Care Coordinator

Are you ready to make a real difference in people's lives? Join the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD as a Care Coordinator . Under the general direction of the Program Director and/or designee, this position allows The Harris Center Care Coordinators to partner with The Houston Police Department (HPD) Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) to provide outreach and engagement services to Harris County residence who are homeless and experiencing a mental illness. Care Coordinator will be responsible for addressing behavioral health and medical disparities in Harris County via outreach efforts. The Care Coordinator will work with the assigned HPD Officer to conduct outreach as a team to the homeless population in a variety of settings in the community, limited to the streets, homeless encampments, and shelters. Care Coordinator will coordinate, link, and authorize appropriate services and monitor consumer progress while meeting treatment goals. This position requires travel in an HPD vehicle and HPD background clearance, and flexible hours.

Your Role in Action

As a Care Coordinator for this unit, you will:

Collaborate with the Houston Police Department (HPD) to conduct outreach.

2. Provide outreach services to the homeless population to increase their access to housing, mental health, substance use treatment, and medical services.

3. Facilitate care coordination services to link and coordinate individuals who need assistance accessing housing, community resources, primary healthcare, and behavioral healthcare, as needed.

4. Provide information and referrals for housing and social services.

5. Provide interventions in response to crisis to reduce symptoms and avoid admission to a

more restrictive environment and ensures appropriate service referrals are completed.

6. Maintain familiarity of current community resources for the homeless population

7. Complete reporting in an accurate and timely manner in required database (HMIS and Epic)

8. Comply with agency policies and procedures accrediting/regulatory bodies and performance contract documentation requirements.

9. Advocate for consumers to ensure that needs are met both within The Harris Center system,

and in the community

10. Build working relationships with various agencies in the community.

11. Expedite referrals to Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH)

12. Communicate and work with consumers/visitors/other staff in a manner that

demonstrates knowledge of cultural diversities

13. Perform related work as assigned and adapts to changing work requirements.

14. Meet people where they are geographically, emotionally, and physically.

15. Recognize that the relationship is central to outreach and engagement as well as being respectful and treating everyone with dignity.

16. Demonstrate ethical conduct in all clinical and professional activities.


Schedule: Monday-Friday 7am-3:30pm

What qualifications you will need:

Education :

• Bachelor's degree (B.A.) from four-year accredited college or university with a major in a social, behavioral, or human service field, including but not limited to: psychology, social work, medicine, nursing, rehabilitation, counseling, sociology, human development, gerontology, and educational psychology, required.

Experience:

• 2 years working in the field of mental health preferred.
• Outreach and engagement experience preferred.
• Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) utilization experience preferred.
• Crisis Intervention experience/knowledge

Other Key Qualifications

• Must maintain a valid Texas Driver's License and be insurable under Agency policy.
• The ideal candidate will be required to transport consumers using their personal vehicle and will be reimbursed for mileage by the Agency.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Basic understanding of mental illness, common signs and symptoms and able to identify difficulties with coping in community settings.
• Strong communication skills, listening and interpersonal skills above average, written documentation is clear, concise, well- constructed and grammatically correct.
• Able to work collaboratively with others in a teamwork environment.
• Effective time management and organizational skills. Able to execute standard word processing.
• Must be able to work autonomously in a fast-paced environment.

What we have to offer:

The Harris Center not only offers a competitive salary but also a suite of excellent benefits designed to enrich your life both professionally and personally. Imagine a future with a robust retirement plan complemented by our generous company matching - a testament to our investment in your long-term financial well-being. Experience the unique advantage of our prior service credit, accelerating your journey towards a more substantial Paid Time Off accrual, empowering you to enjoy well-deserved breaks.

Enjoy Cell Phone Discounts, exclusive entertainment deals through Tickets at Work, and a free Headspace subscription for mental wellness. Additionally, our Employee Assistance Program supports your overall well-being.

Take advantage of significant financial relief through student loan forgiveness as a valued member of The Harris Center team. As a qualifying entity, our employees are eligible for various student loan forgiveness programs, designed to alleviate the financial burdens associated with higher education.

What else you should know:

• This posting is associated with position #5572.
• This position requires travel in an HPD vehicle and HPD background clearance
• With travel to consumer homes and an on-call status, every day will be filled with new challenges and experiences. You'll provide services in various environments, interact with individuals facing emotional or physical challenges, and overcome any obstacles with empathy and communication skills. Join us and embark on a rewarding journey of making a positive impact on others' lives, let the adventure begin!

About us:

The HARRIS CENTER is the state-designated Local Mental Health Authority and Local Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD) Authority serving Harris County, Texas. As the largest behavioral and developmental disability care center in Texas, The HARRIS CENTER provided care to over 90,000 people and has an annual budget of over $300 million.

As part of its mission to transform the lives of people with behavioral health and IDD needs in the third largest county in the United States, The HARRIS CENTER provides a full continuum of services at 80 different sites across Harris County. In addition, services are provided in more than 40 different languages as well as sign language in order to better serve what is one of the largest communities in the nation.

By utilizing the unique expertise of its more than 2,500 employees, The HARRIS CENTER is committed to meeting the behavioral health and IDD needs of Harris County residents and giving them hope to live to their fullest potential.