NEEDED: Mental Health Consultant

• Clinical / Counseling Psychologist
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker

LOCATION: Flint Hills Job Corps Center, 4620 Eureka Dr. Manhattan, KS

SCHEDULE:

• Monday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
• Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
• Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
• Thursday: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
• Friday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

QUALIFICATION: Clinical/Counseling Psychologist or Licensed Clinical Social Worker

• Current Resume or CV
• Unrestricted license to practice as an independent practitioner in KS
• Practitioner does not require supervision to practice
• Valid DEA license, if applicable
• Minimum 1-year of experience as a licensed independent practitioner providing assessment and treatment services to adolescents and young adults
• Statement of experience dealing with adolescents.

 JOB DUTIES: Overview of Responsibilities:

The emphasis of the Mental Health and Wellness Program must be on prevention, early detection, identification of mental health problems, and helping students overcome barriers to employability. The program utilizes an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) approach, which includes short-term counseling with an employability focus, referral to center support groups, and crisis intervention. The CMHC is part of the Health and Wellness team and collaborates closely with the Health and Wellness Director (HWD), Counseling Manager, TEAP specialist, Disability Coordinators, and the Center Physician.

Assessment: As CMHC, you will provide mental health assessments for applicants and students to examine mood, behavior, thinking, reasoning, and other areas related to emotional wellness. There are three types of assessments that will occur:

• For applicants during the admissions process, for new students based on responses to the Social Intake Form (SIF) and/or the Job Corps Health History Form
• For any student by referral, be multidisciplinary and describe various modes of treatment, including groups, TEAP counseling, medication evaluation, and off-center referrals.
• Identify barriers to employment and interventions designed to minimize those barriers. For example, problems managing anger can be a barrier to employment. The intervention could be participation in an anger management group on center.
• Be tied to Job Corps program elements and specific staff members. For example, a student who has problems managing anger needs to find positive ways to release stress and anger. The management plan may include participation in recreation, which is a Job Corps program element. The specific staff member responsible for this part of the case management plan would be a member of the recreation staff.

Case Management: 

• After an assessment of the student’s mental health needs and a determination that Job Corps can meet those needs, you should make a confidential entry in the SHR and prepare a case management plan. The management plan should:

Treatment: Job Corps provides students with mental health treatment, to include:

• Short-term counseling with mental health checks as needed.
• Crisis intervention, as needed.
• Referral to off-center mental health professionals or agencies for ongoing treatment and/or specialized services.
• Coordination with other departments/programs on center, to develop integrated promotion and education services.
• An important part of your role is to consult with staff to promote a positive center environment and provide training opportunities for staff and students. In addition, your meetings with the Center Director should be monthly and documented via written minutes.
• Clinical consultation with Center Director, management staff, and HWD regarding mental health-related promotion and education efforts for students and staff.
• As CMHC, you support the Career Counseling staff by offering mental health training and participating in regular student case conferences. When Counselors identify students in need of more extensive mental health evaluation and therapy, they can refer these students to you for further evaluation. The Career Counselors, with your technical assistance, should also work closely with Residential Living staff to address students' problems. This requires communication among staff, monitoring, and follow-up. A weekly documented meeting should occur for students with updates in the SHR.
• Information exchange through regular case conferences between the CMHC, Counselors, and other appropriate staff based on individual student needs.
• Collaboration with Counseling staff in developing and/or leading psycho-educational skill-building groups to promote wellness (e.g., relaxation training, anger management, mood regulation, assertiveness skills, handling relationships, sleep hygiene, etc.).
• You should work closely with the Center Physician and Nursing staff to help manage students on medications. Your role is to help evaluate any students already on medication and to identify any other students who may need to be referred to the Center Physician or consulting psychiatrist for a medication evaluation.
• Collaboration with Center Physician and Health and Wellness staff on psychotropic medication monitoring of stable students, with the advice of consulting psychiatrist, if appropriate.
• Collaboration with Substance Abuse Counselor (TEAP Specialist) for short-term counseling of students with co-occurring conditions of mental health and substance use.

Community Linkages and Resources: Your position is one of prevention, assessment, and triage. 

• The practice of referring out to the community is a large part of this position, and therefore community linkages are imperative to implementing an effective Mental Health and Wellness Program. 
• A written referral/feedback system shall be established and documented in the SHR utilizing the Job Corps forms provided.

Collaboration and Consultation: 

Mental Health Promotion and Education: 

• Minimum of a 1-hour presentation on mental health promotion for all new students during the Career Preparation Period with an emphasis on employability.

Staff Development: 

• Provide annual staff training on adolescent growth and development. The contractor agrees to adhere to the policies, procedures, and guidelines established by Job Corps.

Intervention and Treatment:

• Short-term counseling based on an EAP model.
• The focus of these sessions should be on retention and behaviors that represent employability barriers.
• Preparing case management plans that identify specific expectations of staff and the student, with the focus on employability skills. In limited situations, performing or arranging psychological testing services as needed and authorized.
• Collaboration with TEAP Specialist in the short-term counseling of students with co-occurring conditions of mental health and substance use.
• Collaboration with center physician and health and wellness staff on psychotropic medication monitoring of stable students, with the advice of consulting psychiatrist, if appropriate.
• Develop a counseling component to the mental health and wellness program that focuses on students’ individual needs and progress in personal and social development, basic education, and vocational training.
• Collaborate with counseling staff to develop and/or lead psycho-educational skill building groups to promote mental health (e.g., relaxation training, anger management, mood regulation, assertiveness skills, handling relationships, sleep hygiene, etc.). These counseling services are to be provided by career counselors, residential living staff, and other appropriate staff with the guidance and support of the CMHC.
• Information exchange through regular, weekly, documented case conferences between the Center Mental Health Consultant, counselors, and other appropriate staff based on individual student needs.
• In the event of a mental health emergency, the mental health consultant or the center physician will conduct a mental health evaluation as soon as possible and, when necessary; refer the student for psychiatric care. If neither the CMHC nor physician is available, the student will be referred immediately to the closest emergency facility. Students who are a danger to themselves or others must be supervised continuously until the disposition of their cases is resolved, which should be as soon as possible.
• Students may be referred to off-center mental health professionals or agencies in instances where their mental health needs are beyond the basic care provided by Job Corps.

 Ongoing Education, Support and Building Job Corps Community:

• If schedule allows, make all efforts to attend the National Department of Labor/Humanitas conference calls and/or online trainings.
• Agrees to adhere to the policies, procedures, and guidelines established by Job Corps.
• Under the Center Director's guidance and approval, will have primary responsibility to implement the program outlined above and may be assisted by the Job Corps National Office and/or health providers.
• May delegate provider responsibilities set forth in this contract to any other full or part-time provider only with the Center Director's prior written approval and a prior review of the secondary provider's qualifications by the Regional Director and Regional Mental Health Specialist.
• Will be assisted by the Job Corps National Health Staff (NHS) and lead regional health specialists. The latter will act under guidance and direction from the NHS.

BENEFITS: Competitive hourly pay rate, accrued vacation, accrued sick leave, 11 paid federal holidays, 401K opportunity, and healthcare benefits contribution