What are the responsibilities and job description for the Mental Health Therapist position at SAL Community Services?
Mental Health Therapist
BASE WAGE $30.59-$33.65 based on experience and education level.
JOB TYPE Full-Time
DESCRIPTION
Skip-a-Long Childhood Centers, part of SAL Community Services, is the Quad Cities areas leading provider of early childhood care and education. We provide a safe, secure and supportive environment centered on how playing can charge the mind of the children we care for.
As part of the Skip-a-Long early learning team that develops young children into future leaders and our next generation of parents in our community, the Mental Health Therapist position role is to engage meaningfully to discover strengths, scaffold children and families to meet their needs and to highlight opportunities for children, parents and staff to have increased social emotional capacity. The Mental Health Therapist position provides play-based intervention and consultation to children and families, as well as coaching and supporting Skip-a-Long early care and education staff as part of innovative programming to provide intentional interactions that support the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and social health and well-being of involved stakeholders. The role of the Mental Health Therapist works to reduce negative impacts of trauma, poverty, and systemic barriers on children’s development by fostering resilience, emotional regulation, and healthy family engagement. You will:
- Provides direct onsite services to children, families, and staff including: assessments, counseling, classroom support, and family consultations.
- Applies developmentally appropriate therapeutic interventions, advanced psychosocial theory and methods to individuals, families, and staff with appropriate regard for the complexity of given problems.
- Assess and respond to children’s and families’ complex needs through the use of standardized screening tools, behavioral data, and coordinated preventive and therapeutic supports.
- Provide therapy services in individual, family, and group sessions along with classroom-based interventions.
- Lead the development and ongoing support of program evaluation framework to assess the strengths of the program, identify areas for growth, and inform a responsive and culturally attuned service model through structured focus groups with families, staff, and partners.
- Remain current with best practices, industry trends and provide internal and external direction within our Agency and with local, regional, state and federal agencies and stakeholders.
We are looking for team members who:
- Share a love for children and a passion for helping them learn, grow, and thrive;
- Enjoy following a routine, and welcome the in-the-moment changes that come with each day in childcare;
- Believe that early childhood education is the first step to a child's successful future;
- Are passionate about building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for all, and,
- Are professional, kind, and don't take themselves too seriously!
Salary, benefits and perks.
Our entire compensation package includes paid time off and paid holidays; health, dental, and vision benefits; 401(k) with employer contribution; and pet insurance. A full list of benefits is available on our website at salcommunityservices.org.
Our entire compensation package includes paid time off and paid holidays; health, dental, and vision benefits; 401(k) with employer contribution; and pet insurance. A full list of benefits is available on our website at salcommunityservices.org.
Qualifications
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. A full list of job responsibilities will be provided prior to an interview. This position must obtain required background clearances. Requests for reasonable accommodation as required under applicable law will be considered.
Education and Experience
Required: Master Degree in Social Work, Mental Health, or Counseling and an active Illinois License Clinical Social Work/Iowa Licensed Independent Social Worker or Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor/Iowa Licensed Mental Health Counselor or will obtain an Illinois/Iowa Clinical License within a six-month period of start date. Plus, minimum of two years of clinical experience providing mental health services to children and/or families in Early Childhood, Community Based, Social Service, or Family Support settings. Preferred: In addition to required, five or more years providing mental health services to children and/or families in a classroom-based setting. Previous work with children and/or group therapy desired.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION Mission
SAL Community Services (SAL) strengthens children, families, and individuals to build and enhance thriving communities.
About Us
At SAL Community Services, we provide Support, Advocacy, and Learning in our communities—from childhood to adulthood. Our mission is to strengthen children, families, and individuals to build and enhance thriving communities. Founded in 1970, we have a history of listening to the needs of our community and responding. We have grown from an organization focused on providing quality child care to low-income working families to one that meets a wide variety of needs, from early care and education to crisis assistance and stabilization services. Today, SAL has a bi-state 17 county regional footprint from the Quad Cities to Central Illinois area. We advocate with and for the people we support, the communities we serve, and the solutions we champion, and we offer an inclusive, welcoming community for the people we serve—and our employees. Learn more on our website at www.salcommunityservices.org/about-us.
EOE STATEMENT SAL Community Services is an equal opportunity employer and believes in equal opportunity for all employees and applicants. Accordingly, all employment decisions are based on the principles of equal opportunity. These decisions include recruitment, selection, promotion, transfer, discipline, compensation, benefits, training and other personnel actions involving persons in all job titles and shall occur without regard to actual or perceived race, creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), color, religion (or for requesting an accommodation for a religious belief), sex, age, ancestry, national origin, genetic information (as defined in Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)), military status or discharge status, veteran status, qualified disabled veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, transgenderism, marital status, citizenship status, familial status, physical or mental disability (or for requesting an accommodation for a disability), association with a disabled person(s), medical condition (including HIV or AIDS status, cancer related or genetic characteristics) arrest record (unless doing so violates contractual, funding, or licensing requirements), order of protection status, pregnancy (including conditions related to childbirth or breast feeding), homelessness or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
LOCATION Skip-a-Long Davenport
EXEMPT/NON-EXEMPT Non-Exempt
Salary : $31 - $34