Program Description

The City Star Assertive Community Treatment Program provides intensive and all-inclusive case management and outpatient/rehabilitation services to homeless, mentally ill individuals and incorporates a supported housing component. Incumbent will utilize his or her experiences as a recipient of mental health services to enhance the recovery efforts of clients while serving as a member of a multidisciplinary team that shares practical and personal experience, knowledge, and insight related to illness management, life skills, and the lifelong process of recovery.

Company Description

Mental Health Systems, Inc. (MHS) was founded in 1978 to provide mental health and drug and alcohol rehabilitation services in an innovative and cost-effective manner. We continue to ensure that the delivery of these services conforms with the values highlighted on the cover of this directory. Our goal is to improve lives and instill hope by using new and creative treatment strategies while respecting time-proven methods of intervention.

MHS is a Drug-Free workplace therefore all staff must comply with Drug-Free Workplace requirements regarding alcohol and drug use. MHS performs post-offer substance abuse testing on all employees. MHS provides a full range of benefits to regular employees. These benefits include paid vacation, sick time, and holidays, partially paid employee health insurance, flexible spending account, paid employee long-term disability insurance, an MHS funded profit sharing plan, and an individual employee-funded 403(b) plan. Eligibility for benefits is contingent upon employment status; see MHS Employee Handbook for full details. Eligible part-time employees will receive benefits on a prorated basis.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Serves as a mentor to clients, and families to promote empowerment and hope, and while drawing on own experiences as a consumer to build trust and commonality provides peer counseling and support.
• Primarily provides services in the field, client homes, community facilities, and where needed in accordance with ACT model.
• Assists with client transportation as needed in personal or MHS vehicle.
• Provides expertise and consultation to other staff members from a mental health consumer perspective in order to enhance empathy and professional effectiveness.
• Promotes a team culture characterized by openness to clients’ experiences and encouragement of self-determination throughout treatment planning process.
• Provides education and support to clients about stigma and ways to combat it, and advocates for clients by educating about grievance or complaint procedures.
• Provides education and support to family members, including peer and family run support groups.
• Serves as liaison between the team and consumer-run programs, and encourages clients’ use of these.
• Serves as part of the on-call team, fulfilling all duties of this program component, and provides services after-hours as required by contract, and provide ongoing ‘side-by-side’ services related to skills development.
• Displays regular and reliable attendance. Reports to and departs from work on time, as scheduled, and accurately reflects all time on time card. Work schedule may include non-traditional hours including late shift, early shift, weekends, and coverage of after-hours crisis phone.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Aids in general management of center including running errands as assigned.
• Completes all assigned duties within the time frame and according to the standards as established by the Program Manager.
• Complies with all MHS and program rules, policies and procedures including HIPAA standards.
• Demonstrates commitment to professional growth by attending in-service trainings and staff development programs, and seeking out supervision when needed.
• Demonstrates adequate care and responsibility for equipment. Reports and/or repairs missing or damaged equipment and supplies.
• Ensures facilities upkeep and safety by maintaining neat and clean work areas, by securing work area at close of business day, and by reporting vandalism, theft, or suspicion of drug abuse by coworkers to supervisor as soon as possible.
• Familiar with and understands Mental Health Systems, Inc. Personnel Policy manual and follows all established personnel policies.
• Follows administrative chain of command.
• MHS requires all employees to attain a minimum degree of training and knowledge in cultural competency, co-occurring and gender responsiveness and to routinely demonstrate these traits in every day work relationships.
• Participates in regularly scheduled staff meetings.
• Participates in the Injury and Illness Prevention Program and follows guidelines that promote workplace safety.
• Provides input towards policy and procedure design, revision, and deletion.
• Reads memos, directives, meeting minutes, and revised policies and procedures as posted.
• Other relevant duties as assigned.

Education and Work Experience

• Self-acknowledged mental health consumer who has or is receiving services for serious mental illness and has a history of homelessness.
• High School Diploma or G.E.D. and at least one year of experience working in a social service setting serving individuals with mental illness.

KNOWLEDGE OF:

• Aware of cultural and socio-economic factors that inform service provision to persons with psychiatric or dual diagnosis disorders, and interact positively with persons of diverse socio-economic backgrounds and education.
• CCISC principles and the Assertive Community Treatment model of service delivery with the ability to implement such services while utilizing logical problem-solving techniques both independently and in collaboration with co-workers in dealing with client needs.
• Procedure manuals and an ability to interpret these effectively to staff, family members and community providers. 

SKILLS:

• Must be able to engage culturally diverse populations, and understand cultural competency relevant to community/communities served.
• Resourcefulness, initiative and the ability to work with minimal direction and supervision.
• Skills necessary to provide effective counseling, therapy and clinical services, and the ability to successfully work as a member of a treatment team.
• Utilizes logical problem-solving techniques both independently and in collaboration with workers in dealing with client needs. 

ABILITY TO:

• Create written documentation that is legible, clear, and concise.
• Maintain the distinction between therapeutic and social relationships.
• Maintain positive morale and unit cohesion as evidenced by maintaining a cooperative and flexible attitude toward coworkers, showing adaptability to change, exhibiting effective communication and interpersonal skills, and taking initiative to solve problems.
• Set priorities and reacts appropriately to emergency situations