Counselor Behavioral Health Licensed

• Provide behavioral health support services, technical behavioral health assistance, and staff development in all aspects of mental health and social emotional learning for the ADSSA DePaul Wesley Children’s Centers. Reports to the Director of Education. The target population is families with children registered at the DePaul-Wesley Children’s Centers and staff. Deliver behavioral health services to include: Individual behavior therapy, parent-child therapy, parenting education, classroom interventions, teacher training, professional consultation, and collaboration with community partners. Provide mentoring and high-quality modeling for mental health concerns, challenging behaviors, social emotional learning, and prevention practices to support DePaul Wesley children, families, and staff.

Responsibilities:

• Leads assigned staff in performing social emotional assessments, activities or tasks in behavioral health services that are associated with the DePaul Wesley Children’s Centers. 
• Oversees and evaluates orientation and training of assigned associates. May provide input in the review and evaluation of staff performance.
• Supervised, supports, assigns, monitors, and reviews progress of work for assigned clinicians at DePaul Wesley Children’s Centers.
• Monitors and reports compliance with policies and/or procedures.
• Initiates and conducts educational programs related to children’s mental health and their social-emotional development for staff as needed. Markets and provides community education on therapeutic services. Develops and maintains good working relationships with outside community health and social agencies and reaches out to the community to develop new resources for meeting patient needs. Conducts training programs with outside organizations regarding health and wellness.
• Responsible for understanding the Ascension DePaul Services and Head Start program philosophy and goals to provide quality Mental Health services to children and families.
• Responsible for understanding aspects of the Head Start program standards, TDPRS Minimum Standards, content area plan, Standard of Conduct, policies, and procedures.
• Provides input regarding Department Policies and Procedures.
• Prepares reports for Policy Council and Board of Directors’ Meeting.
• Organizes and coordinates efforts to identify behavioral and/or mental health concerns through assessment outcomes, observations, interventions, and counseling services.
• Coordinates planning, makes recommendations, and facilitates decision-making concerning individual Behavior Support Plans especially regarding the classroom/home situation. Interacts with private pay home health pediatric providers regarding mental health/disability referrals/claims and provides insurance information with parental consent as needed.
• Ensures that all classrooms have a healthy, safe, and conducive learning environment by making periodic visits with collaboration of the Site Manager and Director.
• Keeps abreast of Early Childhood Development and Mental Health trends and interpret to center staff and other programs.
• Supports and provides technical assistance to the staff who have direct responsibilities for children identified as needing Mental Health Services.
• Utilizes the library of Mental Health resources such as publications and/or videos for training and circulation purposes.
• Establishes and maintains positive linkage with LEAs, Site Manager, Director, and other agencies on all services delivered to children, and their families, who have been identified as having emotional/behavioral problems. Will utilize community Mental Health resources as needed.
• Attends Parent Committee meetings as scheduled, to provide guidance, support, and technical assistance (if applicable).
• Prepares and submit all necessary weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual reports in a timely and correct manner. Will coordinate all Mental Health Inter/Intra Agency Referrals through the Site Manager and Director.
• Ensures that parental consent for Mental Health Services to children is obtained.
• Maintains current data on all assigned Mental Health children.
• Coordinates parent conferences to share staff observations, and information of concerns regarding the child’s Mental Health in order to develop/implement a plan of action.
• Works closely with parents to discuss and identify appropriate responses to their child’s behaviors to develop alternative approaches and techniques.
• Develops strategies and plans for Teacher’s use.
• Conducts training or provides education on Mental Health issues for staff and parents to provide an understanding of Mental Health and to promote Mental Wellness.
• Assists with the Agency’s Trauma Informed Program.
• Reporting Child Abuse – Responsible to report child abuse and neglect or suspected child abuse and neglect in accordance with the policy set forth in the Ascension DePaul Services Employee Handbook, Head Start Performance Standards and applicable state laws regarding child abuse.
• Confidentiality of Information – Responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of information pertaining to children, families, and staff as outlined in the Head Start Performance Standards and Ascension DePaul Services Employee Handbook.
• Code of Conduct – Responsible to abide by all standards of conduct as outlined in the Head Start Performance Standards and Ascension DePaul Services Employee Handbook.
• Ability to work with individuals with special needs, different ethnic or cultural backgrounds or language.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Complexity of Work:

• Within the scope of the job, it requires critical thinking skills, decisive judgment and the ability to work with minimal supervision. Must be able to work in a stressful environment. 

Initiative:

• Demonstrate initiative, persistence, and a high level of energy and enthusiasm for assigned responsibilities. 
• Demonstrate the use of sound judgment and ingenuity in problem solving to meet the needs of ADSSA and clients served.
• Participate and engage in learning experiences that enhance job knowledge and skills, and that build capacity in the program area.
• Remain current with program standards and regulations; research and appropriately apply current theories and methodologies. 
• Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability to new situations and assignments. 
• Set challenging goals and reach a high standard of performance despite any barriers encountered. 
• Work under minimal supervision.

Communication/Human Relations:

• Communicate effectively and interact professionally. 
• Build professional relationships with colleagues and clients, maintaining regular and continuing interaction, in meeting shared outcomes. 
• Demonstrate self-confidence, professionalism, and a high level of customer service skills (e.g., courtesy, patience, diplomacy, etc.) at all times and, in particular, when under stressful or unprecedented situations while working with colleagues and clients. 
• Demonstrate professional-level written and oral communication skills. 
• Work collaboratively in a team setting. 
• Promote and support organizational change. 
• Keep supervisors informed. 
• Maintain confidentiality and security of program materials and information. 
• Foster communication and collaboration between program staff, Center staff and client groups. 
• Provide professional and reflective coaching feedback to behavioral health staff based on observations.

Personal Protective Equipment:

• Follow Standard Precautions using personal protective equipment as required.

Minimum Qualifications Licensure / Certification / Registration / Education:

• Master's degree from an accredited university required; major in counseling or a related field required. 
• One of the following certifications is required: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC or LPC-Associate)
• Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) or Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). 
• Registered Play Therapist (RPT) 
• Three years or more years of experience working directly with young children, families, and other involved adults. 
• Fluent bilingual (English and Spanish), required. 
• Understanding of early childhood typical and atypical behavior and life span development through adulthood. 
• Knowledge and understanding of trauma informed care and approaches. 
• Experience in working in a leadership or mentoring role, preferred. 
• Ability to work well with others and to manage diverse perspectives. 
• Ability to independently develop and conduct professional development training for the areas of mental health and social emotional learning. 
• Strong observational and communication skills. 
• Ability to problem-solve, recommend, and model practices that improve emotional support for children and adults. Demonstrate effective job-related skills that model effective integration of technology and assessments. 
• Proficiency with standard functions within electronic applications such as MS Office (e.g., word processing, electronic spreadsheets) and e-mail. 
• Proficiency with computers (PCs and/or MACs) to include desktop management, file management and operations, and working in a network environment. 
• Exceptions to these requirements are considered based on exemplary skills, training, and record of success.

 Competencies:

• Customer Focus, Ensures Accountability, Communicates Effectively, Values Differences, Demonstrates Self Awareness, Instills Trust

Vision:

• Answering God's call to bring health, healing, and hope to all.

Benefits:

• Health, Vision, Dental
• Company Matching 403(b)
• PTO
• Short Term and Long Term Benefits
• Life Insurance
• Care Management Program
• Employee Assistance Program
• Virtual Spiritual Care