Washington County Health Department Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Current employees: Please apply through the employee portal to be considered for this opportunity.

Pay Range:

Department:

Job Type:

Exemption Status:

Closing Date (Open Until Filled if No Date Specified):

The Opportunity:

Overview:

THIS WORK MATTERS!

We are seeking licensed professionals (LPC, LCSW, Ph.D., LMFT, etc.) and QMHPs to fill a critical lifeline in our community's crisis management system. This role is vital to maintaining uninterrupted, trauma-informed care; we are inviting professionals who feel called to anchor our overnight shifts, ensuring that life-saving support remains a 24/7 reality for those who need it most.

**This recruitment will be used to fill up to 2 On- Call positions with routine telework; work hours are flexible, this is a 24/7 program with multiple opportunities to pick up different hours throughout each week. Must dedicate 30 hours minimum a month. Currently, all employees must reside in Oregon or Washington; the county cannot support ongoing telework from other states. **

The Multnomah County Behavioral Health Call Center operates 24/7, and provides a continuous crisis operation that constitutes the hub of mental health services for all residents of Multnomah County and Washington County. The vast majority of services are provided via telephone with approximately 75,000 calls received per year. The Call Center is staffed by Masters-level, QMHP, or licensed clinicians called Acute Care Coordinators (ACCs) as well as Case Managers (CMs Sr.) who provide additional support for lower acuity calls. All ACCs and CMs Sr. answer and triage the following distinct telephone lines that ring into the Call Center, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year including:

1) Multnomah County Crisis Line

2) 911 transfer line

3) EASA Referral Line

4) Emergency Line (major event communication, e.g. terrorist attack, major earthquake, etc.)

5) Washington County Crisis Line

6) Mental Health Referral Line

7) Clackamas County Crisis and Support Line

8) The CATC/Respite referral line

9) 988 transfer line

10) Latine Mental Health Line

The content of calls on these lines spans the gamut of mental health-related requests, from the very routine request for information and referral to a mental health provider, to the emergent, high-risk request for help from an acutely suicidal caller. ACCs provide immediate clinical triage and crisis intervention services, which may include immediate connection with medical or police emergency services, with the community mobile crisis team, and/or a referral to the Urgent Walk-in Clinic (UWIC) or Hawthorn Walk-In Center (Hawthorn), or Clackamas County Mental Health Center (MHC).

ACCs also provide care coordination services with various community partners, such as: mental health agencies contracted with the Oregon Health Plan for Mental Health Services; hospital emergency departments; mobile outreach (Project Respond, Washington County crisis team) Urgent Walk-In Clinic; Hawthorn Walk In Center; Clackamas County Mental Health Clinic; 988; 911; Portland Police Department; Multnomah County Health Department; Department of Community Justice; and others.

Finally, the Call Center performs a number of other duties, some routine and recurring, others assigned, as needed. Examples of routine duties are ICP (Involuntary Commitment Program) functions such as processing NMI (Notice of Mental Illness) transfers, authorizing and processing Flex Fund vouchers for temporary housing or transportation, processing EASA referrals, and providing assistance to other internal work units. The purpose of the ACC position is to provide crisis intervention on the Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas County Crisis Lines, care coordination across the mental health system for callers, as needed, provide information/referral to community mental health providers; and provide consultation to providers at all levels of acuity in the mental health system.

As the Acute Care Coordinator - Crisis Call Center, duties will include:

Crisis Intervention

• Phone crisis intervention including risk assessment of clients who may be involved in potentially life threatening situations

• Facilitate access to emergency and crisis services for clients as needed, including coordination with 911, mobile outreach, and Multnomah County UWIC/Washington County Hawthorn/Clackamas MHC

• Provide solution focused interventions to assist clients. This covers a spectrum of mental health needs such as helping a client stabilize while experiencing panic, depression, agitation, delusional thinking, or any other mental health symptoms a client may deem as needing crisis line support

• These functions require the extensive use of computer and phone technology, managing multiple computer screens and programs simultaneously, making rapid clinical decisions, adhering to complex policies and procedures, while attending to a caller on the phone\ touch-typing without looking at one's fingers, and concurrent documentation

Case Management and Care Coordination

• Provide short-term case coordination and follow up for callers with urgent and/or complex needs, including those with specialized health-care needs to ensure that needs are appropriately and adequately addressed by service providers

• Service providers may include community corrections agencies, police, drug and alcohol treatment providers, other mental health providers, hospital emergency departments, and residential facilities

• Document all member/provider/community contacts and clinical reviews, including symptoms, interventions, goals and plan for next review

• Documentation may also include uploading crisis alerts received by community providers, upload police reports and provide special requested outreach to clients; documentation is done in an electronic database

• Assist other clinicians as needed in terms of immediate crisis support such as calling 911 for another clinician while the clinician remains on the phone with the client

• Provide information and directive support to fellow clinicians as needed regarding resources for clients and clarification of policies and procedures

TO QUALIFY:

We will consider any combination of relevant work experience, volunteering, education, and transferable skills as qualifying unless an item or section is labeled required. Please be clear and specific about how your background is relevant. For details about how we typically screen applications, review our overview of the selection process page.

Required Minimum Qualifications/Transferable Skills:

Education/Training:

• Master's degree from an accredited college or university in the mental health field with major coursework in social science, or a related field demonstrating the capacity for the required knowledge and skills to meet provider Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP-C or QMHP-R ) credentialing requirements as required by Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs) and the Mental Health & Addiction Certification Board of Oregon (MHACBO) - more information can be found at MHACBO website.

  • Master's degree in psychology

  • Master's degree in social work

  • Master's degree in a behavioral science field

• Attach QMHP-C or QMHP-R certificate / Licensed Board of Oregon (LPC, LCSW, PHD, LMFT, etc)

• If you do not currently have a QMHP-R certificate please state your ability to acquire it within 30 days of hire in your cover letter or resume

Other:

• This position requires a background investigation, which may include being fingerprinted. (Background check must be initiated before your start date)

Preferred Qualifications/Transferable Skills:

• Ability to upload documentation in an electronic database

• Computer and phone technology, managing multiple computer screens and programs simultaneously

• Ability to concurrently document call content

• Phone crisis intervention, including risk assessment of clients who may be involved in potentially life threatening situations

• Understand cultural, racial and ethnic factors, including: systemic advantage or disadvantage; acculturation, intergenerational immigrant family challenges, effects of trauma during immigration, war, separation from family and/or primary supports, detention, refugee camps, etc.; generational trauma; and any factors related to non-dominant culture affecting mental health and treatment

• Ability to apply an equity, intersectional and anti-racist lens

• Ability to provide information/referrals to community mental health providers

• Advanced skills in managing sensitive information and ability to support the community

• Knowledge of cultures, customs and social experiences of communities experiencing marginalization and barriers to opportunity

• Ability to exercise good judgment, diplomacy, and tact in dealing with sensitive, complex, confidential information and situations, in addition to acting professionally, and empathically, with individuals, internal/external partners and communities

SCREENING & EVALUATION:

REQUIRED:

Note: Internal employees are also required to submit all required documents for their applications to be considered complete.

The Application Packet: You must submit ALL requested items below. Failure to do so will be deemed as an incomplete application.

1. Attach a Resume demonstrating you meeting minimum qualifications; AND

2. Attach a Cover Letter addressing the following:

• Demonstrate your experience working with diverse vulnerable populations; and providing crisis intervention including risk assessment of clients; ability to use a phone and multiple computer screens simultaneously making rapid clinical decisions

• How you meet the qualifications for this position

• Why are you interested in this position

3. Attach a copy of your Board of Oregon Licensure and/or QMHP-C/QMHP-R Certification and indicate the status of your certification(s)

- If you are an out of state applicant please state it on your cover letter and your ability to get certified under the Mental Health Consultants board of Oregon.

Note: The application, resume and cover letter should demonstrate your work experience/skills and how it is related to those shown in the 'Overview' and 'To Qualify' sections of the job announcement. Please be thorough, as these materials will be scored and determine your eligibility to advance in this recruitment process.

The Selection Process: For details about how we typically screen applications, review our overview of the selection process page. We expect to evaluate candidates for this recruitment as follows:

• Initial review of application / resume and cover letter for minimum qualifications and all required attachments. If you do not address the minimum qualifications in the application, your application will be considered incomplete and will not move forward in the recruitment process.

• Phone screen

• Supplemental Questionnaire

• Oral exam

• Consideration of top candidates

• Background, reference, and education checks

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Type of Position: This hourly position is eligible for overtime

Routine Telework (some in person meetings and trainings)

Salary/Pay: Please be advised that the pay range listed for this position is intended to provide general guidance on the earning potential for the role. However, actual compensation will be determined in accordance with the Oregon Equal Pay Law and will take into account factors such as the candidate's relevant experience and education. Candidates should expect that initial offers will be made within the listed pay range and may not be at or near the top of the range.

Our Commitment to Safety, Trust and Belonging: Multnomah County is committed to developing, nurturing and continually improving workforce equity by identifying and addressing the structural and policy barriers to equal employment opportunity faced by our employees and communities. County employees across the organization have stepped forward to develop a strategic plan and help create a workplace where everyone can reach their full potential. Learn more by reading our Workforce Equity Strategic Plan and exploring our Core Competencies for all County employees.

Serving the Public, Even During Disasters : Everyday, Multnomah County staff work together to serve as a safety net for our communities. During a disaster, this safety net becomes even more critical. All County employees have a role in serving the public during inclement weather, natural disaster, or other types of community emergency response. During these emergency responses, while typically there begins with a call for volunteers, county employees may ultimately be reassigned from their current position to a role in the emergency response in order to support the critical needs presented by our communities. For more information, please visit the Disaster Service Worker Information page.

In accordance with Oregon Law, Multnomah County is not collecting school attendance dates in the initial application process; please do not include these dates in your resume, cover letter and other application materials.

Diversity and Inclusion: At Multnomah County, we don't just accept difference; we value it and support it to create a culture of dignity and respect for our employees.

We are proud to be an Equal O...