Counselor II - ACT chez Lake County, IL

About the Department

(ACT) Assertive Community Treatment Team is recruiting a Counselor II to provide intensive case management for adults with chronic, severe mental illness, in addition to working to reduce hospitalizations and avoid nursing home placement. LCHD cares about the safety of all staff who work across the agency. LCHD cares about the safety of all staff who work across the agency. A variety of safety training is used to orient staff to the community.

Counselor II Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for evaluating and assessing clients. 
• Plans and implements a treatment plan with clients on assigned caseloads.
• Conducts individual, group, and family counseling, case management, outreach, education, monitoring, referral, linkage, follow-ups, and documentation.

Position Duties

• Maintains regular contact with an active caseload- most of which is conducted in clients’ homes and in the community.
• Provides direct services to clients, including individual and group treatment.
• Consults with the supervisor regarding transfer/placement of a client to another level of service, as needed.
• Assists clients in obtaining public entitlements, housing, community resources, etc.
• Attends staffing’s with Nursing Homes, Court Services, schools, agencies, and others, as necessary.
• Organizes and participates in treatment-related clinical conferences and staffing’s on assigned clients.
• Focuses on client empowerment evidence-based or adopted best practices in providing treatment, seeking to assist clients to build on strengths in addressing treatment needs.
• Conducts crisis intervention/evaluation/referral to persons who present themselves at the program.
• Performs initial assessments of clients after they have been deemed appropriate for participation in the program.
• Provides education and direction to clients, family members, and/or significant others.
• Regularly drives clients to various locations throughout Lake County in support of meeting their needs.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field, or
• Bachelor's in any field and two (2) years’ experience, or
• High School diploma or GED and five (5) years’ experience
• Must possess a valid driver's license

Other Qualifications

As the largest human service provider in Lake County, we believe that services must be available without barriers. No residents are turned away due to the inability to pay. We believe in providing services in an environment of mutual respect, free of discrimination or bias. Whether assuring accessible and effective care, impacting policy, or assessing and monitoring risks, the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center has been an essential part of the public health system in Lake County for 60 years. We are looking for passionate, qualified team members who can help make a difference in our agency and, most importantly, in our community. 

Additional information about the Lake County Health Department, our culture, and why you should join our team can be found at https://lakecountyil.attract.neogov.com/health-department.

At this time, you must live in Illinois or Wisconsin to be eligible to work at Lake County Health Department. You can find our salary grades at https://www.lakecountyil.gov/4515/Salary-Grades. For unionized positions, a list of our collective bargaining agreements can be found here: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2686/Collective-Bargaining-Agreements.

Any offer of employment is conditioned on the successful completion of a background screening, drug and alcohol testing and may include a pre-employment medical exam.

The Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.