Military Behavioral Health Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide community outreach to connect the military population to services throughout the eight-county region.
• Identify training needs of Cumberland River staff to enhance services to the SMVF population.
• Identify Veteran groups throughout the eight-county region and build relationships with them so that they are aware of services available to Veterans.
• Provide SMVF Peer Support Services as needed, if applicable.
• Attend trainings identified by the DBHDID related to the unique behavioral health needs of the SMVF population.
• Demonstrate the ability to work effectively with other team members, as part of a multidisciplinary team, and independently, when necessary.
• Provide peer support, drawing on common experiences as a peer, to validate clients; experiences and to provide guidance and encouragement to clients to take responsibility and actively participate in their own recovery.
• Serve as a mentor to clients to promote hope and empowerment.
• Act as an interpreter to help non-clinical team members better understand and empathize with each client’s unique and subjective experience and perceptions.
• Collaborate with the team to promote a team culture in which each client’s point of view, experiences, and preferences are recognized, understood, and respected, and in which client self-determination and decision-making in treatment planning are maximized and supported.
• Help other team members identify and understand culture-wide stigma and discrimination against people with substance use disorder and develop strategies to eliminate stigma within the team.
• Collaborate with the team to ensure the protection of clients’ rights in order to help clients to improve their knowledge of client rights and grievance or compliant procedures.
• Increase awareness of and support client participation in consumer self-help programs and consumer advocacy organizations that promote recovery.
• Serve as the liaison between the team and consumer-run programs such as self-help groups, veterans centers and drop-in centers.
• Other duties may be assigned.

Structuring Time and Employment

• Perform mentoring, problem solving, encouragement and support on and off the job site. Provide work-related supportive services, such as assistance securing necessary clothing and grooming supplies, wake-up calls transportation.
• Activities of Daily Living Services
• Provide ongoing assessment, problem solving, side-by-side services, skill teaching, support (prompts assignments, encouragement), and environmental adaptations to assist clients with activities of daily living.
• Assist clients to find and maintain a safe and affordable place to live, apartment hunting, finding a roommate, landlord negotiations, cleaning, furnishings, and decorating, and procuring necessities (telephone, furniture, utility hook-up).
• Assist and support clients in organizing and performing household activities, including house cleaning and laundry.
• Assist and support clients with personal hygiene and grooming tasks.
• Provide nutrition education and assistance with meal planning, grocery shopping and food preparation.
• Provide nutrition education and assistance with meal planning, grocery shopping and food preparation.
• Ensure that clients have adequate financial support (help to gain employment and apply for entitlements).
• Teach money-management skills (budgeting and paying bills) and assist clients in accessing financial services (e.g., professional financial counseling, emergency loan services).
• Help clients to access reliable transportation (obtain a driver’s license, car and car insurance, arrange for cabs, use public transportation, find rides).
• Assist and support clients to have and effectively use a personal primary care physician, dentist, and other medical specialists as required.

Social and Interpersonal Relationships and Leisure Time

Provide side-by-side support, coaching and encouragement to help clients socialize (going with a client to community activities, including activities offered by consumer-run peer support organizations).

Assist clients to plan and carry out leisure time activities on evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Organize and lead individual and group social and recreational activities to help clients structure their time, increase social experiences, and provide opportunities to practice social skills.

Support

Provide practical help and supports, mentoring, advocacy, coordination, side-by-side individualized support, problem solving, direct assistance and supervision to help clients obtain the necessities of daily living including medical and dental health care; legal and advocacy services; financial support such as entitlements (SSI, SSDI, veterans’ benefits); housing subsidies (HUD Section 8); money-management services(e.g., payee services); and transportation.

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Physically able to reach, push, pull, stoop, stand, walk and lift up to 20 pounds
• Possess a valid Kentucky Driver’s License and maintain a safe driving record if required for job performance.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee occasionally works in outside weather conditions, may be off-site from normal office location or placed at a Residential Program.

The noise level in the work environment is mild to moderate.

Qualifications: High School Diploma or GED, possess a Form DD 214 with the status of Honorable or General Under Honorable Conditions and must meet the requirements of 201 KRS 309.0831 and/or 908 KAR 2:220 to provide Peer Support Services. Submit to and pass a criminal background check and drug screening test.

Hours: 37.5 hours per week. Other times may be required with the job or adjusted by your supervisor.

Required Job Skills:

• Oral and Written Communication Skills
• Ability to exercise good judgment, tact, diplomacy and compassion when problem solving, handling conflict or in a crisis situation.
• Ability to work well with people of all races, backgrounds and needs

Environmental Data and Job Hazards:

• Position may require duties to include routine or reasonable anticipated tasks or procedures where there is a degree of actual or potential exposure to blood or other infectious materials. Annual infection control training required.
• All new staff must attend training regarding handling physical, verbal threats, acts of violence or other escalating and potentially dangerous situations
• Local, regional and state travel is required on a regular basis. An active in-force driver’s license is required.

Required Job Performance:

• Reach 5% of the Veteran population annually.
• Provide outreach to all identified community partners.
• Successful Performance Evaluation rating of 3 or above. A Performance Improvement Plan will be initiated on all scores below a 3 rating. An employee will be terminated if the Performance Improvement Plan is viewed as unsuccessful after 2 attempts.