Job Description

About Our Job

Clinical Navigator (Licensed)

With competitive pay, great benefits, and endless opportunities, working for the City and County of Denver means seeing yourself working with purpose — for you, and those who benefit from your passion, skills and expertise. Join our diverse, inclusive and talented workforce of more than 11,000 team members who are at the heart of what makes Denver, Denver.

This is a position with an expected end date of 7/31/ 2027, and the potential to be extended.

This position requires a pre-employment drug screen prior to start date.

What We Offer

The City and County of Denver offers a competitive salary commensurate with education and experience. The salary range for this position is $35.21 - $44.89. We also offer generous benefits for full-time employees which include but are not limited to:

• A guaranteed life-long monthly pension, once vested after 5 years of service
• 457B Retirement Plan
• 140 hours of PTO earned within first year + 11 paid holidays, 1 personal holiday and 1 volunteer day per year
• Competitive medical, dental and vision plans effective within 1 month of start date

Location & Schedule

The City and County of Denver supports a hybrid workplace model. In this position, though, you can expect to work primarily in the field, with occurrences to meet at the office for departmental/division meetings or for administrative purposes when necessary. The office for this position is located at 201 W. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80202.

This position will regularly work either Sunday through Wednesday or Wednesday through Saturday.

What You’ll Do

The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE) is the City’s accredited public health agency, promoting healthy people, healthy pets, and a sustainable environment through education, engagement, and enforcement. The department is funded by the General Fund, Enterprise Funds, Special Revenue Funds, and a mix of state, federal, and private grants and donations. Services are delivered through the eight divisions listed below. To learn more about DDPHE and the divisions below, visit www.Denvergov.org/dphe

We foster an inclusive culture by respecting the values, customs, and authenticity of everyone and by implementing equitable public health strategies so Denver communities can thrive.

The Clinical Homeless Outreach Team (C-HOT) is a co-responder program that fosters a partnership between program clinicians (otherwise known as clinical navigators) and specialized officers from the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) through Denver Police Department (DPD). The goal of this collaboration is to divert individuals from unnecessary legal system involvement and/or hospitalization into a coordinated system of care. The program works in alignment with the Mayor’s Office and other city programs to address these 311 calls with a behavioral health focus providing assessments, crisis intervention, and de-escalation among populations with higher acuity and severity in health needs.

As the Licensed Clinical Navigator, you will provide intensive professional crisis intervention and management including assessments, crisis intervention and management, 27-65 evaluation and documentation, level of care determination, acute safety planning, referral and connection to appropriate resources alongside DPD HOT Officers. You will be working and collaborating with the Denver Police Department, and a multidisciplinary team from Denver Department of Public Health and Environment and other city agencies.

Specifically, as a Clinical Navigator (Licensed) you will:

• Perform outreach activities to unhoused individuals within the City and County of Denver that are affected by behavioral health issues or substance abuse along with DPD's HOT officers
• Engage individuals in trauma-responsive, person-focused crisis support and de-escalation, and collaborative problem solving to meet self-identified needs of community members.
• Provide on-scene behavioral health evaluations, crisis interventions, safety planning, and referrals to appropriate resources and services;
• Perform 27-65 evaluations and initiate emergency mental health holds for individuals meeting criteria for involuntary mental health treatment.
• Provide expert clinical judgement in the field to inform LE partner (and other first responders when applicable) and provide the most appropriate intervention at the time of contact.
• Complete accurate data collection, analysis, and reporting to ensure proper monitoring and application of the program.
• Facilitate the entire referral process for client including providing recommendation of best suited behavioral health services based on client need, transporting individuals to service, and conducting warm handoff to service provider.
• Maintain accurate and timely documentation and data standards in recording daily activities, client interactions, and outcomes for client engagements as it relates to set program systems and platforms.
• Provide follow-up based on clinical acuity when appropriate and necessary.
• Participate in team/department meetings, in-service trainings, clinical supervision and supervisory sessions as required.

This position may require operating outside, in potential inclement weather conditions including extreme heat or cold. This position also requires the operation of a city vehicle and could be required to lift equipment and samples weighing up to 30 lbs.

What You’ll Bring

We value diversity of ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, sexual identity, gender, religion, language, ability, and experience and exemplify this through the makeup of our team at all levels. You'll be right at home here if you cultivate strong relationships and push yourself, your work, the people around you and Denver to the next level.

Our ideal candidate has some or all the following experience, skills, and characteristics:

• Experience with crisis intervention, suicide risk assessments, safety planning and crisis de-escalation, trauma-responsive care, and level of care determination.
• Experience working with unhoused community members, individuals with problematic substance use, individuals diagnosed with a severe and/or persistent mental illness, or those experiencing an active crisis.
• Compassionate about working with the unhoused population with ability to build rapport quickly
• Experience working in or with the criminal justice system.
• Knowledge of the legal and ethical frameworks for area of licensure, as well as understanding of criteria for mental health care and treatment in Colorado statute (Title 27, Article 65, C.R.S.)
• Experience working in co-response or crisis settings
• Strong situational awareness and ability to de-escalate situations.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with superiors, internal and external agency leadership, coworkers and other first responder agencies (PD, EMS, Fire)
• Comprehensive knowledge base of crisis services and mental health/substance use related resources and criteria to access resources within the Denver metro area
• Possess a proactive mindset, capable of making informed decisions to drive program expansion and foster partnerships with community-based organizations
• Enjoyment from working outside of the typical office space

Required Minimum Qualifications

Education Requirement:
Master’s Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Marriage and Family Counseling, Counseling, or a closely related field.

Experience Requirement:
Two (2) years of experience in crisis intervention, suicide and risk assessment, verbal de-escalation, and differential diagnosis working with individuals experiencing severe and persistent mental illness, substance use, and other at-risk populations or two (2) years experience in a co-response related position.

Education and Experience Equivalency:
No substitution of experience for education is permitted.

License/Certification Requirement:
Possession of a Licensed Profession Counselor (LPC) or Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) under the provisions of the Colorado Revised Statutes for the State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor or Social Worker Examiners.

OR

Possession of a clinical license issued by the Colorado State Board of Marriage and Family Therapist Examiners such as Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). Equivalent licensure issued in another state may be accepted in lieu of this requirement, provided that the applicant obtains Colorado licensure prior to the start date.

Must obtain Basic life CPR and First Aid certification within the probationary period.

Must pass an initial pre-security clearance screening and maintain CBI (Colorado Bureau of Investigation) Security and Privacy certification as a condition of employment.

Requires a valid Driver's License at the time of application.
Licenses and certifications must be kept current as a condition of employment.

To be considered for this position, you must include the following on your job application (upload the attachment(s) to the Resume/CV section on the My Experience tab):

• Cover letter

Drug Screen Requirement

• Please note, this position requires a pre-employment drug screen.

Application Deadline

This position is expected to stay open until August 12. Please submit your application as soon as possible and no later than August 12 at 11:59 PM.

About Everything Else

Job Profile

CS3581 Behavioral Health Co-Responder Clinician Licensed

To view the full job profile including position specifications, physical demands, and probationary period, click here

Position Type

Limited (Fixed Term)

Position Salary Range

$35.21 - $54.57

Target Pay

Though the full range is posted, our expected hiring range is between $35.21 - $44.89.

Agency

Dept of Public Health & Environment

The City and County of Denver provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or any other status protected under federal, state, and/or local law.

It is your right to access oral or written language assistance, sign language interpretation, real-time captioning via CART, or disability-related accommodations. To request any of these services at no cost to you, please contact Jobs@Denvergov.org with three business days’ notice.

Applicants for employment with the City and County of Denver must have valid work authorization that does not require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S.

For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.