Crisis and Addictions Behavioral Health Technician

Why join us?

At Lewis & Clark Behavioral Health Services, you'll do meaningful work that changes lives. Our mission is to provide comprehensive mental health and substance use treatment services that promote the health and well-being of our community members. We offer a collaborative work environment, opportunities for growth, and a culture that values wellness, flexibility, and work-life balance.

Location: Yankton SD - CORE Center

Work Hours/Shift: Days or Nights, 6:30-7:00

Weekend/Holiday Involvement: Every Other

Pay Range: Starting wage $22.00/hour $2.00/hour shift differential (nights)

Reports To: Behavioral Health Technician Supervisor

Location: Yankton, SD – CORE Center

Location: Yankton, SD – CORE Cente

In this role you will:

• Perform screenings for youth and adults in crisis upon presentation to the facility, identifying potential risks and possible options for support/intervention, in collaboration with clinical staff. Perform breathalyzer checks and obtain vitals for patients, when indicated.
• Through controlled observation and direct patient contact and participation, educate, prevent, and intervene throughout the patient’s daily interactions including groups, 1-1s, structured recreation, and free time establishing a secure, positive, and therapeutic recovery environment.
• Perform phone screenings for the facility’s 24/7 crisis line.
• Observe and document patient self-administration of medications, documenting errors and completing incident reports to improve medication administration process. Work with nursing staff and other techs on minimizing staff medication errors.
• Monitor patients for safety via routine safety checks, communicating information regarding patient’s behavior to other members of treatment team.
• Role model appropriate social interactions. Encourage and facilitate patient’s participation in therapeutic activities and program schedule, enforcing accountability to program rules. Offer feedback, assign consequences, and provide therapeutic interventions to motivate behavioral changes.
• Engage in 1:1 supportive activities with patients, such as therapeutic communication and structured recreation.
• Gather, record, and relate reliable factual information about general client behaviors including both positive and negative behaviors. Record unusual client behavior(s) or situations, including critical incidents in the correct manner, contacting designated and on-call staff when required.
• Participate in implementing patient’s treatment plans by monitoring patient whereabouts, communicating information regarding patient’s behavior to other members of treatment team, encourages and facilitates patient’s participation in therapeutic activities, provides feedback to motivate behavioral changes, supervises patients to ensure their safe involvement in treatment.
• Document and report objective and factual information about patient behaviors, unusual situations, and critical incidents as they occur, contacting designated and on-call staff when required.

We are looking for someone who is:

• Able to maintain therapeutic posture with patients experiencing emotional instability, exercising self-control in volatile situations such as verbal/physical threats and/or confrontation. Assist in conflict resolution and de-escalation.
• Able to maintain patient confidentiality and immediately report safety concerns related to patient care issues, maintenance concerns, property destruction, theft, or any other safety concern preventing or directly or indirectly impacting the effective provision of treatment services.
• Able to supervise, monitor, and coach clients through schedule on assigned shifts, managing interpersonal conflicts, documenting medical and psychological incidents correctly as they occur.
• Able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with patients, other professional agencies, other employees, supervisors, and the public.
• Sensitive to special needs of the patients; able to recognize, and work with, cultural and ethnic differences.
• Able to community effectively, orally and in writing.
• Able to plan and organize time effectively.
• Able to safely operate passenger vans and non-passenger vehicles.
• Able to interpret and follow written state guidelines.
• Able to follow directives of supervisors.
• Assist with training new staff members as required.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the leadership team.

• Minimum requirement high school diploma or GED equivalent.
• Valid driver’s license and insurable driving record.