Prep Care Coordinator

POSITION DESCRIPTION: The Care Coordinator (CC) resides within the Health, Outreach, Education, and Prevention (HOPE) department and is a part of the Connect 2 Care team. They will engage multiple systems of care to provide an integrated and coordinated approach with the goal of improving overall medical and behavioral health outcomes for people living with and those vulnerable to HIV. The CC is part of a team that consists of medical and non-medical care staff. They may be required to work non-traditional business hours to meet the demands of the program. The CC's primary role is to provide and support rapid linkage for newly diagnosed persons, out of care individuals, PrEP-eligible individuals, and to those who are chronically disengaged from medical care. Their function is to facilitate retention in HIV treatment and prevention. Comprehensively, they will be addressing the multiple barriers to accessing and staying retained in medical care.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• • Provide care coordination services to a caseload determined by the Linkage to Care Program Manager, including: completing an in-depth baseline psychosocial assessment aimed at identifying barriers to care, facilitating referrals to primary care, facilitating referrals to essential support services that the client may need to access or stay retained in care, assisting with scheduling and preparing for appointments, providing appointment reminders, providing clients with in-depth adherence counseling and emotional support to assist in overcoming their barriers to engagement in care, implementing ARTAS, accompanying clients to appointments and maintaining contact with clients until retention in care can be confirmed.

• Provide ongoing and professional communication with clients' treatment providers (e.g. Infectious Disease provider, social worker, medical case manager), including participation in case conferences.
• Ability to build relationships and networks with other CBO's and medical facilities.
• Be co-located at a partner CBO and/or medical center to facilitate outreach, client flow, interpersonal relationships with clients, and service provision with vulnerable populations.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation and reporting on clients and retention-in-care activities in program database and records.
• Utilize harm reduction, trauma-informed, and LGBTQ-affirming strategies in working with clients.
• Adopt and implement continuous effective engagement strategies throughout intervention period, such as texting and home visits, to maintain client's participation in program and evaluation activities.
• Assess client need and interest in receiving ancillary services, such as Ryan White or DRS Case Management, behavioral health, and housing services and facilitate referrals.
• Collaborate with testing, linkage, and retention staff and interns in the ongoing development and evaluation of the Connect 2 Care program, including providing feedback to Manager on aspects of the intervention that are/are not effective, and the co-creation of intervention tools such as assessment forms and participant handbooks.
• Attend trainings to build competency around areas such as HIV/AIDS treatments and care, cultural competency in serving transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, retention-in-care strategies, harm reduction, and trauma-informed interventions.
• Participate in weekly HOPE staff meetings, monthly agency-wide meetings, and monthly/quarterly IDT's with medical collaborators when appropriate.
• Meet weekly with Program Manager for administrative and clinical supervision.
• Perform other appropriate duties as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS

• Demonstrates experience providing direct clinical services with highly vulnerable, difficult-to-engage populations is required.
• Bachelor's degree in social work, counseling or related field strongly preferred, or equivalent training and experience.
• Working knowledge of HIV/AIDS and the HIV/AIDS service network strongly preferred.
• CDC intervention ARTAS certification preferred but not required
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational and interpersonal skills with a diverse range of individuals, organizations, and communities required.
• Familiarity with harm reduction, LGBTQ affirming, and trauma-informed philosophies of care strongly preferred.
• Ability to work outside of regular business hours
• Willingness to drive throughout the Chicago metropolitan area required; ownership of a vehicle with valid Illinois driver's license and insurance required.
• Bilingual Spanish-speaking is preferred, Bi-cultural preferred. Work experience with immigrant, asylum-seeking, and refugees is preferred.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP: Linkage to Care Program Manager

CLASSIFICATION STATUS: Non-Exempt

Contact Person: Mikey Forbes BSW, HIV Prevention Program Manager

Email: mforbes@chicagohouse.org