Review of progress notes to ensure they are relevant to treatment objectives/impairments identified in client assessment.
9. Monitor justification of time billed as evidenced by documentation of interventions.
10. For Admissions: will review all documentation completed and quality of care.

Audit

1. Assists with preparing for State Audit Reviews and LA County DMH Program Reviews. 
2. Mentor and support Quality Improvement Coordinators in the completion of the DMH Consumer Perception Survey and internal Quality of Care Surveys to gather data to improve our Best Practices.
3. Audits documentation to ensure program compliance with government contract requirements, DMH standards, federal/state/local regulatory and agency requirements.
4. Implements and documents compliance issues, as well as communicates findings to Director of Compliance & Quality for follow-up and resolution.
5. Coordinate with quality assurance staff and/or administrative staff and managers to problem solve any obstacles to effective service delivery and resolve any interface concerns.
6. Monitors and implements compliance to HIPAA privacy laws.
7. Participates in developing a training calendar and providing training to staff regarding system issues and documentation standards for service delivery.
8. Serves as a resource for staff and staff implementation of departmental Quality Improvement and Utilization Review efforts.
9. Contributes to the development of associated Policy and Procedures.
10. Monitors implementation of data collection and data entry for Program Evaluation.

Compliance:

1. Assist in meeting compliance requirement of 5% per DMH contract and at the discretion of C4K to promote Quality of Care.
2. Assist Clinical Supervisors with Contract Compliance
   1. Collaborate with Supervisors to advise of trends and patterns in documentation and clinical compliance.
   2. Monitor QA tracking and inform managers of providers who routinely have corrections that need to be made, as well as, outstanding QA forms/corrections. Inform Director Compliance & Quality Assurance of status of outstanding reviews. 
   3. Collaborate with Managers in providing coaching and support to align standards and provide additional audit protection.
3. Attend and/or lead bi-weekly QA Committee meetings.
4. Participates in Quality Improvement meetings both internally and externally to act as liaison between agency and DMH to assist with communication of new policies and procedures, audits, etc., to Director Compliance & Quality Assurance for continued compliance with new regulations within internal programs and the QA departmental staff.
5. Complete QA projects assigned.
6. Participate in cross-training for clinical and administrative duties, functions, provide coverage, and support when necessary. This includes but is not limited to, completing assessments and/or clinician tasks for the purpose of quality improvement through workflow updates.
7. Other duties assigned.

Supervisor Responsibility

This position has direct supervision over the Quality Assurance Specialist(s), Billing Specialist, and other support staff to the department, as assigned or per agency need.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology, or related field 
• Current Registration with California Board of Behavioral Sciences as an LPCC, LCSW, or LMFT

• Experience providing mental health services requiring diagnostic evaluation, treatment planning and crisis intervention, as well as providing the various modalities of therapy

• Familiarity with current LA County DMH documentation and Medi-Cal procedures
• Familiarity with documentation procedure for two (2) or more of the following EBPs: TFCBT, MAP, CPP, PCIT, Seeking Safety and PPP preferred
• Experienced working with an Electronic Health Record (EHR)
• Experienced working with SED children (underserved populations)
• Ability to provide feedback in a concise, clear, and professional manner.
• Excellent organizational analytical, computer and communication skills with strong attention to detail
• Able to work both individually and as part of a team.
• Valid California Driver’s license, with all copies of current certification (including auto insurance) provided to agency.
• Have access to HIPAA compliant transportation, and ability to travel between agency Torrance and Glendale offices on a regular basis.
• Bilingual in Spanish & English

PREFERRED QUALIFICAITONS:

• Experience providing mental health services requiring diagnostic evaluation, treatment planning and crisis intervention, and various therapy modalities.
• Familiarity with leading audits and/or certification processes.
• Trained or has experience drafting clinical documentation for three (3) or more the following EBPs: TFCBT, MAP, CPP, Seeking Safety, IPT, Stepped Care, and other relevant trainings.
• Experience drafting policy and providing training to clinical staff for current LA County DMH documentation and Medi-Cal procedures.
• Experience working with Exym.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Suite Systems (Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, Excel, etc.)

EEO Statement: 

Counseling4Kids 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. In addition to federal law requirements, Counseling4Kids complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. 

Counseling4Kids expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Counseling4Kids’ employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.