Family Support Specialist - Act Team

The Family Specialist functions as a member of a mobile, multi-disciplinary mental health treatment team serving individuals with severe mental illness in their homes and communities in Jefferson and Lewis Counties. The team provides a full range of clinical treatment, psychosocial rehabilitation, and community support services designed to promote recovery by improving psychiatric symptoms, preventing relapse, teaching skills, providing direct assistance and securing community resources necessary for successful functioning in work, school, home and social relationships.

Under the general direction of the Director and their designee, in accordance with the objectives, policies and procedures of the ACT Team department and established professional standards, provide clinical treatment, psychosocial rehabilitation, and community support services designed to promote recovery by improving psychiatric symptoms, preventing relapse, teaching skills, providing direct assistance and securing community resources necessary for successful functioning in work, school, home and social relationships. Effectively interacts with patients, families and healthcare members while maintaining standards of professionalism.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provides therapy to those with chronic, persistent mental illness in the community on an outreach basis.
• Participates in an on-call rotation, team must provide continuous coverage 24 hours a day, every day, including weekends and holidays.
• Medication Support: Administer/monitor medication response, side effects. Deliver medications/educated consumers about medication. May have access to patient medications to assist in their filling of medication bar.
• Teach empowerment/self-help. Encourage and assist consumers to participate in self-advocacy.
• Provide health education, sex education, and counseling. Schedule routine and acute medical and dental care appointments. Accompany clients to appointments if necessary.
• Assists clients in finding competitive work opportunities and in finding affordable housing.
• Teaches problem solving, coping and relationship skills to clients and their natural supports.
• Educates clients and their natural supports about mental illness.
• Teaches client to identify relapse triggers and develop a relapse plan.
• Service Planning: Develop with clients a comprehensive, individualized service plan that is goal oriented. Identify strengths and weaknesses, needs and goals. Identify risk factors regarding harm to self and/or others.
• Provide crisis counseling when necessary, including weekends and holidays.
• Lead responsibility for integrating family goals and services with the tasks of all team members and for providing family psycho-education groups.
• Identifies and assesses client’s support systems, available community resources, and other factors to plan, develop, and implement an appropriate natural support/family plan.
• Provide support and psycho-education to family members, friends and collateral individuals.
• Assist natural supports/family with building their support team to develop the goals and actions steps to address needs.
• Assume lead responsibility within the multi-disciplinary team for integrating family goals and services with the tasks of all team members and for providing family psycho-education individually and in groups.
• Conduct home visits, interview families and natural supports to assess their needs, plan and develop individualized goals and a plan to achieve them.
• Prepare and process routine correspondence and process incoming and outgoing mail daily; fax information for social worker and others as assigned.
• Schedule patient appointments to meet the needs of customers; request and obtain past medical records for patients upon admission.
• Assist with discharge planning by making appointments with other agencies and Out-Treatment.
• Complete Release of Information by obtaining data from discharge releases and other agencies.
• Maintain case management list and unit calendar of appointments.
• Complete reports, prepare information packets and discharge packets, complete special ordering through purchasing as needed; complete OH and COBRA transfer forms as needed.
• Maintains a high level of confidentiality of all information managed.
• Working as a Member of a Team: Establish and maintain a positive working relationship with co-workers emphasizing the following: Doing your share of work, leave work area clean and/or neat, shows a level of tolerance and flexibility towards others, gives and/or receives positive and constructive feedback, carries out team decisions consistently.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Management has the right to add or change the duties of this position at any time.

Bachelor’s degree in social work, human services, counseling or related field. A minimum of two years of professional experience with mental health services. Previous Experience working with families not required.