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:

ESSENTIAL/CORE JOB-SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Assessment: Conducts comprehensive mental health assessments and ongoing assessments of persons served mental illness, symptoms, status, and response to treatment. Communicates client’s mental health status and history to the FACT team and helps the team to determine level of care based on client’s individual needs. Completes initial assessment for assigned clients in collaboration with the team within 60 days and updates required assessments in accordance with established guidelines. Collect collateral information (i.e. family and other providers, with appropriate consent) to complete thorough assessments of client’s need. Finalizes all documents in Avatar and turns in all assessments within 48 hours.

Individualized Treatment Team (ITT): Schedules Individualized Treatment Team (ITT) 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.

Case Management Service Delivery: The FACT case manager coordinates care, advocates on behalf of the participant, and provides access to a variety of services and supports. Core duties include:

• Access to primary health care (medical and dental)
• Address basic needs (i.e. food, housing, transportation)
• Links with resources, services, and opportunities (i.e. transportation, SS benefits, education)
• Legal services (i.e. writing letters to the court about client’s progress, coordinating with client’s probation officer)
• Supported housing (i.e. assist clients in finding and maintaining permanent housing)
• Transport clients to appointments for services outlined in the CSP
• Competency Training (i.e. providing training to assist the participant through the legal process and to regain competency)

Client Service Plan: Develops individualized Client Service Plans (CSP) in partnership with the client and the client’s guardian (if applicable), 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.

OTHER JOB-SPECIFIC:

Coordination: Works closely with family/natural supports and other mental health providers, and offers consultation in crisis situations as well as acts as a navigator of the system of care to create a broad and integrated process for meeting client’s needs, including discharge planning. Pursues linkages with community resources in accordance with client’s needs (i.e. employment, housing, and occupation), including internal and external treatment programs (i.e. psychiatric hospitals, legal) for coordination of care. Completes referrals timely as determined necessary per assessments and FACT team recommendation (i.e. equine therapy, art therapy, residential treatment). Follows up with community agencies to ensure that the intended services are being provided. Coordinates the delivery of medications in accordance with FACT program procedure.

Life Skill Development: Provides intense community-based services to assist individuals in strengthening and regaining interpersonal and psychosocial skills and develop environmental supports necessary to thrive in the community to facilitate community living and to decrease hospital admissions. Activities should include: development and maintenance of necessary daily living skills; food planning and preparation; money management; housing; maintenance of the living environment and training in appropriate use of community services (i.e. participation of social events/leisure activities, hygiene, public transportation).

On-call Crisis Intervention: Provides on-call coverage for after hours, weekend, holidays as directed by the Team Leader and required by the needs of the team. Evaluate and intervene appropriately and timely to assist clients with crisis intervention, referrals or supportive counseling when needed. Consult with the team leader as needed.

Meetings: Attends daily team meetings and program staffing as scheduled to actively participate in the meeting to provide inputs and discuss the needs of the clients (i.e. assess client’s status and progress, to coordinate treatment activities, provide a follow up, and to develop treatment solutions to problems). Attends scheduled clinical/administrative supervision as required.

Education/Experience:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university or college with a major in counseling, social work, psychology, criminal justice, nursing, rehabilitation, special education, health education, health science, or a related human services field.
• One year experience providing case management services.
• One year of professional experience working with persons with severe mental illness (SMI).
• One year of working in outpatient setting experience preferred.
• Assertive community treatment experience working in off-site community settings consistent with the PACT model of service delivery preferred.

Licensure or Certification:

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