Youth Crisis Program Supervisor

About Delaware Guidance Services

Delaware Guidance Services for Children and Youth, Inc. (DGS) is the largest provider of outpatient behavioral health services to children and families in Delaware. We operate offices in Wilmington, Newark, Dover, Lewes, and Seaford, and we are the only statewide not-for-profit outpatient behavioral health organization for children and adolescents accredited by JCAHO. In 2020, we were honored as a Compassionate Champion for our dedication to serving youth and families using a trauma-informed approach.

Through DGS, clients and families have access to outpatient counseling, group therapy, parent-child interaction therapy, and school-based services. Our community-based service lines serve youth and families who require a more intense therapeutic protocol. DGS’ 24-hour statewide Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS) dispatches skilled crisis intervention clinicians to provide immediate care to children experiencing behavioral health crises. Therapeutic options are available for a wide range of diagnoses including depression, anxiety, mood disorders, eating disorders, traumatic stress-related disorders, and suicidal ideation.

In 2021, DGS clinicians provided over 54,000 direct care hours to children, youth, and families in Delaware. Over 93% of clients report improvement in their level of functioning following treatment, and therapeutic benefits derived from trauma-informed care extend to clients’ siblings, caregivers, classmates, and peers. Our client population is racially and ethnically diverse; 80% of DGS clients are Medicaid recipients and 90% have household incomes under $30,000.

Many of our clients present with significant treatment challenges including learning impacts due to missed school and negative economic impact due to parental missed work. We provide care to anyone in need, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay for care. DGS also provides services specifically tailored to meet the unique behavioral health care needs of child welfare-involved families and foster youth.

• Competitive Compensation
• Incentive Pay for Specific Roles
• Generous Paid Time Off (starting at 44 days of paid leave a year)
• Up to 6% Annual Contribution to Your Retirement Fund
• Free Professional Development Opportunities
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Life and Long-term Disability Insurance

Under the supervision of the Crisis Program Manager, the MRSS Crisis Supervisor plans, directs and coordinates activities of MRSS (Crisis Intervention/Prevention) to ensure that clinically appropriate goals and procedures are accomplished in accordance with risk factors, time limitations, funding requirements, and JCAHO and licensing regulations.

• Demonstrates knowledge of individual growth and development.
• Demonstrates knowledge of family and community systems.
• Responsible for managing a clinically appropriate 24/7 crisis program for children.
• Develops and maintains procedures/policies for daily operations: mobilization of crisis workers to hospitals, schools, homes and other community agencies in order to provide risk assessments and appropriate referrals to insure the safety of the child.
• Develops procedures to enable crisis workers to access supervision on a daily basis to resolve difficulties in clinical assessments and crisis situations.
• Provides daily crisis case management and assigning of cases on an as need basis.
• Monitors daily crisis interventions and risk factors for individual cases.
• Responsible for making the final decision to hospitalize or to place a child in a crisis bed.
• Facilitate ongoing crisis training to encourage growth among crisis counselors.
• Provide on-site field assistance to crisis counselors as needed.
• Implement and coordinate ongoing group and individual supervision for the crisis counselors paying attention to licensing requirements and employee career development.
• Work closely with the community mental health providers, law enforcement departments, State of Delaware hospitals and Prevention and Behavioral Health Services to facilitate appropriate services for children and their families.
• Develop and maintain ongoing procedures to manage crisis situations ranging from decompensation of the mentally ill, drug/alcohol problems, suicidal/homicidal ideation, family conflict, physical and sexual abuse, etc.
• Participate in one week a month on-call rotation for supervisory consultation with crisis clinicians who are assessing clients in the community
• Uphold professional standards of treatment and the mission of Delaware Guidance Services in imparting services to children and their families.
• Maintain a quality code of conduct, ethics and professionalism as demonstrated in the MRSS Program Manual.
• Impart clinical knowledge and expertise in a manner congruent with providing goal-directed and team-oriented services towards children.
• Communicate effectively and professionally with all customers, including children,…