Service Coordinator II Westside DMH

Step Up • Los Angeles, CA

21d • $70,000 - $76,000

About The Position

The DMH Service Coordinator II provides intensive mental health services to adults and transition-age youth in community, field, and clinic-based settings through Step Up on Second’s Westside Department of Mental Health programs. Members are generally experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, or are referred following discharge from a hospital or jail mental health setting. The programs are funded through MHSA and use evidence-based practices including mental health recovery, Housing First, trauma-informed care, and Motivational Interviewing. Teams are field-based and interdisciplinary, providing outreach, engagement, and appropriate services to members on the census.

The role combines community outreach, clinical therapeutic services, case management, assessment, care planning, crisis intervention, housing-retention support, and program documentation. The coordinator works collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team and other service coordinators, including sharing 24-hour on-call coverage. This position reports to the Senior Program Manager and requires frequent driving and transporting.

The role involves working with people experiencing homelessness in streets, shelters, and other settings. The work may include exposure to infestations, unpleasant odors, poor hygiene or unclean homes, mental health symptoms, profanity, sexually explicit or derogatory language, and expressions of anger or trauma. Direct care staff receive training in de-escalation, and Step Up has procedural safeguards intended to mitigate workplace risks.

Step Up’s work is guided by trauma-informed care, mental health recovery, and the core values of Hope, Wellness, Voice and Choice, Respect, and Collaborative Relationships. Employees are expected to follow the organization’s ethical policies and codes of conduct.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in counseling psychology or social work.
• MFT or MSW; must be license-eligible and registered with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
• Experience working with adults with mental illness in a community setting.
• Case management experience.
• Ability to document and chart patient progress to meet documentation requirements.
• Own transportation, a current California driver’s license, and vehicle insurance; the position requires frequent driving and transporting.
• Knowledge of mainstream benefits and services, mental health diagnoses, and levels of functioning.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team, take initiative, and use solution-focused practice.
• Good time-management skills and ability to balance caseload, direct service, and paperwork.
• Ability to work within scope of practice and seek support or training when needed.
• Ability to work as a team member in street settings, homeless facilities, and with community providers such as police, churches, and hospital emergency rooms.
• Ability to engage people on the streets in a meaningful way and build sufficient trust for them to accept offered services.
• Understanding of and commitment to safety for oneself and team members.
• Ability to perform regular sitting, hand and finger use, handling or feeling, reaching, talking, and hearing; frequent walking, balancing, stooping, kneeling, or crouching; occasional lifting or moving of up to 15 pounds; and keyboard data entry.
• Required vision abilities include close, distance, and peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of evidence-based practices such as Critical Time Intervention, Motivational Interviewing, Trauma-Informed Care, Housing First, and Harm Reduction.

Responsibilities

• Support targeted outreach by the Adult FSP, TAY FSP, AOT, and OCS teams to initiate contact, build rapport, and assess homeless adults for mental illness, co-occurring substance use, and other health care needs in coordination with multidisciplinary team members.
• Attend staff and community meetings as requested by the Program Manager.
• Conduct outreach and engage potential members in community settings, including jails, hospitals, board-and-care facilities, and street settings, to determine whether referrals are appropriate for Step Up on Second services.
• Provide clinical therapeutic and case management services to adults with psychiatric disabilities to help improve their functioning in the community.
• Make home visits as needed to support independent living skills and subsidized housing certificates; assist members with skill building and self-care to support independence and housing retention.
• Monitor members for compliance and stability, and report warning signs of decompensation or crisis.
• Complete comprehensive initial and ongoing assessments covering diagnosis, functioning, support networks, living arrangements, financial status, physical health, and self-care.
• Help clients identify needs, set goals, establish objectives, and develop a Coordinated Care Plan within the required timeframe after enrollment and annually thereafter.
• Conduct active outreach to caseload members who have not been in contact and support engagement in services at home, in transitional housing, or on the streets.
• Provide individual, group, and crisis therapeutic interventions to address assessed symptoms, improve functioning, develop insight, and reduce distress or stressors.
• Complete required HMIS or DMH/Medi-Cal paperwork and maintain documentation in Welligent or HMIS within prescribed timeframes and according to program standards and Step Up documentation policy.
• Maintain each member’s electronic health record by ensuring relevant care documents are scanned into attachments.
• Meet weekly, monthly, and quarterly billing quotas established by the Program Manager.
• Work cooperatively with other Service Coordinators, including sharing responsibility for 24-hour on-call coverage.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Opportunities for growth and professional development.
• Generous paid time off, including 13 paid holidays, 10 days of EPTO, and 12 sick days.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Health, dental, vision, Aflac, and $25,000 life insurance coverage.
• 403(b) retirement plan available on the first day of work.
• After working 1,000 hours, Step Up matches 3% of the 6% contributed by the employee.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level