Mental Health Case Manager - HOST

Mental Health Case Manager for HOST

The Mental Health Case Manager for HOST is part of a multi-disciplinary team serving homeless adults experiencing severe and persistent mental illness and co-occurring disorders. The team 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 team works throughout the greater Seattle area 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 Mental Health Case Manager provides outreach, engagement, and ongoing services to a small caseload of homeless adults with severe & persistent mental health disorders and/or co-occurring disorders. This position requires a high degree of coordination and collaboration with other DESC programs as well as outside agencies to ensure successful transition of consumers to ongoing care.

Outreach & Engagement

• Provide outreach and engagement services as assigned, in office, on the streets, in shelters, encampments, DESC projects, and other community areas. On occasion services may be provided in outlying King County areas.
• Interact with general client population, intervene in crisis situations with individual clients and screen clients for HOST eligibility when appropriate.
• Develop and maintain cooperative relationships with current programs providing services for homeless and mentally ill persons.
• 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.

Case Management

• Participate as a member of a multi-disciplinary team of clinical, outreach, medical, peer support, and substance use specialists to provide a variety of services focused on stabilization and transition to long-term behavioral health or other appropriate ongoing services.
• Conduct needs assessments, intake evaluations, and mental health assessments. With client participation, develop service plans; facilitate linkages to housing, psychiatric and physical health care, financial benefits, and other support services to meet the individual's needs.
• Assume primary responsibility for coordinating all aspects of clients' support and treatment plans. This includes coordinating 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.
• Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with DESC staff and other service and resource organizations to ensure full continuity of care for clients.
• Fulfill role of protective payee for some consumers on behalf of the agency, creating monthly budgets with consumers, distributing funds, and assisting with purchases.

Other Duties & Responsibilities

• Participate in psychiatric consultation, supervision, program 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…