Job Type

Description

Days Off: Saturday, Sunday

Shift: Office Day

Insurance Benefits: Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage), Dental, Life, Long-term Disability

Other Benefits:  Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA),  ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan

Union Representation: This position is a part of a union and is represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.

About DESC:

DESC  (Downtown Emergency Service Center) is a nonprofit organization working  to help people with the complex needs of homelessness, substance use  disorders, and serious mental illness achieve their highest potential  for health and well-being through comprehensive services, treatment, and  housing. Our vision is a community where no person is abandoned,  ignored, or experiencing homelessness.

As the region's leading  provider of services to multiply disabled adults who have experienced  chronic homelessness, DESC serves almost 3,000 people each day. Our  integrated service model is designed to help people secure and maintain  appropriate, safe and affordable housing. DESC is recognized nationally  and regionally as an innovator in developing solutions to homelessness.

JOB DEFINITION:

Homeless Outreach Stabilization and Transition (HOST) is a multi-disciplinary team serving homeless adults experiencing severe and persistent mental illness and co-occurring disorders. HOST prioritizes services to those who are highly vulnerable, lack service connections or other support, and are unwilling or unable to engage in traditional service models. The HOST team works throughout Seattle and parts of King County to provide critical survival services and engagement with the ultimate goal of addressing acute mental and physical health needs, increasing stability, obtaining housing, and transitioning to long-term services. 

The HOST Women's Specialist Case Manager is responsible for providing outreach, engagement, resource linkage, and intensive case management services for the Kerner-Scott Women's Shelter individuals. These individuals identify as female and are experiencing homelessness and mental illness and/or co-occurring disorders. Each client will receive individual outreach from the HOST Women's Specialist Case Manager, with the goal of providing ongoing support. This engagement approach is intended to lead to a more in-depth clinical relationship, which encourages client participation. Each engagement relationship is individualized, emphasizing the personal connection between the client and the mental health case manager. These services will be provided mostly onsite at the Kerner-Scott Women's Shelter and will oversee and support all the individuals staying at the shelter. This position requires a high degree of coordination and collaboration with other DESC programs, as well as with outside agencies.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Engagement & Outreach

• Provide case management engagement services as assigned, on site at the Kerner-Scott Women's Shelter, at times outreaching on the streets, in other women's shelters, encampments, and other community areas.
• Interact with general client population, intervene in crisis situations with individual clients and screen clients for HOST eligibility when appropriate. If not a good fit for HOST, identify other referral options - internally or externally.
• Develop and maintain cooperative relationships with Kerner-Scott House leadership and staff to ensure spectrum of care and services are properly being provided. Attend Kerner-Scott shift briefs, clinical briefs, and other consult meetings, as necessary.
• Participate in community education regarding the needs of homeless clients with mental illness/co-occurring disorders, techniques of engagement and service provision.
• Provide survival resources, hygiene products, and harm reduction supplies to meet basic needs and build rapport, as appropriate. 
• In collaboration with the Kerner-Scott Women's Shelter manager and staff, manage and facilitate the Women's Shelter priority list for individuals seeking shelter.

Case Management

• Provide intensive case management for a caseload of individuals staying at the Kerner-Scott Women's Shelter.
• Coordinate survival services with a focus on access to food, shelter, and clothing; acquisition, retention, and stabilization of housing; acute and ongoing medical care, psychiatric treatment, benefit enrollment, criminal justice system coordination, and substance use treatment.
• Advocate for clients' access to community resources and services, ensuring that clients' needs are met and rights maintained; consult and collaborate with community providers to ensure continuity of care.
• Prioritize crisis intervention with clients as needed. This may include de-escalation, outreach to emergency departments, and/or making referrals to the county Designated Crisis Response system.
• Provide information and services to increase financial stability and self-sufficiency.
• Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with DESC staff and other service and resource organizations to ensure full continuity of care for clients.
• Support individuals seeking housing by completing and doing VAT assessments.

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Participate in weekly supervision, HOST Team Meetings, and in-service trainings; participate in clinical reviews and case conferences for clients on caseload.
• Comply with the agency's clinical accountability policies and procedures; maintain timely and complete clinical records; participate in quality assurance reviews when assigned.
• Comply with applicable program research and evaluation procedures.
• Other duties as assigned.

LIVING CONDITIONS:

Support your clients with achieving and maintaining healthy living conditions. This can include but is not limited to attending care conferences related to living conditions, outreaching and supporting clients in their residential units with tools and skills to maintain their units, coordinating with housing staff, participating in cleaning out clients' units, and documenting barriers to maintaining healthy living conditions.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Relevant Bachelor's degree in social work, psychology, or related behavioral science, OR  
• A combination of 1 year of relevant paid work experience and demonstration of the ability to perform required job duties.
• Ability to meet Washington Department of Health requirements for registration as a Registered Agency Affiliated Counselor (AAC) or any other superseding credential. 
• Interest in working with clients who are difficult to engage and maintain in traditional mental health/substance use disorder programs.
• Knowledge of Recovery-focused, strengths-based work in mental health.
• Knowledge of Harm Reduction strategies.
• Ability to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of unpleasant and/or bizarre behaviors.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with staff from various backgrounds.
• Subscribe to the philosophy of cooperation and continuity across programs and of consideration and respect for clients.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree in social work, psychology or other relevant behavioral science or Bachelor of Nursing degree with specialty in mental health.
• Eligible for a Licensed AAC credential or any other superseding credential that meets RCW 71.05.020 requirements to act as a Mental Health Professional whose scope of practice includes independently conducting mental health assessments and making mental health diagnoses. *Mental Health Professionals are paid on a higher scale - please see above*
• Ability to drive an agency or personal vehicle to conduct agency related business, including a current Washington State driver's license and insurable driving record.
• Experience working with adults who are experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, have a mental illness and/or co-occurring substance use disorders.
• Knowledge of de-escalation skills, crisis intervention & stabilization.
• Bi-cultural background/experience.
• Bi-lingual English/Spanish strongly preferred.
• Experience working with adults who are homeless, have a mental illness and/or co-occurring substance abuse disorders.
• Strong knowledge of relevant community resources and methods for accessing them.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required to sit, communicate with other employees, required to lift and carry items weighing up to 40 pounds and to operate computer hardware systems. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

DESC is committed  to diversity in the workplace and promotes equal employment  opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will not  discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the  basis of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age,  national origin, caste, marital status, or the presence of any sensory,  mental or physical disability in any employment practice, unless based  on a bona fide occupational qualification. Minorities and veterans are  encouraged to apply.

Salary Description