Substance Use Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Substance Use Specialist

Job Summary: 

Are you a credentialed alcohol and substance use counselor?  Are you looking to make a difference in the lives of people impacted by substance use and the criminal legal system?  Would you like to learn new skills and be part of an interdisciplinary that provides therapeutic case management services?  If so, then CASES is the place for you!

We are seeking a Substance Use Specialist for our Brooklyn NCS team, who will join a multidisciplinary team comprised of a Team Leader, Forensic Clinical Case Coordinator, Case Coordinator, Criminal Legal Justice Specialist, Peer Specialist, and Program Assistant. The NCS team provides clinical case management and linkage to services for mental health and medical treatment. The Substance Use Specialist offers peer-centered, recovery-oriented support to participants by fostering trust, encouraging engagement in treatment, and sharing relevant participant progress with the NCS team to support individualized service planning. The Substance Use Specialist will have a focus on assessment & documentation, interdisciplinary collaboration, outreach, and therapeutic support.

We believe that in-person operations are the best way to serve our clients, both directly and through essential operational support.  This job requires work in our offices and the community.

Salary: The salary for this role is $55,000 per year

Shift Hours: This position is full-time Monday – Friday from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Location Address: 25 Chapel St, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Our office is easily accessible by public transportation.

Workplace Flexibility:  Flexible - The position will have one community outreach day per week. Person may work from home after outreach or training to complete notes and/or due diligence.

What You Will Be Doing:

• Perform initial drug assessments, individual case management sessions, and group therapeutic support sessions
• Perform enrollment for new/mandated clients
• During the assessment, obtain information to establish the degree of risk for substance use and assess harmful behaviors and interventions required to promote progress towards recovery
• Complete comprehensive assessment, crisis intervention and relapse prevention plans, progress notes, and other significant documentation
• Evaluate use of services and expected outcomes on a continuing basis
• Conduct toxicology tests if mandated by courts
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Team Leader or Senior Director
• Participate in multidisciplinary team approach providing comprehensive support for each participant
• Participate in case conferences
• In collaboration with participants, identify their treatment needs, based on severity of substance use, stage of change, and immediate needs, as well as recommended treatment objectives
• Work effectively with client’s support system including external providers (e.g., therapist, psychiatrist, primary care providers), as well as family and other collaterals
• Conduct Outreach diligent search when needed or requested
• Collaborate and network with inpatient/residential detox and rehabilitative treatment centers
• Act as an advocate and liaison for clients in securing emergency detox and rehabilitation care, and other community supports that promote integrated substance use or dual disorder treatment
• Encourage substance use support and facilitate Relapse Prevention groups as needed
• Provide individual therapeutic support around substance use, relapse prevention, psychoeducation, and harm reduction based on motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral responses to substance use
• Provide therapeutic support in a person/family-centered, strengths-based, recovery-oriented, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive manner
• Contribute to person/family-centered, trauma-informed, recovery-oriented treatment planning and awareness

What We Are Looking For: 

• High School diploma or GED
• CASAC, CASAC-T, or the ability to obtain a CASAC-T within six (6) months of hire
• Two years of experience navigating the substance use and mental health systems in NYC
• Background working with people with serious mental illness and/or people with involvement in the criminal justice system

Employee Benefits:

CASES cares about employee wellbeing, and we offer a comprehensive benefits package to support you and your family, including:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Vacation and Paid Time Off – starting at 25 days
• 12 Paid Holidays per year
• Retirement 403(b) Competitive matching up to 6%
• Employee Referral Program

Our Values

At CASES, we like to move with PURPOSE , which reflects our values:

PEOPLE| Hold people’s stories with dignity

UNITY| Commit to a shared mission

RESPECT| Celebrate the strength of diversity

PROGRESS| Always work to improve

OPTIMIZE| Make the best use of resources

SOLUTIONS| Work together to solve problems

EMPATHY| Seek to understand others

Although we would love to learn about the skills of every candidate, only selected candidates that are selected will receive a response. We encourage you to apply for any position(s) you feel you are qualified for.  

CASES is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment with CASES is based solely on qualifications and competence for a particular position without regard to race, color, ethnic or national origin, age, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or marital, military, or citizenship status. We also actively recruit individuals with prior involvement in the criminal legal system.

This position is full-time Monday – Friday from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
35 hours per week