Clinician (Mobile Crisis/YCCS)

The YCCS Clinician is responsible for crisis stabilization, therapeutic interventions, and providing treatment modalities aimed toward the youth’s re-entry to the community.

YCCS is a short-term crisis stabilization unit for children and adolescents up to age 18. The primary function of YCCS is to provide short-term crisis stabilization, therapeutic intervention, and specialized programming in a staff secure environment with a high degree of supervision and structure. YCCS provides active treatment that includes restoration of functioning; strengthening the resources and capacities of the youth, family, and other natural supports; and ensuring a timely return to previous living environment.

The MCI (Mobile Crisis Intervention) Clinician will use their knowledge of and experience with utilizing services and the wraparound process to provide clinical care and support to adults, youth, and their families and to prevent hospitalization and stabilize adults and youth in the community.

Child and Family Services recognizes the power in Diversity and believes that Equity is a Human Right.

SCHEDULE: TUESDAY-THURSDAY (YCCS) / FRIDAY & SATURDAY (MOBILE CRISIS) 8AM-4PM OR 9AM-5PM

$5000 full-time sign-on bonus! ($2500 after 3 months; $2500 after 6 months)

$1 per hour Language Differential! (eligible languages include: Cape Verdean Creole, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish or ASL)

Compensation is determined by factors to include evaluating internal equity, individual experience and job value, and aligning with current external market pay to ensure fairness and competitiveness.

MCI Job Responsibilities & Essential Functions

• Provide short term service that is mobile, on site, face to face therapeutic response to an individual experiencing a behavioral health crisis for the purpose of identifying, assessing, treating, and stabilizing the situation and reducing immediate risk of danger to the individual's or others consistent with the individuals risk management safety plan
• Provide brief solution focused interventions and reassess current level of need with the adult waiting for higher level of care treatment
• Post crisis evaluation and intervention throughout the follow up period when applicable
• Work collaboratively with supportive and peer staff to provide resources/referrals, support, and psychoeducation to families
• Attend community-based meetings in conjunction with the adult, their families, and providers to assist with advocacy and addressing safety concerns
• Complete collateral contacts with the adult’s providers
• Engage the client in safety planning
• Able to provide clinical care and support to adult and their families to prevent hospitalization and stabilize adult in the community
• Ability to move quickly in responding to emergencies
• Provide triage through the call center
• Ability to work a flexible schedule, including nights and weekends
• Complete intake data form by telephone or in person either on site or at outreach locations
• Confirm health care coverage
• Conduct comprehensive mental health status exam for adult and utilizing an admissions/screening instrument which includes providing a diagnosis in accordance with the DSM IV and DSMV
• Telephone screening and consultations
• Understanding of different treatment modalities that can be applied to stabilize clients in their home and prevent hospitalization
• Consult with program director/administrator on call and or consulting psychiatrist prior to disposition plan to include outpatient services, hospitalization, or hospital diversion
• Participate in regularly scheduled clinical supervision, staff meetings, staff development, and training curriculum
• If licensed, complete continued education to maintain clinical professional licensure and ensure that licensure remains active
  
  

YCCS Job Responsibilities & Essential Functions

• Provide information to the youth and family about wellness, recovery, crisis self-management, and how to access wellness and recovery services in their community
• Primarily responsible for conducting comprehensive assessments inclusive of standardized assessment tools for suicide risk, brief crisis counseling, individualized risk management/safety planning, psychoeducation, discharge planning, and care coordination. The master’s-level clinician will conduct and oversee individual, group, and family therapy
• Conduct a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment (within timeframes designated by program specifications), may include weekends or holidays (as identified by on call schedule) or as soon as the youth and family are able to participate in the process
• Make best efforts to offer flexible hours outside or normal business hours and on weekends when needed to accommodate families’ schedules
• Identify current providers and collateral contacts to obtain more comprehensive information and insight into the youth and their family
• Assist in facilitating youth admissions and discharges
• Address precipitating events that led to the current admission
• Include recommendations that identify the clinical, social, and medical components needed to support the youth and parent/guardian in ensuring a safe return to home, school, and community.
• Participate as part of youth assigned multi-disciplinary treatment team (within timeframes designated by program specifications), review comprehensive assessment and psychiatric assessment and in collaboration with the youth and family identify an initial treatment plan (within timeframes designated by program specifications)
• Review and update treatment and discharge plan as appropriate at least every 24 hours, based on youth’s individual progress.
• Specify the goals and actions needed to address the medical, social, therapeutic, educational, and other strengths and needs of the youth
• Identify strategies to support youth/family/guardian in reducing stressors that lead to YCCS
• Work with the youth/family to identify strategies for preventing future crises
• Coordinate with existing services providers, which may include Intensive Care Coordinators (ICC), In-Home Therapy (IHT), PCP/PCC, CBHC, school, and others
• Coordinate discharge planning with focus on identification of anticipated services that will facilitate and support the youth’s rapid return to the community
• Participate in trainings as specified in performance specifications, (for example, UMass Clinical Assessment and Intervention training, dialectical behavioral therapy skills training, and cognitive behavioral therapy skills training)
• Perform clinical reviews and obtain insurance authorizations as needed
• Observe youths in structured milieu, provide supportive interventions to youths, and assist in behavioral de-escalation techniques, and/or supervision of youths as needed
• Utilize Massachusetts Behavioral Health Access (MABHA) website to update daily capacity as instructed, use website to locate other services for youth in assisting with aftercare planning and referrals
• Participate in the rotation of on-call responsibilities
• Work collaboratively within Acute Care Services to cross train and provide coverage as needed.
• All members of clinical team have shared responsibility for all youth on unit. Cases will be divided as needed to meet individual youth needs
• Participate in regularly scheduled supervision, staff meetings, staff development and training curricula
  
  

All 24-hour/Acute Care Services program staff are considered essential. Essential staff are defined as personnel who are expected to report to work as scheduled, regardless of holidays and/or during any emergency situation and/or agency closing (i.e. inclement weather) to ensure the ongoing operations of the program.

Due to the type of work and client needs, this position may need to work beyond a forty-hour work week. Additionally, essential staff may be required to remain on shift or work an additional shift until relief staff are available.

For overnight positions, staff are required to stay awake for the entirety of their shift.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

Other Duties

Please note 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.