Job Description

Days Off: Saturday, Sunday

Shift: Day (9:00am - 5:30pm)

Insurance Benefits: Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage), Dental, Life, Long-term Disability

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan

About DESC:

Recognized nationally as an innovator and leader in developing solutions to homelessness, DESC is a social services organization, supportive housing operator, and licensed behavioral health treatment provider focused on meeting the needs of people experiencing long-term homelessness and living with complex behavioral health and other medical conditions. Approximately 3,000 people are actively receiving services from DESC at any given point in time. Our vision is a community where all people are shown compassion, treated with dignity, and everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

DESC operates five shelter/emergency housing programs, 19 permanent supportive housing facilities with over 1,750 units, several hundred additional scattered site apartments, and a range of behavioral health services including outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment, residential crisis stabilization, street outreach, mobile crisis response, and treatment for opioid use disorder.

About Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Team (MRRCT):

The Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Team (MRRCT or “Meerkat”) at DESC, is a county funded program responsible for addressing the imminent and emergent needs of community members in crisis, in the central region of King County primarily covering the entirety of Seattle. The DESC team has been providing mobile crisis response services to the community for well over a decade.

As a nonprofit with over 45 years of experience focused on serving our community’s adults living with long histories of homelessness, behavioral health, and other disabling conditions, DESC is uniquely positioned to connect people in crisis to the important support and survival services they may need to overcome and prevent future occurrences of crisis, behavioral health distress, or other instabilities in our community.

The MRRCT Day Shift Project Manager is responsible for overseeing a highly motivated and effective crisis response outreach team, representing the roles of Clinical Supervisors, Mental Health Professional Outreach Specialists, Certified Peer Outreach Specialists, and Behavioral Health Outreach Specialists. This team will respond to the crisis needs of community members throughout the central region of King County, as dispatched by Crisis Connections/988, and will provide follow up care or recommendations as deemed clinically appropriate.

The Day Shift MRRCT Project Manager will be responsible for overseeing their team’s collaborative and engaging connections with law enforcement, fire/medics, designated community responders, emergency room staff, and crisis connections dispatch team, as well as other community partners and referents.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Program Operations

• Under the supervision of the MRRCT Sr. Program Manager, oversee the day shift and flex shift operations of the program in continuity with swing and night shift programming.
• Understand expectations and implement shift work of MRRCT as described in King County’s Provider Manual.
• Manage and provide oversight of the 24/7 scheduling for MRRCT services.
• Oversee hiring functions to ensure full staffing across all shifts and position types.
• Ability to work flexible hours as required by program and staffing needs including evenings, weekends, or holidays. This includes sharing on-call duties and covering shifts as necessary.
• Assure continuity of services with other DESC programming as necessary.
• Participate in verbal de-escalation and supportive restraints in emergent situations and be able and willing to assist other staff as needed to maintain a safe, secure environment.
• Monitor for good working conditions all vehicles in MRRCT fleet, in collaboration with DESC’s Fleet Manager, and ensure vehicle and driver safety policies and procedures are followed by all team members. Report and respond to issues promptly.

Compliance

• Ensure that MRRCT operates in compliance with contract, licensing and relevant regulatory requirements.
• In conjunction with DESC's Data Systems Administrator, coordinate data collection and reporting to King County.
• Oversee quality assurance of clinical documentation so staff maintain current and complete clinical records, and that documentation complies with the agency’s clinical accountability policies and procedures and contract requirements.
• Participate in quality assurance reviews when assigned.
• ?Maintain strong knowledge of all DESC policies and procedures. Assure compliance with same.

Supervision & Clinical Oversight

• Provide routine administrative and clinical supervision of three (3) Clinical Shift Supervisors, (Day Shift Peer Supervisor, Day Shift MHP Supervisor, Day Shift Flex/Follow Up Care Supervisor), including performance evaluations on a regular and scheduled basis and maintain supporting documentation in confidential supervision and personnel files.
• Train MRRCT staff in relevant skills and procedures that meet agency and various contract requirements.
• Provide specific crisis intervention and other relevant training.
• As a member of a multi-disciplinary team, provide multi-axial assessments, substance use disorder (SUD) assessments, crisis intervention, stabilization and meaningful engagement to adults referred to MRRCT in the field as necessary.
• Assure implementation of program development in congruence with principles of recovery-based services and mentor staff on conducting work within a Recovery framework.
• Participate in psychiatric consultation, supervision, program meetings and in-service trainings; participate in clinical reviews and case conferences for clients as necessary.
• ?Maintain strong knowledge of the collective bargaining agreement between management and union represented staff. Assure compliance with same.
• Provide clinical consultation as needed for the evaluation of the psychiatric, substance use, and housing needs of clients, and advocating for clients to access the most effective disposition available in the community.

Community Engagement & Agency Representation

• Act as point person for coordination and problem solving with partnering organizations including law enforcement, criminal legal system, healthcare facilities including emergency rooms, psychiatric inpatient units, behavioral health agencies, neighborhoods and surrounding businesses, and other human service organizations.
• Participate in routine meetings and check ins with community partners, funders, and others as required.
• Develop expertise and strong working collaborative relationships with all referral sources, as well as with “back door” providers of mental health treatment, substance use treatment, housing services, shelter services, state and federal benefits programs.
• Share on-call administrative and supervisory duties with the Mobile Response Division in emergent situations.

Other

• When available and on-site at DESC locations, assist program staff as necessary.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Eligible for a Licensed AAC credential or any other superseding credential that meets RCW 71.05.020 requirements to act as a Mental Health Professional whose scope of practice includes independently conducting mental health assessments and making mental health diagnoses.
• Two or more years' experience in community based behavioral health services.
• Experience working with adults experiencing homelessness, mental illness and/or substance use disorders.
• Ability to drive an agency or personal vehicle to conduct agency related business. A current Washington State driver's license and insurable driving record are required.
• Be able to pass a Washington State Criminal background check.
• Familiarity with Recovery Principles, Crisis Intervention and Stabilization, Integrated Treatment of Co-occurring Disorders, Intensive Case Management, Illness Management, and relevant Evidenced based/Emerging best practices.
• Knowledge of Harm Reduction strategies.
• Strong working knowledge of DSM 5.
• Be able to assess situations quickly and respond appropriately and calmly to any type of mental health and/or substance use disorder crisis to ensure the physical and psychological safety of clients.
• Be willing to seek to understand each client's unique circumstances and personal preferences and goals and incorporate them into the crisis response to help the client regain a sense of control.
• Assist clients in accessing internal resources to reinforce the client's ability to resolve crisis on their own.
• Assist clients in identifying unmet needs that may be causing them to have recurrent crisis.
• Have a strong understanding of recovery and resilience, the value of client partnerships and client choice, and the balance between protection from harm and personal dignity
• Possess strong communication and writing skills.
• Ability to work flexible hours as required by program and staffing needs including evenings, weekends, and/or holidays.
• Able and willing to provide community outreach anywhere in King County from which a referral may originate, at times with no first responders present.
• Ability to communicate with and supervise staff from diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of unpleasant and/or bizarre behaviors.
• Subscribe to the philosophy of cooperation and continuity across programs and of consideration and respect for clients.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• One or more years' supervisory experience.
• Licensed Social Worker (LICSW), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, or Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in State of Washington.
• Qualified to provide Department of Health Approved Supervision to LICSW, LMFT and/or LMHC candidates.
• Bilingual in Spanish/English.
• Crisis Outreach and/or Crisis Intervention experience.
• Bi-cultural background/experience and/or qualify as an Ethnic Minority, DD, or Geriatric Mental Health Specialist (per WAC 388-865-0150 definition).
• Strong applicants are able to demonstrate the ability to be positive in their empathetic responses to all persons; understand the value of meaningful and deep client engagement; have the potential to acquire the necessary knowledge, attitudes and skills of an effective crisis worker; and value a non-judgmental response to sensitive issues. Candidates should be able to accept feedback and work in a highly collaborative and potentially stressful environment.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required to sit, drive, walk, stand, communicate with other employees and vendors, is required to lift and carry items weighing up to 10 pounds and to operate computer hardware systems. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. Considerable stress may occur. Employees will be working both indoors and outdoors in all types of weather.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

DESC is committed to diversity in the workplace, and promotes equal employment opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, caste, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability in any employment practice, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. Minorities and veterans are encouraged to apply.