Apalachee Center, Inc. is best known for helping individuals and families of North Florida succeed in recovering from emotional, psychiatric, and substance abuse crises. Apalachee Center, Inc. provides comprehensive behavioral health services across 8 counties (Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, and Wakulla Counties).

Apalachee Center, Inc. offers competitive benefits for our full-time positions to include health, dental, vision, basic life insurance, long term disability, paid time off, and more.
Overview:

NAVIGATE is a dynamic multidisciplinary treatment team designed to provide early and effective treatment to individuals who have experienced a first episode of psychosis. NAVIGATE is a team-based approach and focuses on helping clients and their families to successfully find their way to psychological and functional well-being. The purpose of the NAVIGATE SEE specialist is to act as the primary provider of vocation services to help identify client’s personal preference regarding work and school goals, including career interests, and then provides the necessary support to help the client achieve those goals.

ESSENTIAL/CORE JOB-SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Education and Career Inventory: Assist clients on an individual and family basis in the office and in community. The SEE Specialist services are designed to develop and optimize the skills and abilities of the clients for employment and promoting financial independence. Follow the NAVIGATE SEE Module to assist in achieving education and career goals:

• During orientation phase, engage to set SEE goals, steps, expectations.
• Ensure Family Involvement and collaborate with team member tailored to address the client’s SEE goals.
• Utilize Education and Career Inventory to gather information to help the client make decisions about the goals they want to pursue, and support needed. It should be updated as new or different information, preference, goals, and interest will emerge. Should be updated when the client has started school or work.
• Address cognitive impairment and develop effective coping strategies.
• Determines when SSI/SSDI needs to be obtained.

Vocational Services Delivery: Assist clients on an individual and family basis in the office and in community settings to teach techniques to alleviate and manage symptoms and to promote personal growth and development. Follow the NAVIGATE SEE Module to assist in successful job search and achieve career goals:

• Identify client’s vocational and/or educational goals and tailor strategies to meet them
• Review Client’s personal strengths in job and educational areas (i.e., people skills) and work on client’s awareness of their strength; Discuss job search strategies the client has previously used
• Activate the client’s social support network for additional support
• Preparing the client for Job Interview (i.e. roll-play, prepare for questions in the interview, social skills training); Job coaching and follow along supports (work and/or school)
• Tailor approach depending on whether clients choose to disclose (i.e. meeting with prospective employers to match client’s strengths with employer’s needs, learning about businesses, setting up client interviews). Transport client to job interview, if needed.
• Assist client with dealing with any ambivalence over educational goals and discuss educational challenges with client and help them plan to deal with them

Treatment Team: Schedules Treatment Team meetings a month in advance of service plan expiring for assigned clients. Offers input and feedback (i.e. new issues, client response to treatment, client’s progress/lack of progress on service plan) to review clients’ progress and employment goals for the treatment plan with each client.

Client Service Plan: Develops individualized Client Service Plans (CSP) in partnership with the client and the client’s families, especially with employment goals. Develops CSP’s that include measurable goals and objectives derived from the client’s assessment and identifies time frames for achievement on goals which are signed and dated by the client and client’s guardian, if applicable. Assists with the implementation of the service plan and follows-up with the client’s services to determine the status and the effectiveness of CSP towards enhancing the client’s inclusion in the community and autonomy. Updates CSPs at least every 6 months. Makes appropriate changes in CSP to ensure immediate and appropriate interventions are provided in response to changes in mental status or behavior which put persons served at risk (e.g., suicidality, hospitalizations, relapse). CSP must incorporate items obtained using enhancement funds and explain how it promotes client’s recovery goals.

Progress Notes: Documents progress of persons served to maintain a permanent record of individual activity per established methods and procedures.Documentation must be finalized in Avatar within 48 hours from the time the services were rendered. Progress notes must be detailed and clearly reflect how the staff’s efforts are linked to the services and goals in the client’s service plan and the client’s progress or lack of progress relative to the service plan.

Education/Experience:

• A Bachelor’s degree with a major in psychology, social work, counseling, or a related human services field. Master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling preferred.
• One year experience providing vocational rehabilitation services.
• One year of professional experience working with persons with severe mental illness (SMI).
• One year of working in community treatment/outpatient setting experience preferred.

Licensure or Certification:

• Must possess valid driver’s license.
• Maintain authorization as a designated driver in accordance with Agency policy.