Homeless Health Care Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Medical Outreach Worker/Case Manager

Reports to Job Role: Director of Street Outreach

FLSA: Non-Exempt 

Role: Team Member

Descriptive Summary

The Medical Outreach Worker/Case Manager is a member of the street outreach team at the Embry Rucker Community Shelter (ERCS) providing transportation to medical and dental appointments for unsheltered individuals in the Homeless Healthcare Program (HHP).  The Medical Outreach Worker/Case Manager collaborates with a Health Department Nurse Practitioner to seek out and engage unsheltered individuals in Northern Fairfax County to offer medical services and referrals for other basic needs.  The Medical Outreach Worker/Case Manager must have strong interpersonal and motivational skills and must be comfortable meeting unsheltered individuals in places not meant for human habitation such as campsites in the woods and parked cars. The Medical Outreach Worker/Case Manager is responsible for utilizing a Housing First approach to move unsheltered individuals into permanent housing and will be responsible for meeting or exceeding outcomes as well as other contractual obligations.  The Medical Outreach Worker/Case Manager must possess a patient, trauma-informed approach to service delivery using an equity lens. The Medical Outreach Worker/Case Manager ensures that services are equitable and delivered with integrity in accordance with the Agency Mission, Vision, and Values.  All duties are performed in a professional and timely manner, in a fast-paced, high-demand environment. A candidate that is bilingual in English/Spanish and has the ability to use one's lived personal experience of housing instability to help assess system barriers is a plus.       

Key Performance Indicators

• Responsible for working collaboratively with the multidisciplinary Homeless Healthcare Program (HHP) Team to link unsheltered individuals with a "medical home."
• Uses the agency vehicle to provide transportation to medical and dental appointments for unsheltered individuals in the HHP program.
• Actively seeks out, identifies, and establishes contact and builds rapport with unsheltered persons throughout Fairfax County's North County Region.
• Responsible for maintaining a schedule of regular street outreach stops including emergency shelters, hypothermia prevention shelters, mental health drop-in centers, camp-sites, and other gathering places while remaining flexible to incorporate new street sites as they are presented.
• Meets unsheltered individuals in places not meant for human habitation such as campsites in the woods and parked cars.
• Responds to community requests for assistance in working with people who are unsheltered.
• Advocates for and actively assists individuals in obtaining services (e.g. showers, laundry, food, benefits, medical, mental health, substance abuse, housing referrals, financial assistance).
• Conducts comprehensive in-depth assessments utilizing uniform intake/assessment tools developed by the Fairfax County Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH) as well as assessment and action planning tools developed for Cornerstones Integrated Care Management (ICM) services.
• Works with participants to prepare, implement and monitor individual plans and budgets that, at a minimum, address the core outcome areas as well as other significant barriers to housing. Plans must include goals and specific action steps needed to meet those goals.
• Works closely with the Housing Locator to educate participants about and assist them with obtaining affordable appropriate housing.
• Assesses eligibility and need for benefits and services and makes appropriate referrals, including requests for financial and / or housing assistance, and connection with county and mainstream benefits.
• Advocates for and actively assists individuals in obtaining services (e.g. behavioral health, intellectual disability, substance use disorder, housing referrals, financial assistance, employment, training, medical services, mentoring and socialization).
• Provides mediation and advocacy with landlords on the individual's behalf to develop a workable plan to obtain housing.

• Creates and maintains consistent communication channels, both verbal and written, between several parties (i.e. tenant, landlord, referral source, collaborating agencies, debtors, and creditors)
• Applies knowledge of residential lease contracts to educate individuals of their rights and responsibilities.
• Makes referrals for credit counseling and other services necessary to assist participants with critical skills related to budgeting, managing money, accessing a free personal credit report, and resolving personal credit problems.
• Documents all services identified and provided, referrals made, and transportation provided.

• Maitains effective partnerships with OPEH, the Fairfax County Health Department, the Fairfax County Community Services Board (CSB), Projecst for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH), Department of Family Services (DFS), and the Fairfax County Department of Adult and Aging, to ensure participants receive holistic, integrated care management across Cornerstones.
• Maintains case and Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) files that meet agency and contractual standards.
• Participates in multi-disciplinary meetings, case staffing, as well as community-wide trainings and meetings.
• Works a flexible schedule that may include evenings and weekends.
• Performs other related duties and responsibilities as required.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

• Bachelor's degree in an applicable human services field or commensurate experience with homeless and/or at-risk populations.
• Bilingual in English/Spanish preferred

• Two years of experience in homeless services, and/or housing is required.
• Bilingual in English/Spanish preferred.
• Must be comfortable meeting unsheltered individuals in places not meant for human habitation such as campsites in the woods and parked cars.
• Experience working with vulnerable individuals including people with mental health and/or substance abuse disabilities is required.
• Requires knowledge and belief in "Housing First" and "Rapid Re-Housing" philosophy and strategies.
• Knowledge of current social service, homeless, and housing issues and methods/approaches to address issues.
• Knowledge or understanding of tenant's rights and responsibilities, "strengths based" case management, trauma-informed care, and racial equity.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to engage and work collaboratively with others.
• Experience with Microsoft programs including Outlook, Word, and Excel.
• Ability to use HMIS to establish and maintain case records and to facilitate data collection.
• Ability to schedule and manage workload sufficiently to meet deadlines.
• Ability to learn, process information, prioritize competing priorities and make sound and reasoned decisions in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to complete tasks while navigating frequent interruptions.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule including nights and weekends.
• Candidate must be able to lift items weighing 10-20 pounds.
• Candidate must possess a valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and good driving record.
• Candidate must be able to drive 15-passenger van.

Attitude

• Attentive to constraints of time and funds in setting stretch goals
• Respectful of staff, volunteers, funders and clients
• Forward thinker, considering not just today but what are the implications for tomorrow
• Collaborative leader, working with others individually and in teams

Work Environment

• The position is located at the Embry Rucker Community Shelter.
• Participant meetings take place at the shelter, in places not meant for human habitation, and other areas in the community frequented by unsheltered individuals.
• Travel to other Cornerstones' sites and to local and regional meetings is required.
• Some work is performed outdoors in both the winter and summer.
• Occasional driving or personal or Cornerstones' vehicle.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

• Prolonged sitting and a desk and working on a computer.
• Regular in person interaction with the public, clients, and stakeholders.
• Handle or feel objects, tools, or controls.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 15 pounds
• Occasional navigation of stairs, ramps, ladders.
• Noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate
• Must be able to safely operate a company vehicle.