Job Description

SEE (Supportive Employment and Education) Specialist / Case Manager – PACT

Shift: Office Day

Days Off: Friday, Saturday

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

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

Union Representation: This position is a part of a union and is represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.

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.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) is a nationally recognized practice that works with people with serious and persistent mental illness, assisting them in their journey towards recovery. The PACT model is distinguished by its intensive outreach and team-oriented, trans-disciplinary approach. In the PACT model, the entire team is responsible for every participant. PACT teams have daily team meetings in which they review the status of each person they serve and make a daily schedule of services to be provided aligned with each participant’s current wants and needs.

DESC’s PACT team consists of a psychiatrist, nurses, mental health professionals, substance use disorder specialist, vocational specialist, and peer specialist all working together to help PACT participants reach their goals. Staff provide most services off-site, in the community where the help is needed. There is no time limit or mandatory cut-off point for services, but some participants do “graduate” to less intensive services, which is the goal.

JOB DEFINITION:

The SEE (Supportive Employment & Education) Specialist/Case Manager supports PACT enrolled clients in developing the skills necessary to succeed in achieving their educational and vocational goals. This includes providing assessments to determine where support can be most meaningful, supporting clients in researching and preparing for educational or vocational goals, providing direct support to employers and academic institutions hiring or admitting PACT enrolled clients, networking with employers and academic institutions in the Seattle area, and providing case management services necessary to obtain these goals. In addition, the SEE/Case Manager will provide case management services not related to vocational/educational goals on an as needed basis. The PACT model encourages SEE specialists to spend approximately 80% of their time on direct vocational and educational support and less than 20% of their time on general case management tasks not related to SEE services.

MAJOR JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide ongoing assessment of participants’ mental illness symptoms and make appropriate changes in treatment plans as soon as they are needed. Provide psychoeducation to enable participants to identify their mental illness symptoms and integrate co-occurring services as appropriate.
• Promote participants’ personal growth and development by assisting participants to adapt to and cope with internal and external stressors.
• Provide individualized assessments, counseling, supportive therapy, coaching and/or side-by-side support to clients to assist their development in the areas of activities of daily living, social & interpersonal relationships, general time management and basic academic and employment skills.
• Plan, structure & support community-based activities such as obtaining and setting up housing, grocery shopping, nutrition assistance, house cleaning and other household activities, money management, social activities and vocational support.
• Coordinate with outside service providers including inpatient and outpatient treatment services, social security, veterans benefits, legal and advocacy services and personal primary care medical and dental providers.
• Provide practical help and supports, advocacy, coordination, side-by-side individualized support, problem-solving, direct assistance, training, and supervision to help participants obtain the necessities of daily living including medical and dental health care; legal and advocacy services; financial support such as entitlements or housing subsidies; money management services (e.g. payeeships); and transportation.

SPECIALTY AREA:

• Provide consultation and education to team and participants on vocational and rehabilitation support services. Act as a resource by maintaining and distributing information on vocational services that are currently available in the community.
• Coordinate with state and local vocational rehabilitation and other employment services.
• Provide individual and group educational/vocational-supportive counseling to enable participants to identify educational/vocational strengths, establish goals, and recognize and target symptoms of mental illness/substance abuse that interfere with work.
• Plan and provide work-related supportive services, such as assistance with grooming and personal hygiene, securing of appropriate clothing, wake-up calls, and transportation.
• As participants become ready for competitive employment, develop competitive wage positions with select employers. Teach job-seeking skills. Develop individualized jobs based on participants’ needs, abilities, and interests. Perform job coaching, problem solving, and support on and off the job site.
• Conduct on-the-job performance assessments and evaluations, regular work review sessions with participants and their employers, and crisis-assistance contacts.
• Network and build relationships with potential employers and academic institutions to promote awareness of supportive employment services available through DESC’s PACT.
• Maintain database of employers and academic institutions willing to hire/enroll PACT clients.

OTHER:

• Participate in daily team meetings, psychiatric consultations, clinical supervision, program meetings and in-service trainings; participate in clinical reviews and case conferences.
• Comply with the agency's clinical accountability policies and procedures; maintain current, timely and complete clinical records; participate in quality assurance reviews when assigned.
• Comply with applicable program research and evaluation procedures.
• Maintain all client information in accordance with HIPAA.
• Other duties as assigned.

LIVING CONDITIONS:

Support 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:

• Ability to meet Washington Department of Health requirements for registration as a Registered Agency Affiliated Counselor (AAC) or any other superseding credential.
• 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 drive an agency or personal vehicle to conduct agency-related business. A current Washington State driver's license and insurable driving record are required.
• Interest in working with clients who are difficult to engage and maintain in traditional mental health/substance use disorder programs.
• Interest or experience providing vocational consultation and services to participants challenged by co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
• Good oral and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate and work effectively with participants and staff from various backgrounds.
• Must have a strong commitment to the right and ability of each person with a severe and persistent mental illness to live in normal community residences; work in market jobs; and have access to helpful, adequate, competent, and continuous supports and services.
• Able to prioritize multiple responsibilities, work independently, and exercise professional judgment.
• Basic computer skills: email, data entry, file creation, correspondence.
• Skills and competence to establish supportive trusting relationships with persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses. Respect for participant rights and personal preferences in treatment are essential. Clear understanding and respect for the importance of maintaining participant confidentiality.
• Subscribe to the philosophy of cooperation and continuity across DESC and other outside agency programs and of consideration and respect for participants. DESC expects a high degree of cooperation and collaboration among its staff, programs, and community agencies. The specific duties and responsibilities of each position require flexibility cooperation to achieve organizational and program goals.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience providing supportive employment or career counseling services.
• Bi-lingual English/Spanish.
• Supervisory experience.
• Experience working with the ACT/PACT Model.

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 for long periods of time, communicate with other persons by talking and hearing, required to lift and carry items weighing up to 25 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.

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.