Community Support Specialist

Position Summary

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis through our service line of St. Patrick Center, is hiring a Community Support Specialist to join the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Program. The specialist will provide treatment, rehabilitation, advocacy and case management services to program clients with severe and persistent mental illnesses and chemical dependency problems, conduct comprehensive, ongoing assessments of program clients, write and implement individualized treatment plans with client, and conduct routine and regular visits to clients in and out of their apartments or other community locations, among other duties. The Community Support Specialist will provide community support to people with serious mental illness at varying levels of intensity. This position works Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-4:30 PM. As a benefit for our employees, we offer free supervision and student loan forgiveness opportunities.

Overview and Responsibilites

• Conduct routine and regular visits to client in and out of apartments or other community locations.

• Use personal vehicle to transport clients to and from appointments or to access community resources.

• Conduct comprehensive, ongoing assessments of mental illness, physical health, housing status and other relevant needs of client.

• Manage primary case load by completing treatment plans, DLA-20s, and coordinating care through monthly client schedules.

• Act as liaison and consult with community agencies and families to maintain coordination in the treatment process.

• Link client with supportive community services, enabling as much self-sufficiency as possible.

• Write and implement individualized treatment plans with client.

• Problem solving/assistance with community survival skills (shopping, managing money, public transportation).

• Collaborate with ACT team coworkers during daily and weekly staff meetings.

• Provide community support to people with serious mental illness at varying levels of intensity based on individual client needs for assistance.

• Provide on-call crisis intervention in coordination with other ACT team coworkers, covering nighttime hours and weekends.

• Maintain service line client tracking system and client files to document client progress to maintain a permanent record of client activity.

• Responsible for ministry policy regarding work hours, building security and all written personnel standards.

• Ensure the care model by interacting with all other service line programs.

• Report to and work with program manager.

• Attend and participate in all appropriate service line meetings.

• Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge and Experience Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED required.

• Minimum of two years relevant professional experience required.

• Associate or bachelor’s degree preferred.

• Degree in social work or related human services field preferred.

• Drug test to be completed within 30 days of hire.

Skills and Competencies Required

• Understanding of mental illness and substance use disorder.

• Experience in counseling and case management.

• Knowledge and understanding of community agencies.

• Knowledge of federal, state, and agency policies of client confidentiality.

• Excellent communication and organizational skills with attention to detail.

• Counseling and crisis intervention expertise.

• Self-motivated and ability to work within a team.

• Respect for clients and coworkers and sensitive to cultural diversity.

• Moderate computer skills and familiarity with Microsoft Office.

• Ability to walk multiple flights of stairs.

Resources for Which Accountable

• None