Community Social Worker

Job Description

Job Description

  Scheduled Work Times/Locations 

Monday – Friday, 8:30AM – 4:30PM; 211 Wethersfield Ave. Street Hartford, CT 

The Community Social Worker will work to support the mission of Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation. The Community Social worker will work with our clients to help achieve independence and stability in their communities by providing housing and supportive services. The Community Social worker holds primary responsibility for working towards the goal of each client’s full and productive integration with the community.

Duties/Responsibilities:  

• Provide comprehensive planning and active support for the care, treatment, and safety of the agency’s clients.

• Demonstrates understanding and evaluates clients by acknowledging individual psychological difficulty, ethnicity, and history.
• Assist clients with the development of individual treatment plans and goals to provide support for achievement.
• Assist clients to secure a job or vocational program placement.
• Serve as a liaison to provide mediation and advocacy with client/landlord on behalf of the client to develop a workable plan to obtain and/or maintain housing.
• Provide crisis intervention to ensure the clients well-being and stability to remain in the community.
• Monthly monitoring of Client Track, Department of Mental Health, and Addiction Services Data Performance System -DMHAS DDAP and the Homeless Management Information System HMIS for data input/integrity.
• Assist clients with the coordination of health services and, as necessary, schedules client appointments for and provides transportation to physicians, clinicians, and other health care professionals.
• Ensure that clients receive annual medical, dental, and eye exams.
• Maintain communication with clients’ families and conservators.
• Maintain case notes, assessments and treatment plans and submit in a timely manner.
• Act as liaison with other agencies, i.e., DSS, SSI, CRMHC, and other social and vocational agencies to advocate for and assist clients.
• Attend and participate in meetings, conferences, seminars, and trainings’ as required.

Case Management Duties and Responsibilities

• Work with the client to assess their risks and barriers to obtaining and maintaining stable housing.
• Assist clients in developing plans to move towards self-sufficiency and to retain/secure permanent housing.
• Aid clients in budgeting, employment search, arranging childcare, locating permanent housing, managing medical issues, and addressing transportation and other needs.
• Be a “Super-Navigator” to help clients access other service providers, including state and city agencies and non-profits, benefits, and support systems. 

Required Skills/Abilities: 

• Documentation skills including good oral and written comprehension, computer literacy, accurate and timely documentation and record keeping abilities.
• Ability to use critical thinking skills and develop sound reasoning/logic when formulating solution focused treatment plans.
• Excellent time management skills: ability to manage, organize and prioritize flow of work, ability to motivate clients.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from four-year college/university or two-three years’ related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience, preferably with homeless persons, persons with mental illness and/or substance abuse.
• Bi-Lingual, Spanish/English preferred.

Licenses and Certifications 

• Must have valid Connecticut driver’s license and clean driving record with proof of automobile insurance.

Compensation & Benefits

• $23-$25 per hour, based on experience plus generous incentive compensation plan

• Community Housing Advocates provides a generous employee benefits package, including medical, dental, retirement, short- and long-term disability, and tuition reimbursement. Full-time employees receive 10 days of PTO (paid time off) per year, plus 11 paid holidays, 1 Floating Holiday, and up to 40 hours of accrued paid sick leave.

Physical Demands

• The physical demands associated with the essential functions of this job are intermittent physical activity, such as walking, sitting and occasional lifting, stooping, bending, and reaching.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.