Health Care Services Trainee III - Spring Creek Youth Services Center

Department Information

This position is only open to Colorado residents.
Any employee who must report to work in any of our facilities, including administrative offices, will receive an incentive pay of $15.00 a day on worked days.

Under the direction of Governor Jared Polis, the Division of Professions and Occupations at the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) has conducted a review of existing licensing exemptions that allow for individuals in the healthcare field who either hold licenses in other states or who have allowed their license to expire in Colorado to immediately resume work within their scope of practice, provided their out-of-state or expired license is/was in good standing.
About Us
If your goal is to build a career that makes a difference, consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). Our professionals strive to design and deliver high quality human and health services that improve the safety, independence, and well-being of the people of Colorado. In addition to a great location and rewarding and meaningful work, we offer excellent benefits:

Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan www.copera.orgplus 401(k) and 457 plans

• Medical and dental health plans
• Employer supplemented Health Savings Account
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• 10 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave
• Discounted RTD EcoPass (Denver Metro locations)
• BenefitHub state employee discount program
• Employee Wellness program MotivateMe
• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training and more

• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For more information, go to https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dhr/student-loan-forgiveness-programs

Our Culture & Environment

• We believe in a people-first approach: To serve the people of Colorado, we develop a culture and work environment that creates an energized, inspired, and healthy team capable of giving their best to Coloradans.
• Balance creates quality of life: We want our team to be resilient through a supportive workplace that values flexibility, health and wellness, and employee engagement.
• We hold ourselves accountable: We take responsibility through our actions, programs, and results for the state of health and human services in Colorado.
• Transparency matters: We are open and honest with employees, our partners, the Coloradans we serve, and the public.
• We are ethical: We abide by what is best for those we serve by doing what is right, not what is easy.
• Collaboration helps us rise together: We work together with all partners, employees, and clients to achieve the best outcomes for Coloradans.
• We are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services. Therefore, we encourage responses from people of diverse backgrounds and abilities.

About the Division of Youth Services: The Division of Youth Services (DYS) provides a continuum of residential and non-residential services that encompass juvenile detention, commitment and parole. DYS is the agency statutorily mandated to provide for the care and supervision of youth committed by the District Court to the custody of the Colorado Department of Human Services. The Division operates ten secure facilities that serve youth between the ages of 10 and 21, who are pre-adjudicated, sentenced, or committed. The Division also contracts with numerous private residential and non-residential service providers throughout the State. For pre-adjudicated youth, the Division is also responsible for the management and oversight of Senate Bill 91-94; a State-funded, locally administered program that provides services to youth at risk of further progressing into the juvenile justice system. In addition to residential programming, the Division administers juvenile parole services throughout the State.

Division of Youth Services Mission: It is the mission of the Division of Youth Services to protect, restore and improve public safety through a continuum of services and programs that: Effectively supervise juvenile offenders, promote offender accountability to victims and communities, and build skills and competencies of youth to become responsible citizens.

Description of Job

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Overall function of the work unit:

This work unit exists to provide clinical services to committed and committed youth in a secure youth center. However, their primary work unit is detention. It provides individual, family and group services in support of and in alignment with the Division of Youth Services (DYS) strategic plan and within a trauma informed environment. This work unit identifies youth needs and develops interventions to mitigate risk and enhance protective factors to ensure successful reintegration into the community. It works collaboratively with milieu staff, education, family, client manager/case workers, and community stakeholders to provide evidence based services to youth with complex mental health issues.

Summary of the position:

This trainee position has a master’s degree in the field of mental health as a Social Worker, Counselor, or Marriage and Family Therapist. This trainee position is required to obtain licensure in their respective field (LCSW, LPC, or LMFT) within 2.5 years from the date of hire, or the position may be terminated. Direct contact hours with youth and clinical supervision that meets the requirement of the licensing board through which the individual is eligible for either an LCSW, LPC, or LMFT, will be provided by the work unit. When licensure has been obtained and verified, the trainee position will be reallocated to a SW/Counselor II position.

This position exists to provide clinical services to youth in the youth center that experience complex mental health, trauma, substance use, and other related issues. In addition, this position is experienced in addressing criminogenic risk factors in the adolescent population as well as family interventions. This unit will understand criminal conduct in adolescents and be able to treat the youth from the perspective of lowering the criminogenic risks and increasing protective factors the youth presents with and addressing the relationship between mental health issues and criminal conduct. This position is skilled in the use of a strength based perspective, systems theory, and trauma informed care.

• This position utilizes and presents a case conceptualization model of youth on caseload upon entering the youth center, and discusses this with the supervisor and present to Department chairs for collaboration and decision making around appropriate services.
• This position maintains a caseload and conducts individual, group, and family psychotherapy sessions using evidence-based treatment theories and curriculum in complex mental health treatment for adolescents
• This position participates in orientation, educational workshops, mental health, co-occurring disorders, and family department meetings, and trainings to ensure and maintain competency in the provision of evidence-based mental health services.
• Work in conjunction with the center's clinical director and clinical team in the development of treatment programming.
• Within the first 14 days of a youth’s arrival, this position will thoroughly assess youth’s needs by reviewing the youth’s main and medical files and making initial and collateral contacts as appropriate.
• Collaborates and coordinates treatment needs of youth with DYS team, medical, psychiatry, County DHS, and other stakeholders involved in the youth’s care.
• Interviews the youth ensuring that the assessment data is as reliable as possible, that the youth is engaged in a supportive and educative manner, that confidentiality is maximized, and that problematic symptoms and behaviors are thoroughly evaluated and handled in a sensitive and safe manner.
• Contacts/engages parents/family members, significant others, guardians, and referring agents to interview and obtain relevant collateral and supportive data to enhance the understanding and dynamics of the youth’s situation.
• Collaborates and coordinates with direct staff, medical and psychiatry, education, client manager, youth, and other pertinent treatment team members in the development of a care plan.
  

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights

Health Care Services (HCS) Trainee III Level (Social Worker/Counselor without current licensure):

Education: License-eligible master's degree in one of the following: Psychology, Counseling, Social Work, or any other license-eligible master's degree in the behavioral health field. Candidate must be able to obtain appropriate licensure within two and a half (2.5) years of appointment.

Substitutions:
None

Highly Desired Competencies:

• CAC III or LAC to support coaching and oversight of Behavioral Health Specialists working towards CAC credentialing
• Experience working with the Youth in the criminal justice system
• Experience in group facilitation
• Formal training in trauma responsive care
• Experience with juveniles who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors.
• Formal training and experience in using behavioral interventions such as classical and operant conditioning
• Trained in Biofeedback
• Trained in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Essential Competencies:

Written and oral communication skills, problem solving skills, deductive reasoning, critical thinking, diagnostic conceptualization, social perceptiveness, active listening, emotional intelligence, therapy and counseling knowledge, psychology knowledge, judgment and decision making skills, time management, effective and timely documentation, and oral comprehension skills.

Conditions of Employment:

• Full Background - Name check, TRAILS, Drug Screen and Fingerprinting
• Social workers, addiction counselors, marriage family therapists, and professional counselors may practice in Colorado for a cumulative period of 20 days under C.R.S. §12-245-217(2)(e), as long as the services performed meet the individual's scope of practice.
• Continued employment is contingent upon successful completion of the DYS Pre-service Training Academy, Field Training Program (FTO) and mandatory annual training in all subject areas

APPEAL RIGHTS:
If you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for the position, you may protest the action by filing an appeal with the State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director within 10 days from the date you receive notice of the elimination.

Also, if you wish to challenge the selection and comparative analysis process, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director within 10 days from the receipt of notice or knowledge of the action you are challenging.

Refer to Chapters 4 and 8 of the State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, 4 CCR 801, for more information about the appeals process. The State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures are available at www.colorado.gov/spb.

A standard appeal form is available at: www.colorado.gov/spb. If you appeal, your appeal must be submitted in writing on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative, and received at the following address within 10 days of your receipt of notice or knowledge of the action: Colorado State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director, Attn: Appeals Processing, 1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver, CO 80203. Fax: 303-866-5038. Phone: 303-866-3300. The ten-day deadline and these appeal procedures also apply to all charges of discrimination.

How to Apply (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY)

Applicants are required to attach a cover letter and resume to their application. Applications without a cover letter and resume will not be considered.

Please note that ONLY your State of Colorado job application will be reviewed during the initial screening; if you submit a resume and cover letter, they will be reviewed in later stages of the selection process. Therefore, it is paramount that you clearly describe all of your relevant experience on the application itself. Applications left blank or marked "SEE RESUME" will not be considered.

Your application will be reviewed against the minimum qualifications for the position. If your application demonstrates that you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be invited to the comparative analysis process, which is described below.

Note: Current and former employees (transfers, voluntary demotions and reinstatements) are required to apply and participate in the comparative analysis process.

Former State employees who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination must disclose the information on the application and provide an explanation why the prior termination or resignation should not disqualify the applicant from the current position. Absent extraordinary circumstances, prior disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination will disqualify the applicant from future State employment with CDHS.

Supplemental Information

Comparative Analysis Process

The Assessment Process:
Colorado Revised Statutes require that state employees are hired and promoted through a comparative analysis. The comparative analysis for this position will include a review of your application material and your responses to any supplemental questions. Applications and responses will be reviewed by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to assess and rank applicants in order to establish an eligible list for referral to the hiring manager for final consideration.

Be sure the "Work Experience" section of your application is complete and specifically addresses your qualifications, experience, and accomplishments as they relate to the Description of the Job, Minimum Qualifications, Required Competencies and Preferred Qualifications as listed above. Resumes and "see resume" statements will not be accepted in lieu of the "Work Experience" section of the application. Failure to include adequate information or follow instructions by the closing date may result in your application not being accepted and/or may affect your score, rank or inclusion in the final pool of eligible applicants.

If you have transcripts, a license or other relevant documentation regarding your qualifications, upload and attach copies to your application.
Note: Transfers, voluntary demotions and reinstatements are required to apply and participate in the selection process.

If you have recruitment questions about this position please contact heather.woolbright@state.co.us

"The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them. Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment Guidelines for EDI Compliance for Job Announcements in CO-Jobs Prepared by: Department of Personnel & Administration Division of Human Resources, Consulting Services Page 1 of 3 January 29, 2020 opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

ADAAA Accommodations:
CDHS is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADAAA Coordinator, Nancy Schmelzer, at cdhs_ada@state.co.us or call 1-800-929-0791