Job Title: Family Specialist

Job Summary:

The Nathaniel Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team is a multi-disciplinary, alternative-to-incarceration (ATI) program that provides evidence-based, mobile, community mental health treatment to promote the recovery and community integration of individuals age 18 and up with serious mental illnesses, high rates of co-occurring substance use disorders, high utilization of emergency/crisis services, and criminal legal involvement in Manhattan or Brooklyn courts. The Nathaniel ACT Team is a unique and pioneer program that focuses on providing intensive outpatient treatment to individuals with serious mental illnesses so that they can maintain stability in the community and successfully complete their ATI mandates. 

The Family Specialist delivers routine ACT treatment services and has lead responsibility for integrating family goals and services with the tasks of all team members and for providing family psychoeducation. The team provides its treatment services in the community locations throughout NYC where our consumers live. Providing 80% of treatment contacts in consumer homes, shelters, and other community locations, the Family Specialist supports consumers to achieve wellness, recovery and positive relationships in the community. We are looking for a clinician with extensive experience working with adults with serious mental illness who are justice-involved and experience in family assessment and intervention, psychoeducation and other family support services, including cognitive-behavioral strategies.

Salary: The salary for this role is $65,000 per year.

Shift Hours: This position is full-time Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.

Location Address: 151 Lawrence Street, 4th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Our office is easily accessible by public transportation.

Workplace Flexibility: Flexible - Staff have flexibility to complete their work day from home or another suitable space, typically after reporting to the office and/or engaging in field or community-based work.

What You Will Be Doing: 

Complete the family and trauma assessments, components of the ACT comprehensive assessment. Identify services consumers should receive in ACT based on assessment of history, current relationships and supports, and immediate needs and recommend treatment objectives for the consumer’s service plan.During the assessment obtains information: a) to establish the nature and degree risk of social relationships and associated harmful behaviors, and interventions required to promote progress towards recovery, and b) lead the ACT team in daily meetings and weekly clinical meetings around family issues and incorporate findings into service plans.Develop comprehensive service plans and 6-month service plan reviews in collaboration with the consumer and the consumer’s support system, incorporating principles of risk, need, and responsivity to help reduce participants’ risk for re-arrest. Involve family and significant others in the consumer’s treatment with the ACT team and provide psychoeducation. Identify the treatment services consumers should receive based on severity of substance use diagnosis, stage of change, immediate needs and recommend treatment objectives for the consumer’s treatment plan.Assess and provide services to consumers to address housing, income support, education and vocational training, social support, employment, and primary care needs. During the assessment obtains information: a) to establish the degree risk for high risk and harmful behaviors, and interventions required to promote progress towards recovery and community safety, and b) participate in daily organizational meetings based on the current knowledge of the consumer’s response to treatment. Provide individual mental health, relapse prevention, psychoeducation based on motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral strategies.Work effectively with community housing providers, education and vocational training providers, and self-help groups providing services to ACT consumers. Act as advocate and liaison for consumers in relationships with family, support systems, landlords and other community supports.Assess and provide support to consumer to address needs for problem-solving, wellness self-management, housing, income support, education and vocational training, social supports, employment, and primary care. Provide 24-hour crisis intervention on-call services on a rotating basis. Provide 80 percent of treatment contacts in the community. Provide culturally competent services in accordance with CASES policies and practice.

What We Are Looking For: 

MSW, MHC, LMSW, LCSW, or LMHC At least two years of experience working in human services with individuals with serious mental illness and those with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders and involvement in the criminal justice system. Demonstrated understanding of working with clients who have justice involvement. Has an understanding of working with the homeless population. Experience understanding various evidence-based models and theories pertaining to treatment of serious mental illness, and risk, need, responsivity to criminal behavior. Extensive knowledge of Assertive Community Treatment, community integrated treatment, support services, and resources. Highly organized and self-motivated. Proficient in utilizing an electronic health record such as Foothold AWARDS.

Preferred Skills:

Fluency in Spanish.

Employee Benefits:

CASES cares about employee wellbeing, and we offer a comprehensive benefits package to support you and your family, including:  

Medical Dental Vision Vacation and Paid Time Off – starting at 25 days-off annually, plus an additional summer self-care day12 Paid Holidays per yearRetirement 403b Competitive matching up to 6%Employee Referral ProgramVisit www.cases.org/careers/ to learn more about benefits offered by the CASES

Although we would love to learn about the skills of every candidate, only selected candidates that are selected will receive a response. We encourage you to apply for any position(s) you feel you are qualified for.  

CASES is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment with CASES is based solely on qualifications and competence for a particular position without regard to race, color, ethnic or national origin, age, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or marital, military, or citizenship status. We also actively recruit individuals with prior involvement in the criminal legal system.

This position is full-time Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
35 hours per week