Field Based AOD Counselor III

About CLARE|MATRIX: CLARE|MATRIX "CM" is a nonprofit organization providing effective and compassionate treatment, recovery, and prevention services for alcoholism and substance use to individuals, families, and the community. Headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, CLARE|MATRIX maintains multiple facilities in the Southern California region.

Since 1970, CLARE|MATRIX has provided quality substance use and mental health treatment to individuals in treatment for Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in Southern California.

Summary

As an individual contributor under general supervision, the Field-Based Services (FBS) Counselor III provides advanced SUD counseling, care coordination, and crisis intervention in community settings such as shelters, interim housing, permanent supportive housing, and encampments. The counselor delivers trauma-informed, culturally responsive services, completes assessments and treatment plans, facilitates counseling, and supports program quality through collaboration and mentorship.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position does not have direct reports.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function, with or without accommodation. The requirements listed below are representative of the duties, responsibilities, knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

1. COUNSELOR SERVICES - This highly mobile role requires extensive walking and working in unpredictable environments with participants who are unhoused and experiencing co-occurring mental health conditions.

a. Screening: Conduct field-based screenings for substance use risk using validated tools to determine service needs and eligibility for outpatient treatment.

b. Intake: Complete intake documentation in the field, gathering relevant background, environmental factors, and immediate needs to inform level-of-care placement.

c. Orientation: Provide participants with orientation to available services, expectations, rights, and program processes within community settings, ensuring understanding despite nontraditional environments.

d. Assessment: Complete biopsychosocial assessments and ASAM-informed evaluations in shelters, interim housing, permanent supportive housing communities, or encampments to determine clinical needs and level of care.

e. Treatment Planning: Develop individualized treatment plans that integrate participant goals, ASAM criteria, harm reduction principles, and field-based environmental realities. Monitor process and adjust treatment plan as necessary.

f. Counseling: Facilitate individual and group counseling using evidence-based models, Matrix Model,motivational interviewing, harm reduction, relapse prevention, trauma-informed care, and CBT-informed strategies appropriate for mobility-based service delivery.

g. Crisis Intervention: Provide high-level crisis intervention for issues such as withdrawal concerns, suicidality, behavioral escalation, and environmental safety risks, engaging emergency support when necessary.

h. Client/Family Education: Educate participants about substance use, relapse prevention, coping strategies, MAT options, harm reduction, and recovery concepts using accessible language and culturally responsive methods.

i. Referral: Refer participants to appropriate levels of care, medical providers, mental health services, housing support, and community partners using warm handoffs and field-based accompaniment when needed.

j. Consultation: Engage in case consultation with supervisors, clinical leadership, and partner agencies to ensure high-quality, coordinated care across systems.

k. MAT Support: Educate participants on medication-assisted treatment (MAT) options and coordinate linkage with prescribers; support adherence through motivational support and care coordination with proper ROI.

2. CASE MANAGEMENT

a. Service Coordination: Provide field-based care coordination linking participants to mental health care, medical services, housing resources, and social support systems.

b. Advocacy: Advocate for participant needs in community settings by working collaboratively with shelter staff, outreach teams, housing providers, medical partners, and allied community agencies.

c. Resource Navigation: Assist participants in obtaining IDs, benefits, transportation, and other essential supports necessary for stability and treatment engagement.

d. Transitions of Care: Facilitate transitions between levels of care such as OP, IOP, residential treatment, withdrawal management, or harm reduction programs.

e. Discharge Planning: Develop discharge plans centered on continuity, safety, and recovery supports, even when clients remain in the community or permanent supportive housing settings.

3. DOCUMENTATION AND BILLING

a. Documentation: Complete timely and accurate documentation in the agency EHR consistent with SAPC, DHCS, and agency requirements for field-based services.

b. Medical Necessity: Document interventions, risk factors, environmental conditions, and participant progress to establish and maintain medical necessity.

c. Billing Compliance: Ensure documentation supports billing for allowable FBS services, following SAPC guidelines for mobile service delivery.

d. Confidentiality: Maintain strict compliance with HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 when providing services and documenting care in nontraditional, public, or dynamic field environments.

4. SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE

a. Safety Practices: Follow CAL/OSHA, IIPP, and agency safety procedures appropriate for field-based outreach, including dynamic risk assessment of encampments and community locations.

b. Naloxone Readiness: Carry naloxone or another FDA-approved opioid antagonist medication during all outreach activities unless prohibited by site-specific regulation.

c. Environmental Awareness: Recognize environmental hazards in shelters, outdoor settings, and interim housing communities; adapt service delivery accordingly.

d. Regulatory Compliance: Deliver services consistent with SAPC Field-Based Service Standards, including cultural competency (CLAS), harm reduction integration, and confidentiality requirements.

5. TEAMWORK AND COLLABORATION

a. Communication: Communicate effectively and professionally with supervisors, clinical leadership, housing partners, and multidisciplinary team members regarding participant needs, safety concerns, and care coordination tasks.

b. Collaboration: Work in close partnership with shelter staff, case managers, street outreach teams, healthcare providers, and behavioral health collaborators to support integrated care.

c. Mentorship: May provide guidance and field-based modeling to AOD I and AOD II counselors, supporting development of trauma-informed and community-based counseling skills.

d. Interdisciplinary Participation: Participate in case reviews, coordination meetings, safety briefings, and supervision sessions to support program continuity and clinical quality.

6. SECONDARY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

a. Outreach: Support community outreach strategies to engage individuals who may not access traditional treatment settings, aligned with the "Reaching the 95% initiative".

b. Program Development: Contribute to program improvements, curriculum refinement, training initiatives, and field-based service workflows.

c. Additional Duties: Perform other duties as assigned to support field-based operations, agency needs, or clinical services.

7. QUALIFICATIONS

a. Certification: Must hold an active and valid advanced certification: CADC-II (CCAPP), CAODC-S (CADTP), or CATC IV-V (CAADE).

b. Experience: Must meet SAPC staff requirements for FBS providers; experience working with high-acuity, community-based populations, including co-occurring disorders, strongly preferred.

c. Travel Requirement: The role requires the ability to travel independently and reliably between multiple work sites and community locations during scheduled work hours to deliver services.

d. Safety Training: Must complete and maintain CPR/First Aid certification; Naloxone training, Overdose prevention, agency-required field safety training completed upon hire.

E. Trainings: All agency trainings as needed.

8. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, COMPETENCIES, AND EXPERIENCE

1. Knowledge: Demonstrates understanding of SUD treatment models, ASAM criteria, harm reduction principles, community-based systems of care, and trauma-informed practice.
2. Skills: Exhibits strong counseling, de-escalation, communication, and documentation skills adaptable to fluid, nontraditional settings.
3. Competencies: Maintains professionalism, cultural responsiveness, emotional maturity, and ethical judgment in high-intensity environments.
4. Experience: Shows ability to work effectively in field settings including shelters, permanent supportive housing programs, encampments, and outdoor community environments.
5. Sobriety: Candidates who identify as being in recovery must demonstrate at least one (1) year of continuous sobriety.

Physical Demands:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is continuously required to talk and hear. Field-Based Services is a high-mobility role, and the employee must be able to walk for extended periods throughout the workday, often several hours at a time, across a variety of community settings including shelters, interim housing, permanent supportive housing, street locations, and encampments. The employee must be able to safely navigate long distances, uneven terrain, stairs, outdoor environments, and unpredictable physical conditions while carrying necessary work materials.

The employee is regularly required to stand, bend, and move between different field locations with limited seating access. The employee is frequently required to use hands and fingers to operate mobile devices and documentation tools. The employee may be required to reach overhead or below the waist and may occasionally need to stoop, kneel, or crouch when engaging participants in nontraditional settings. The employee may be required to lift, carry, push, or pull up to 25 pounds, including outreach supplies and safety equipment.

Vision abilities required for this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus in both indoor and outdoor environments. The employee must be able to perform all physical requirements of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. These physical demands represent the essential physical requirements necessary for an employee to successfully perform this job. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Medical History:

All employees who have or may have contact with participants, or who work in food preparation, are required to complete a Health Screening Report or Health Questionnaire as part of onboarding. The Health Screening Report must be completed and signed by a licensed medical practitioner to confirm the employee's ability to safely perform the essential functions of the position. All employees will also complete a confidential self-report health questionnaire in accordance with ADA/FEHA requirements.

A TB test must be completed under licensed medical supervision no more than 60 calendar days prior to hire or within 7 calendar days after hire and must be renewed annually based on the date of the last TB screening.

Employees with a known history of tuberculosis infection or a prior positive TB test are not required to undergo repeat TB skin or blood testing. Unless they have documentation confirming completion of at least six months of preventive therapy, they must obtain a chest X-ray within 45 calendar days of hire (a chest X-ray completed within the prior six months is acceptable) and provide a physician's statement confirming they do not have active tuberculosis. This physician's statement must be renewed annually. Repeat chest X-rays are not required unless clinically indicated.

Work Environment:

This position is primarily located in Santa Monica and adjacent citiesand may involve working in participant-accessible areas, group rooms, offices, and other designated program spaces. The work environment is fast-paced and requires the ability to adapt to changing participant needs and support a supportive program setting. The role involves regular interaction with participants who may exhibit challenging behaviors, including verbal escalations or agitation.

The position requires the ability to operate standard office equipment and complete documentation at a computer workstation. The employee may be required to work in a confined or shared space at times. While performing the responsibilities of the job, the work environment characteristics are representative of those the employee will encounter during assigned duties. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Disclaimer: The employee must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily and, if requested, reasonable accommodation will be provided to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship for the Company. Furthermore, job descriptions may change over time as requirements and employee skill levels change. The Company retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position.

Conclusion: This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the functions, job responsibilities and expectations of the role. This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of qualifications, skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities or working conditions associated with the position.

Mon-Friday | Day Shift
40 Hours