Substance Use Specialist (ACT Team) at Goddard… · New York

Intro/Program Description: The Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team is a unique and nontraditional licensed outpatient psychiatric clinic for individuals who have demonstrated a high service need with multiple hospitalizations, emergency room visits and difficulty maintaining stability in the community. ACT is a nationally recognized model and an evidence-based practice. The ACT Team serves the entire borough of Manhattan including the Lower East Side, Midtown, Upper West Side, Harlem, East Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood.

Purpose of Position: The Substance Use Specialist is responsible for providing counseling, case management services and daily support regarding substance abuse and co-occurring issues. The Substance Use Specialist is an active member of the multidisciplinary ACT treatment team with a specialization in co-occurring disorders.

Schedule: Monday-Friday (9:00am - 5:00pm)

Salary Range: $56,000 - $65,000

Candidates must have the required qualifications to be considered for the position. The salary offer will be based on the candidate’s number of years experience in the exact or comparable position and additional preferred qualifications will be taken into account.

Role, Responsibilities, and Essential Duties

1) Substance Abuse Services

• Plan, lead and document activities for Co-Occurring Disorder (CoD) support group
• Research substance abuse services and serve as liaison to treatment programs
• Serve as a consultant to the ACT team on Substance Use services including harm reduction practices

2) Provide case management services

• Carry a caseload of ACT clients
• Perform client assessments and formulate treatment goals
• Facilitate client participation in entitlement programs, psychiatric services, medications management, rehabilitation and other activities
• Refer clients to community health services
• Accompany clients to appointments as needed
• Communicate regularly with clients’ families about their needs and progress
• Serve as liaison to other service providers
• Maintain up-to-date client case records according to program guidelines
• Visit clients in residential facilities, hospitals, on the street and in other locations
• Rotate on-call service after outside work hours

3) Participate as an ACT team member

• Attend staff meetings, case conferences, and training programs to upgrade skills and knowledge
• Attend supervision meetings to review client progress and case management strategies
• Work collaboratively with ACT team staff in a team case management model

4) Other duties as required

Qualifications/Educational Requirements

• Master’s Degree in Social Work or in a related field
• CASAC Preferred

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

• Experience working with individuals with serious mental illness and those with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders
• Experience conducting substance use assessment and identification of Substance Use Disorders (SUD), including tobacco, alcohol, and opioid use disorders
• Understanding of principles and practices of harm reduction model
• Training and/or experience in integrated mental health and substance use services
• Experience understanding various evidence-based models and theories pertaining to trauma-informed care, motivational interviewing, stage-wise approach to treatment of substance abuse and serious mental illness

Computer Skills Needed: To perform this job successfully, an individual should be:

• Able to work in the Microsoft Office Suite, should especially be proficient in Word and Outlook
• Able to use or learn to use AWARDS database
• Able to use or learn other electronic databases, programs, and funder-related software as needed such as CAIRS, NYCMED and NIMRS

Physical Requirements

• Walking; Climbing stairs occasionally

Work Environment

• Field & Office work
• Travel via public transportation

We are committed to building an inclusive workplace community grounded in respect for differences. We support hiring a broadly diverse team of qualified individuals who will contribute to our organizations.

Goddard Riverside and Isaacs Center provide equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of duties and responsibilities that will be required of this position and title and shall not be construed as a declaration of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be requested to perform job related task other than those specifically presented in this description. This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.