Homeless Outreach Program Specialist

The Office of Homeless Services is recruiting for a Homeless Outreach Program Specialist
. The incumbent will play a vital role in engaging individuals experiencing homelessness by building trusting relationships, providing peer support, and connecting clients to essential services. This role focuses on reducing barriers to care by leveraging lived experience, understanding of community resources, and familiarity with enhanced case management services offered through Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP). The ideal candidate will also have the ability to identify and connect clients to appropriate behavioral health services.

Under direction, the incumbent will perform administrative and operational program development activities within the Office of Homeless Services; analyze, recommend, and develop policies/procedures and knowledge assets/tools for homelessness programs based on information gathered from homeless outreach activities and relevant data sources.

• Outreach: Conduct field-based outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness, with sensitivity and respect for diverse backgrounds and life experiences.
• Peer Support: Provide peer support and mentorship grounded in shared lived experience to encourage trust and client engagement. Work with individuals who face significant barriers to stability. Handle cases where clients are not following through with housing commitments or other responsibilities, employing strategies to re-engage them and offer necessary support. Use motivational interviewing and other techniques to help clients overcome barriers to success.
• Coordinated Care: Support individuals in accessing housing, medical care, behavioral health treatment, and other supportive services. Facilitate warm hand‑offs and referrals to behavioral health services, including mental health and substance use disorder programs. Collaborate with case management teams and local service providers to coordinate care and promote client‑centered service delivery. Assist in providing temporary relief and crisis management services for individuals experiencing homelessness, ensuring access to emergency shelter, food, and other resources.
  
  Offer stabilization and follow‑up support as needed.
• ECM: Maintain working knowledge of IEHP Enhanced Care Management (ECM) services and assist clients in accessing and navigating ECM support.
• Program Development: Develop and oversee initiatives aimed at addressing homelessness within the county; ensure programs align with the county's homeless services goals and the Continuum of Care (CoC) framework. Conduct analytical studies of organizational systems, policies, and practices. Propose and implement new or modified policies and procedures to improve service delivery and operational efficiency for homeless individuals. Participate in quality assurance meetings and coordinate monitoring of homelessness services to ensure program effectiveness, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement.
  
  Assess the impact of services and recommend changes to improve outcomes for clients.
• Administrative & Case Management Duties: Balance administrative responsibilities, such as maintaining case files, preparing reports, documenting client contacts, referrals, and progress in accordance with program guidelines. Ensure timely, accurate completion of paperwork while prioritizing client engagement and service delivery.
• County & Community
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Act as a liaison between various county departments, service providers, community organizations, and the public; collaborate with county departments and community partners to advocate for and deliver coordinated services to individuals experiencing homelessness. Coordinate efforts to solve mutual problems, exchange information, and provide services that align with the county’s homeless services strategy.
• Community
  
  Education:
  
  Lead and participate in training programs for service providers, and community stakeholders on best practices for supporting individuals experiencing homelessness, including trauma‑informed care, harm reduction, housing‑first approaches, and de‑escalation techniques. Participate in case conferencing and…