Clinicians (Bilingual English/Spanish)

Overview:

Founded as an orphanage in 1831, Rising Ground has been at the forefront of evolving community needs. Driven by the belief that each of us can thrive when life has hope and opportunity, Rising Ground provides caring support and proven paths to positive change, helping children, adults, and families rise above adversity, and each year, Rising Ground is a positive force in the lives of more than 72,000 individuals annually. We do this through 101 programs across 138 sites, throughout New York City and Westchester. Our strong belief and commitment to diversity is shown not just through our work with supported persons but is integral to the building of a strong staff that reflects the communities we serve. Rising Ground is headquartered in New York City.

The Unaccompanied Children Program provides long term and transitional residential care and other supportive services to Unaccompanied Children (UC) who are under legal custody of the Federal Government. Working in collaboration with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, ORR, our program provides a safe and nurturing environment for youth in a Basic Shelter program located at our licensed residential facilities as well as a Transitional Foster Care program in foster homes in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Westchester. In all programs, we provide therapeutic, medical and educational services, as well as other supports that youth need to achieve success through an array of strength-based and targeted interventions as we link them with family members and/or other sponsors in the United States. We want all children we support to move forward with their lives and thrive.

About the Role

The clinician provides initial mental health assessments, psychoeducation, crisis intervention and weekly individual and group therapy to the children in care.

Responsibilities:

• Provides individual and group therapy to unaccompanied minors in care.

•  Ensure that the Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment (PSA)/Therapeutic groups meet the ORR requirements, as well as all other groups meet the program expectations.
• Conducts comprehensive assessments using standardized measures as per standards set forth by Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).
• Provides crisis management and ongoing therapeutic support.
• Create Behavioral Plans, Individual Crisis Management Plans and Safety Plans as needed to provide ongoing support to UC and staff.
• Maintain regular communication and coordination of services with all members of the multidisciplinary team.
• Demonstrates teamwork by assuming expected role on the team and maintaining collaborative relations with other members.
• Ensure constant (weekly min) communication about the case with the Case Manager and the Treatment Team to create an effective and diligent provision of services that meet the UC’s needs.
• Develops and maintain contact with UC, sponsors and all parties part of UC’s life (including service providers as needed) for set up and follow up of all related MH services.
• Participates in treatment team meetings and other meetings pertaining to the clinical needs of the youth on their caseload.
• Completes paperwork in a timely manner, ensuring that the clinical records meet the requirements of standards set by ORR and are always audit ready. Prepares for audits accordingly.
• Ensure that all UC have a safe and appropriate discharge plan and that all mental health services are in place prior to discharge.
• Ensure the safety and wellbeing of the UC by following all ORR, OCFS mandates and POH policies and procedures.
• Actively participate in the implementation of PBIS as a guiding philosophy to promote and reinforce a positive social culture with all UC and staff.
• Schedule and facilitate the farewell meetings with all UC. Involve the CM and other members of the Treatment Team in the meeting to meet the Family Team Conference (FTC) Model approach.
• Maintains confidentiality of sensitive and protected information according to HIPAA standards.
• Completes the weekly staffing grid on a weekly basis, as well as other reports as needed.
• Always conducts self in a professional and courteous manner.
• Demonstrates commitment to departmental and organizational goals.
• Assumption of other duties as assigned, including temporary case coverage for other clinicians as needed.
• Maintain weekly contact with foster parents to check in on child’s progress and provide education or support with any behavioral or emotional challenges.
• Conduct foster home visit monthly to assess safety and well-being of the child at the home and positive care giving interactions. Coordinate with the CM visits with the Foster Parents as needed so provision of clinical services is more comprehensive; if behavioral plans are needed, the Foster Parent should be involved and informed.
• Afterhours and weekends coverage as assigned if needed.
• P

  erforms other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in social work with clinical experience in the program, or Master’s degree in psychology, sociology, or other relevant behavioral science in which direct clinical experience is a program requirement.

• Must be licensed or eligible for licensure (obtain license within 6 months of hire date).

• Bi-lingual (English/Spanish) a must.

• Experience working with traumatized/exploited children, and children with behavioral problems is a plus.

• TF-CBT experience a plus.

• Excellent organizational/communication skills.

• Knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel) required.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Supervisory Responsibility

No

Work Environment:

Office/Field for foster home visits

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

Additional Requirements:

• Authorized to work in the U.S.

• Ability to travel to other Rising Ground sites if required for weekend coverage, meetings or trainings.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Fairness, and Belonging

Rising Ground is comprised of unique and valued individuals who together make the organization effective in assisting the children, adults and families who come to us for support. We believe that only when all employees contribute fully as their true selves can Rising Ground's true strength, vision, and values come to fruition. We recognize the ubiquitous social biases and structures that impact and shape the experiences of all people, including our own staff and people supported. Among the many biases present in our society that shape our personal and professional experiences race, gender, sexual orientation, and gender expression are all factors that can present hurdles. As such, Rising Ground is committed to being an anti-racist and inclusive organization that will actively strive to overcome both systemic and interpersonal biases that perpetuate oppression.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

It is the policy of Rising Ground that the Agency wholly complies with equal treatment of all