Family Support Counselor jobs in Kansas City, MO

Youth Community Support Specialist/Associate Counselor- Full Time

The incumbent of this position is responsible for assisting clients/patients to access needed resources in the community and provide community support services for individuals with mental health and/or substance use disorders. Community Support may be provided onsite and/or offsite within the community.

This is an integrated position that serves youth with mental health disorders and/or substance use disorders in the Kirksville/Macon/Moberly area. This person must also be able to obtain MAADC Associate Counselor certification after hire to provide youth drug counseling and run outpatient groups.

Essential Job Functions:

• Provide holistic, person-centered care with an emphasis on personal strengths, skill acquisition, and harm reduction, while using stage-wise and motivational approaches that promote active participation by the individual in decision making and self-advocacy in all aspects of services and recovery/resiliency.
• Use interventions, based on individual strengths and needs, to develop interpersonal/social, family, community, and independent living functional skills including adaptation to home, school, family, and work environments when the natural acquisition of those skills is negatively impacted by the individual’s mental health and /or substance use disorder.
• Facilitate and support recovery/resiliency through activities including defining recovery/resiliency concepts in order to develop and attain recovery/resiliency goals; identifying needs, strengths, skills, resources, and supports and teaching how to use them; and identifying barriers to recovery/resiliency and finding ways to overcome them.
• Develop, implement, update, and revise as needed, a treatment plan that identifies specific, measurable, and individualized interventions to reduce and manage symptoms, improve functioning and develop stability and independence. This plan is developed by a team consisting of the following as appropriate: the individual, family, community support specialist, community support supervisor, therapist, medication providers, schools, child welfare, courts, and other supports.
• Provide services that result in positive outcomes including but not limited to the following areas: employment/education, housing, social connectedness, abstinence/harm reduction, decreased criminality/legal involvement, family involvement, decreased psychiatric hospitalizations, and improved physical health.
• Work collaboratively with the individual on treatment goals and services including the use of collaborative documentation as a tool to ensure that individuals are active in their treatment.
• Document services that clearly describe the need for the service, the intervention provided the relationship to the treatment plan, the provider of the service, the date, actual time and setting of the service, and the individual’s response to the service.
• Develop a discharge and aftercare/continuing recovery plan to include, if applicable, securing a successful transition to continued services.
• Contact individuals and/or referral sources following missed appointments in order to re-engage and promote recovery/resiliency efforts.
• Support individuals in crisis situations including locating and coordinating resources to resolve a crisis.
• Maintain contact with individuals who are hospitalized for medical or psychiatric reasons and participate in and facilitate discharge planning for psychiatric hospitalization and for medical hospitalization as appropriate.
• Provide information and education in order to learn about and manage mental illness/serious emotional disturbance and/or substance use disorders including symptoms, triggers, cravings, and use of medications.
• Reinforce the importance of taking medications as prescribed and assist the individual to make medication concerns regarding side effects or lack of efficacy known to the prescriber.
• Build skills for effective illness self-management including psych education, behavioral tailoring for medication adherence, wellness/recovery planning, coping skills training, and social skills training.
• In conjunction with the individual, family, significant others and referral sources identify risk factors related to relapse in mental health and/or substance use disorders and develop a plan with strategies to support recovery and prevent relapse.
• Make efforts to ensure that individuals gain and maintain access to necessary rehabilitative services, general entitlement benefits, employment, housing, schools, legal services, wellness, or other services by actively assisting individuals to apply and follow-up on applications; and to gain skills in independently accessing needed services.
• Ensure communication and coordination with and between other interested parties such as service providers, medical professionals, referral sources, employers, schools, child welfare, courts, probation/parole, landlords, and natural supports.
• Ensure follow through with recommended medical care, including scheduling appointments, finding financial resources, and arranging transportation when individuals are unable to perform these tasks independently.
• Develop and supporting wellness and recovery goals in collaboration with the individual, family, and/or medical professionals, including healthy lifestyle changes such as healthy eating, physical activity, and tobacco prevention and cessation; and coordination and monitoring of physical health and chronic disease management.
• Assist to develop natural supports including identification of existing and new natural supports in relevant life domains.
• In coordination with the treatment team, improving skills in communication, interpersonal relationships, problem-solving, conflict resolution; stress management; and identifying risky social situations and triggers that could jeopardize recovery.
• Provide family education, training, and support to develop the family as a positive support system to the individual. Such activities must be directed toward the primary well-being and benefit of the individual.
• Help individuals develop skills and resources to address symptoms that interfere with seeking or successfully maintaining a job, including but not limited to, communication, personal hygiene and dress, time management, capacity to follow directions, planning transportation, managing symptoms/cravings, learning appropriate work habits, and identifying behaviors that interfere with work performance.
• Build skills associated with obtaining and maintaining success in schools such as communication with teachers, personal hygiene and dress, age-appropriate time management, capacity to follow directions and carry out school assignments, appropriate study habits, and identification of behaviors that interfere with school performance.
• Build personal self-care and home management skills associated with achieving and maintaining housing in the least restrictive setting by addressing issues like nutrition, meal preparation; household maintenance including house cleaning and laundry; money management and budgeting; personal hygiene and grooming; identification and use of social and recreational skills; use of available transportation; and personal responsibility.

• Represent the agency in a professional manner.
• Demonstrates interest in the long-term and short-term goals and objectives of the company.
• Other duties as assigned by the Community Support Specialist Supervisor, Clinical Supervisor, Program Director, Vice President, or Executive Team member.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of case management and rehabilitation methods, principles, and techniques as they relate to mental health and/or substance use disorders.
• Knowledge of the problems encountered by persons with mental health and/or substance use disorders and how to access the various community resources available.
• Knowledge of the methods and modalities as well as the legal requirements and court procedures related to treating mental health and substance use disorders.
• Aptitude to evaluate services within the assigned program and give input.
• Capable of communicating ideas clearly and effectively verbally and in writing to produce clear and concise reports.
• A mental health professional as defined in 9 CSR 10 – 7.140 (2) (QQ) (Missouri);
• An individual with a bachelor’s degree in a human services field, which includes social work, psychology, nursing, education, criminal justice, recreational therapy, human development and family studies, counseling, child development, gerontology, sociology, human services, behavioral science, and rehabilitation counseling;
• An individual with any four-year degree and two years of qualifying experience;
• Any four-year combination of higher education and qualifying experience, or
• An individual with four years of qualifying experience.

Experience and Education Qualifications:

Qualifying experience must include delivery of services to individuals with mental health disorders, substance use disorders, or developmental disabilities. Experience must include some combination of the following:

• Providing one-on-one or group services with a rehabilitation/habilitation and recovery/resiliency focus;
• Teaching and modeling for individuals how to cope and manage psychiatric, developmental, or substance use issues while encouraging the use of natural resources;
• Supporting efforts to find and maintain employment for individuals and/or to function appropriately in families, school, and communities;
• Assisted individuals to achieve the goals and objectives on their individualized treatment or person-centered plans.

Supervisory Requirements:

None

Employment Requirements:

• Successful completion of background check including criminal record, driving record, and abuse/neglect.
• Completion of New Hire Orientation within 30 Days of employment.
• All training requirements including Relias Learning within two (2) weeks of employment and annually thereafter.
• All community support staff in Missouri shall successfully complete DMH Community Support 101 Training within 30 days of hire.
• Obtain trainings to assist in professional development meeting 36 hours every 2 years.
• First Aid certification within three (3) months of beginning employment and upon renewal date.
• Obtain CPR certification within three (3) months of beginning employment and upon renewal date.
• Behavioral Management training completed within thirty (30) days of employment or first available class after start date:
  • CPI for Residential programs
  • Peaceful Intervention or Verbal De-escalation for Outpatient programs
• Growth and Development form (CPRC only) within thirty (30) days of employment.
• Privileging and Credentialing form (CPRC only) within thirty (30) days of employment.
• Extensive knowledge of the policies, procedures, and regulations of the program to which the associate is assigned.
• Valid Driver’s license in state of residency with an acceptable driving record is required.
• Must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age to operate a company-owned vehicle.
• Must be at least twenty-three (23) years of age to operate a company-owned fifteen (15) passenger van.
• Must have reliable means of transportation in order to transport clients in personal vehicle.
• Proof of valid and current auto insurance is required.

Physical Requirements:

ADA Consideration - Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally (exists up the 1/3 of the time) and/or a negligible amount of force frequently (exists 1/3 to 2/3 of the time) to lift, carry, push, or pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time, but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.