Addiction Specialist II - Clinical Services at Fort Logan

State of Colorado•Denver, CO

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Addiction Specialist II works in the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Fort Logan, a 24-hour state psychiatric hospital providing inpatient care to adults with severe and persistent mental illness, including civil and forensic patients. The position manages specialized substance use and co-occurring disorder services, including screening, assessment, individual and group treatment, harm-reduction planning, and integration of addiction care into multidisciplinary treatment. The role also supports discharge planning and community recovery connections, and provides operational, milieu, and educational support across the hospital. Employees must work at their assigned location during scheduled work times; work arrangements may change. This position is open only to current Colorado residents. The Addiction Specialist delivers evidence-based group interventions and individual clinical care, adapts materials to patients’ cognitive and psychiatric needs, and uses trauma-informed approaches and motivational interviewing. The specialist maintains a clinical caseload, provides substance use expertise to the treatment team, develops and reviews care-plan interventions, and documents clinical work in the electronic health record within required timelines. The role conducts standardized substance screenings, including the AUDIT, and comprehensive substance use assessments. It also links patients with geographically appropriate recovery resources and may escort eligible patients to community recovery meetings when clinically appropriate. The position may involve exposure to bodily fluids or caustic chemicals. New employees must complete two-step tuberculosis screening; annual influenza, COVID, and other vaccinations may be required by the State of Colorado. Background screening, license verification, and drug screening are also conditions of employment.

Requirements

Current, valid Colorado certification as a Certified Addiction Specialist (CAS), Addiction Counselor Candidate (AC-C), or Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC).
Must be a current Colorado resident.
Ability to complete the required background checks, professional license verification, and drug screen.
Ability to complete two-step tuberculosis screening and comply with State-required vaccination requirements.

Nice To Haves

Experience in addiction or substance use recovery treatment.
Certified Addiction Specialist or Licensed Addiction Specialist credential.
Relevant years of state service experience.

Responsibilities

Conduct initial substance use screenings and diagnostic evaluations for admitting patients and forensic transfers, including administering the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) shortly after intake.
Complete comprehensive substance use assessments within two weeks of initiating individual therapy and document screenings, assessments, and clinical observations in the EHR within institutional timelines.
Provide individual therapy, substance use psychoeducation, harm-reduction counseling, and patient-centered recovery care while maintaining a direct clinical caseload.
Design and facilitate structured, evidence-based addiction recovery, harm-reduction, and educational groups across civil and forensic units; adapt curricula to patients’ cognitive functioning and psychiatric symptoms.
Use trauma-informed frameworks and motivational interviewing to support discussions of substance use, coping, and relapse prevention.
Collaborate with community volunteers to incorporate recovery networks such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous into the hospital setting.
Serve as the substance use disorder subject matter expert for multidisciplinary treatment teams and provide clinical recommendations about interactions between substance use disorders and psychiatric symptoms.
Formulate, update, and review Interdisciplinary Plans of Care (IPOC), meet with patients at least monthly to review progress and adjust treatment, and participate in Master Treatment Plan reviews.
Prepare individualized discharge and recovery plans, including geographic-specific recovery resource packages and connections to outpatient services, harm-reduction programs, recovery residences, and support systems.
Organize and escort eligible patients to off-campus community recovery meetings and support networks when clinically appropriate.
Provide operational, milieu, and educational support, including emergency group coverage, court hearing supervision, family visitation monitoring, patient transports, cafeteria and treatment mall escorts, and supplemental unit staffing.

Benefits

PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus 401(k) and 457 plans
Medical and dental health plans
Employer-supplemented Health Savings Account
Paid life insurance
Short- and long-term disability coverage
11 paid holidays per year, plus vacation and sick leave
State of Colorado Employee BenefitHub Resource Center
Employee Wellness program
Work-life programs, including flexible schedules and training
Remote work arrangements for eligible positions
Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program