Behavioral Health Care Manager | Enhanced Care Management

Akido

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Akido is seeking a Behavioral Health Care Manager (BHCM) to join its Enhanced Care Management (ECM) team, serving IEHP members in the Inland Empire. This role is for individuals with a behavioral health background who are passionate about making a difference for those facing serious mental illness, substance use disorders, poverty, housing instability, and chronic illness. The BHCM will be a core member of an interdisciplinary ECM team, acting as the behavioral health expert. They will contribute to care planning, provide direct patient support, and ensure patients in crisis or with unmet behavioral health needs are connected to appropriate care. The role involves working in community-based and clinic settings, with telephonic outreach and telehealth as needed. A Master's degree in Social Work (MSW) or Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) is required, with California licensure (LCSW/LMFT) preferred. Local residency to the service region is also required.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) or Masters in Family therapy (MFT)
Minimum 2 years of experience in behavioral health case management, care coordination, or direct services with Medi-Cal or similarly complex populations.
Grounded in behavioral health—comfortable working with individuals experiencing SMI, SUD, trauma, homelessness, and other complex psychosocial challenges.
Committed to harm reduction, health equity, and meeting people where they are without judgment.
A skilled collaborator who can hold the behavioral health perspective on an interdisciplinary team while remaining flexible, creative, and patient-centered.
Self-directed and organized, with the ability to manage a caseload, prioritize competing demands, and document consistently.
A clear communicator who can build trust quickly with diverse populations and navigate difficult conversations with care.
Comfortable working across care settings—community, clinic, telehealth, and telephone.
Valid California Driver’s License, reliable transportation, and ability to travel locally across the Inland Empire for in-person visits.

Nice To Haves

California licensure (LCSW/LMFT) preferred.
Reside locally to the region served.
Experience with Medi-Cal/Medicaid populations, CalAIM, or ECM programs.
Familiarity with IEHP and the Inland Empire county behavioral health system
Experience working with populations experiencing homelessness, justice involvement, or high emergency department utilization.
Bilingual English/Spanish preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

Carry a panel of ECM-enrolled patients with behavioral health needs, including serious mental illness (SMI), substance use disorders (SUD), and co-occurring conditions, as part of a collaborative pod model.
Conduct behavioral health screenings and assessments to inform individualized care plans, developed in partnership with the patient and the interdisciplinary team.
Provide direct patient support using motivational interviewing, harm reduction, and trauma-informed approaches—meeting members in the community, at clinics, or by phone.
Serve as the team’s go-to resource for behavioral health questions, warm handoffs, and crisis response protocols—ensuring that patients presenting with suicidality, acute mental health concerns, or SUD crises are appropriately triaged and connected to care.
Connect patients to mental health services, peer support programs, crisis lines, and other community resources in the Inland Empire.
Collaborate daily with the RN Care Manager, Care Coordinator, CHW, and Program Manager to coordinate whole-person care for patients with complex needs.
Participate in daily huddles, weekly case conferences, and care planning meetings as the behavioral health voice on the team.
Support smooth transitions and warm handoffs to county behavioral health, inpatient, and crisis services as needed.
Communicate with PCPs, specialists, and community-based partners regarding patient’s behavioral health status and care coordination needs.
Document all encounters accurately and timely in Care Director in compliance with IEHP ECM program requirements, CalAIM standards, and HIPAA.
Contribute to audit preparation, quality improvement initiatives, and metric gap closure in collaboration with the ECM Program Manager and Director.