Director of Family Based and Training | FIT | Statewide

Gandara Center•Holyoke, MA

9d•$83,000 - $88,000•Remote

About The Position

The Family-based Intensive Treatment (FIT) Program provides intensive short-term (on average, 4 to 6 months) in-home, community-based treatment to an identified youth and their family. The focus of FIT is to ameliorate the youth’s mental health issues and strengthen the family structures and supports, with the goal of safety transitioning the youth in to a less-intensive, community-based treatment. To do so, at risk youth and their families are provided medically necessary intensive family therapy and robust care coordination. The clinical goal of this program is to provide youth under 21 and their parents/caregivers with the intensive short- term treatment needed to maintain the youth at home safely and to (re)connect them to ongoing outpatient and/or community-based services.

Requirements

The FIT Director must have a master degree in a human service field (including but not restricted to counseling, family therapy, social work, psychology, etc.) from an accredited college/university.
The FIT Director must carry a qualifying Independent License and be able to provide supervision according to licensing guidelines.
The FIT Director must have training in family therapy as well as training and working experience with youth and families.
Experience navigating any of the child/family-serving systems and advocating for family members who are involved in the behavioral health system
Demonstrated ability to be innovative, creative, analytical and decisive in problem solving.
Demonstrated communications, administrative and organizational capabilities.
Ability to work effectively with diverse populations and community agencies: School Dept., DYS, Juvenile Court, etc.
Understanding/willingness to be part of a Program that supports youth and families 24 hours per day, 365 days a year.
Must have a driver’s license and availability of vehicle to support program needs.

Nice To Haves

Bi-Lingual Spanish/English preferred.

Responsibilities

The FIT Program requires a multidisciplinary clinical team, including a master’s level clinician, a qualified paraprofessional and a family partner staff. Clinical team leads are required to have crisis intervention training, and will be responsible for ongoing supervision and coaching of other team members.
Comprehensive home-based assessment, behavioral health assessment inclusive of the age-appropriate version of the Massachusetts CANS that occurs in the youth’s home, emergency room department or another location of the family’s choice. Review and modification of treatment plan as necessary. Development of a youth and family centered treatment plan in collaboration with the youth, parent/caregiver(s), and with required consents, in consultation with other providers.
Will respond to referrals in a timely manner by offering an intake within 24 hours of receipt.
Provides intensive family therapy that may include working with the entire family, or a subset of the family.
Focused, structural, strategic, or behavioral techniques, or evidenced-based interventions for problem solving, limit setting, risk management/safety planning, communication, skill building to strengthen the family, and to advance therapeutic goals or improve ineffective patterns of interactions.
Coordinates pharmacological evaluation, and behavioral consultation, as needed.
The FIT team works directly with the child and family 3 to 5 times per week.
Identification of community resources and development of natural supports for youth and parent/caregiver(s) to support and sustain achievement of the youth’s treatment plan goals and objectives.Review/development of a risk management/safety plan in collaboration with the youth and parent/caregiver and mobile crisis/emergency department providers.
The FIT Director supports a multi-disciplinary team to respond to the family at the point of crisis, (emergency department or in the community) to provide support and crisis/emergency services for the youth/family.
Will attend regular team meetings for each youth on their caseload.
The FIT team will provide care coordination throughout their work with the youth and family, including making appropriate referrals and “warm hand” offs” to follow-up providers, as indicated.
The team will support the youth and family to effectively utilize 24/7 crisis response for youth/families, including in-person, when clinically indicated.
Requirement to keep current on all Agency, Government and Funding trainings and health requirements (OSHA, Sexual Harassment, etc.)
Completes all the necessary paperwork in a strength-based manner per Agency requirements, (i.e. court letters, change of placement forms, Referrals, ICP, Progress Notes, evaluation instruments, consent forms, etc.)
To complete time sheets, mileage forms etc. and submit them accurately and in a timely manner.