Transitional Care Coordinator at The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD

 Are you ready to make a real difference in people's lives? Join the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD as a Transitional Care Coordinator. The Transitional Care Coordinator provides intensive case management services to Juveniles experiencing a serious and persistent mental illness, being released or discharged from the Juvenile Probation Department Detention Center and/or Placement facilities. Must have excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate with other community agencies and programs to coordinate services for the juvenile. Good clinical skills and excellent knowledge of community resources are required, as is the ability to work autonomously. Must be dependable, trustworthy and demonstrate good judgment. Responsible for participating in discharge planning, including the completion of clinical and psychosocial assessments, as well as linking and coordinating Juveniles with transitional community services. Also responsible for providing crisis intervention and relapse 
prevention services when indicated. The Transitional Care Coordinator will coordinate services and linkages for Juvenile and monitor progress until successfully transitions into mental health services coordinated through a Harris Center clinic or Community clinic. This position requires extensive local travel and flexible hours.

Your Role in Action

As a Transitional Care Coordinator for this unit, you will be:

• Provides crisis intervention and relapse prevention services in response to a crisis, to reduce symptoms and avoid admission to a more restrictive environment, once released to the community.
• Attends discharge-planning staffing in the institutions and performs discharge-planning activities to assist consumers in maintaining stability in the community while minimizing juvenile’s involvement with law enforcement.
• Performs activities to assist juveniles in obtaining and maintaining access to psychiatric and medical care and psychosocial services, based on juveniles’ needs.
• Provides education on mental health, substance abuse and related community resources.
• Monitors juveniles’ progress with treatment goals and assists juvenile in transitioning into ongoing 
  community mental health services.
• Completes reporting in an accurate and timely manner as designated.
• Advocates for juvenile to ensure that needs are met both within The Harris Center system and in the 
  community.
• Communicates and works with juveniles/visitor/other staff in a manner that demonstrates knowledge of cultural diversities.
• Meets productivity standards as outlined in the Forensic Mental Health Division Operational Guidelines and Performance contract.
• Performs other related work as assigned and adapts to changing work requirements.

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 required.
• Mental Health Crisis Intervention experience preferred.
• Experience working with juveniles in home/community environment preferred.
• Spanish speaking preferred but not required. 

Other Key Qualifications

• Must maintain a valid Texas Driver's License and be insurable under Agency policy.
• This position requires extensive local travel and flexible hours.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Basic understanding of what mental illness is, common signs and symptoms and able to identify 
  difficulties with coping in community settings.
• Basic understanding of substance abuse and related issues.
• Extensive knowledge of Community Resources.
• 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 and excel software on the computer.
•  

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 provides 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.

What else you should know:

• This posting is associated with position #67032
• Work Schedule: 

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.

Contributes to suicide care and prevention by embracing our values and applying a trauma-informed approach rooted in safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and empowerment