Bilingual Clinician Ii

Ascentria Care Alliance employees and volunteers take pride in the impact they have on the people they serve. It’s more than just a job, it’s an opportunity our employees have to care for and share in the lives of people who greatly need and appreciate their presence. Ascentria Care Alliance focuses on every child, elder, disabled person, refugee, endangered teen or teenage mom in order to build stronger communities one person at a time. This is an excellent opportunity to enhance the operations of a $75m non-profit social services organization with programs throughout New England.   

Summary:

Ascentria’s Division of Children Services (DCS) program and Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) program provide long-term foster care and case management support to unaccompanied youth in the United States.  These youth are granted protection through refugee status, special immigrant juvenile status, asylum or trafficking visas.   The Bilingual Clinician provides culturally sensitive mental health assessments, ongoing individual and group counseling, screening for human trafficking concerns, and crisis interventions to migrant and refugee youth from around the world.  The Bilingual Clinician actively participates in the life of the program and serves the mental health needs of youth through creative means and in a variety of settings.

Essential Responsibilities:

Clinical

• Provides ongoing direct therapeutic services to unaccompanied children and refugee youth, including individual sessions, group sessions, and family support as needed.
• Conducts thorough intake and assessment of new clients, develops appropriate treatment plans, and refers/discharges clients as appropriate.
• Flexibility to provide services in office setting, in foster homes, virtually, and in community.
• Completes clinical assessments, treatment plans, ongoing progress notes, and other assigned record keeping tasks for adolescents on caseload.
• Provides regular oversight and guidance to clinical program staff on counseling methods, treatment planning, clinical interventions, diagnostic assessments and screenings.
• Ensures all tools, assessments, trainings, and implementations utilized with youth are appropriate for language, culture, religion, age, and identity.
• Designs and implements culturally competent curriculum to train and educate youth clients.
• Ensures clinical team is meeting ORR guided policies for treatment of unaccompanied children.
• Participate in staff meetings with stakeholders and offer clinical feedback regarding client progress and treatment needs.
• Attends outside workshops and agency trainings as part of professional development activities.
• Coordinates with other service providers in the community, makes referrals, and builds clinical network for the benefit of clients and families.
• Ability to follow HIPAA guidelines as well as mental health federal & state regulations.

Supervisory/Administrative

• Provides support and clinical supervision to therapeutic program staff including clinicians, therapeutic support workers, and clinical interns with service delivery, documentation, and client related issues.
• Assists in developing and facilitating ongoing education and support services of program staff and foster parents.
• Ensures all services, reporting, and documentation is completed to meet contractual standards and follows ORR and State licensing policies.
• Assists in managing the implementation and ongoing compliance with ORR’s Interim Final Rule standards on preventing, detecting, and responding to sexual abuse and harassment.
• Participates in client, staff, and program evaluation and sets goals for improvement.
• Communicate effectively both orally and written in both English and Spanish language to a broad variety of people, including staff, supervisors, foster families, and community partners.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications, Skills, and Knowledge

• Master’s Degree in Social Work, Psychology, or Counseling or other relevant behavioral science discipline in which clinical experience is required.  
• Two (2) years of postgraduate direct service delivery experience and skills assessing and treating adolescents is strongly preferred.
• Licensure to provide clinical services in Massachusetts or eligible to obtain professional licensure is required.
• Licensure: Minimum of LICSW or LMHC required.
• Bilingual in Spanish and English with the ability to read, write, and communicate verbally in both languages is required.
• Supervisory experience in direct service delivery with the ability to effectively delegate tasks and responsibilities, strongly preferred.
• Prior experience working with immigrant and/or refugee populations, strongly preferred.
• Valid Driver’s License, proof of automobile insurance, and positive driving record to transport minors in own vehicle if needed.
• Computer skills, including word, email competence, and excel and ability to utilize government and state data tracking software systems.
• Knowledge of treatment modalities and counseling methods, and ability to adapt services to multicultural clients.
• Knowledge of and adherence to federal, state, program and agency regulations.
• Ability to work in a multicultural/diverse work environment while exercising tact, discretion, and judgement.
• Ability to work effectively in an environment serving clients who are struggling with severe emotional and mental health related disorders.
• Ability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries while working with others and in handling confidential information.
• Ability to work independently and seek out supervision as needed or required.
• Visual acuity allowing for analysis of written data.
• Ability to conduct self in a manner that is respectful to others and cognizant of cultural differences.

Trainings Required:

• Ascentria Organizational Orientation
• Office of Refugee Resettlement/DCS Policies and Procedures Overview
• Cultural Competency (immigrant and refugee youth)
• Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Harassment

Physical/Mental Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable an individual with disabilities to perform the essential duties of the position. 

Physical Demands of this position are generally:

SEDENTARY

• Involves sitting most of the time, but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time
• Requires use of hands and fingers to handle files/papers/records and type
• Requires close visual acuity allowing for analysis of written data, viewing a computer screen and extensive reading
• Requires stooping and reaching to files in file cabinets
• Requires driving own vehicle to various sites
• May require occasional and/or a negligible amount of exertion up to 20 lbs to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects

Mental Demands are generally:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to problem solve, make decisions, interpret data and organize. 

• Ability to do detailed work with high degree of concentration
• Ability to communicate professionally and effectively to various levels of staff, clients and community members
• Ability to work under stress or in a fast-paced environment 
• Ability to maintain composure and deescalate others during crises