Agency Description
Instituto Familiar de la Raza, Inc. is a multi-service community health and social service agency with an emphasis on serving the Chicano/Latino/Indígena community in San Francisco with a special focus on the diverse needs of the Mission District. Services include a wide range of mental health, HIV-related services, and social services, including health promotion, education, prevention, early intervention, case management, and psychological and psychiatric interventions as well as cultural/social and spiritual re-enforcement. The agency serves children, youth, adults and families. It has a rich history of working collaboratively with other agencies to meet the needs of the Chicano/Latino/Indígena community and other cultural/racial communities in San Francisco.
Job/Program Description
The La Cultura Cura (LCC) program offers a continuum of services and opportunities to youth and their families with a particular emphasis on youth needing mental and emotional support and individuals that have had contact with/or are at high risk of being involved with legal and criminal justice systems. La Cultura Cura offers case management, mental health and group services in different community settings and youth participants have access to culturally oriented structured enrichment programs. This position requires someone who can demonstrate cultural competency in addressing the diversity of the community we serve, including gender, race, language, sexual orientation and socio-economic status.
The TAY/TRHS (Transitional Age & Trauma Recovery Healing Services) Mental Health Specialist, under the direction of the LCC Director and LCC Clinical Supervisor, is responsible for providing specialty mental health services to TAY ages 16-24. The TAY/TRHS Mental Health Specialist is responsible for completing assessments and treatment planning, and for providing timely response to incidents of community violence that impact youth in San Francisco, this includes emergency debriefing to clients, family and community members impacted by the incident.
The Mental Health Specialist will also be responsible for supporting youth and families through the development and implementation of Psycho-education & Cultural Affirmation groups focused on supporting TAY impacted by trauma to develop a better understanding of trauma, to support them in strengthening their understanding of healing practices, and to increase their social engagement/connection, utilizing multiple clinical and culturally relevant traditional and indigenous interventions.
Essential Job Duties are, but are not limited to the following:
Individual Services
- Responsible for providing specialty mental health services to a caseload of 8-10 TAY/TRHS Clients at a time, and at least 16 Clients per year
- Responsible for completing Intake, Initial Assessment (CANS/ANSA) and Treatment Plan of Care (TPOC) within 45 days of episode opening in order to identify needs, risks, strengths and interventions to support youth engaged in LCC Mental Health Services
- Will schedule at least one weekly appointment with each individual participant to review Treatment Plan Goals and implement interventions throughout the Client’s engagement with programming
- Offers behavioral health and co-occurring substance abuse services to adults, adolescents, TAY and their families within a multidisciplinary team
- Provides individual trauma recovery and family crisis intervention to program participants
- Will complete ongoing re-assessments/treatment care planning (6 months- One year-18 months) and yearly intake forms for each client on the caseload
- Maintains hard and electronic documentation, including medical health records, service track logs, and client records for system statistical data processes and meets standards of Quality Assurance and HIPAA compliance
- Complete monthly reports to Program Manager and to funding sources when needed
- Provides community-level engagement, case management, advocacy, and intensive care coordination with staff and community agencies to ensure a continuum of care
Psycho-Education/ Cultural Affirmation Groups/Community Response
- Develops & Implements curriculum for psycho-education/cultural affirmation group focused on supporting TAY impacted by trauma to develop a better understanding of trauma, to support them in strengthening their understanding of healing practices, and to increase their social engagement/connection, utilizing multiple clinical and culturally relevant traditional & indigenous interventions
- Will support efforts to engage LCC and TAY participants in healthy peer socialization activities during the Summer
- Will provide support to Clients, TAY and Community Members impacted by incidents of community violence. This includes emergency counseling and triaging to community mental and emotional health supports
- MHS may provide crisis debriefing and grief & bereavement counseling to staff who have been affected by street and/or community violence in order to support staff with addressing the vicarious impacts of trauma in their work
Capacity Building/Consultation/Other
- MHS will provide mental health consultation to staff and community partners providing criminal justice and violence intervention services, with emphasis on those serving the Mission and Excelsior Districts—this includes One-time or ongoing efforts to increase the capacity of outreach and case management staff to respond appropriately to trauma-related conditions among youth and parents
- Participates in agency meetings, IFR’s sponsored cultural events, and attends all individual and clinical group supervision
- Collaborates closely and maintains relationships with SF Juvenile Probation Department, SFUSD, and Violence Prevention social service partners
- Perform other duties as assigned
Required Skills
- Bilingual in English/Spanish
- Experience and capacity to provide Crisis counseling and trauma-informed services with adolescents, TAY, and families
- Familiarity working within health care environments and systems (child protection agency and foster care agencies)
- Experience in Non-Profit community agencies
- Ability to work a flexible schedule at multiple locations, possible evening and weekend hours
- Bicultural competency
Education, Certification and Licenses
- Master’s degree in Counseling, Psychology and/or Social Work, or other related fields
- Must be CA Licensed or license-eligible associate (registered with the Board of Behavioral Sciences or Board of Psychology)
- Must pass and maintain annual Tuberculosis Test
- Must pass Department of Justice Fingerprint screening
- Complete annual recurrent online training
Compensation and Benefits²
Wages for this position are based on an annual rate and are determined depending on experience. Salary Range: MHS I:$72,500-$81,500 and MHS II: $78,000-$88,000
This position is an exempt position that is entitled to health benefits, dental coverage, and access to a vision plan, paid vacation, sick leave, paid holidays, and ongoing opportunities for learning.
The incumbent will be hired as either a Mental Health Clinician I or Mental Health Clinician II based on licensure and/or experience.
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of that which an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations can be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions
- Working with children and youth involves extensive physical activity, mental alertness and enthusiasm
- Good general health, physical stamina and emotional stability are essential
- Ability to hear within normal range and communicate effectively in person or via telephone in a manner that can be understood by those with whom the person is speaking, including a diverse population
- Requires physical ability to sit at the keyboard for long periods of time and manual dexterity to operate word processing equipment with skill, speed and accuracy
- Ability to move quickly to address emergency or potentially dangerous situations
- Ability to move about the building and the organization as needed
- Ability to use public and/or private modes of transportation; duties are office based, but travel to various offsite venues is required
- Must be able to work outdoors in various types of weather conditions
- On occasion, must lift up to 35 LBS
Please submit your resume and a thoughtful cover letter explaining why you feel you would be a good fit and elaborate on your positional experience working in community-based organizations. Please title your email as MHS-La Cultura Cura. Please note resumes without a cover letter will not be considered.
Human Resources Department
Instituto Familiar de la Raza, Inc.
cc Program Director Michelle Alvarez Campos
IFR is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.
² Please note that IFR reserves the right to change its benefits and contributions at any time at its sole discretion.
