Intensive Case Manager (Roads to Recovery) - Department of Public Health and Environment

City and County of Denver • Denver, CO

2d • $64,000 - $90,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Denver's Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE) is dedicated to advancing Denver's environmental and public health goals. DDPHE works collaboratively with city, state and community partners to conduct education, community engagement, and enforcement to promote healthy people, healthy pets, and a sustainable environment. The Roads to Recovery (R2R) initiative was created as one of Mayor Johnston’s 2024 initiatives to move 200 individuals struggling with addiction or mental health out of the criminal justice system and into a coordinated intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation pipeline. The Behavioral Health division has an opening for an Intensive Case Manager (Roads to Recovery). As an Intensive Case Manager, you will work closely with additional Case Managers, Supervisors, and community-based partners across the City of Denver to establish a coordinated response within the intersection of criminal justice and co-occurring disorders. The Intensive Case Manager will be responsible for outreach, in-reach, client check-ins, data collection, client tracking, client placements and referrals, and ongoing care management and support. The Intensive Case Manager will be responsible for maintaining healthy relationships with team members, clients, and community-based partners. The Intensive Case Manager will hold a caseload of criminal justice impacted individuals experiencing transiency, behavioral health issues, and/or substance use disorder, who face an extreme number of challenges and barriers and will require several face-to-face interactions per week. This position is field-based, which includes visiting client locations (client homes/shelters, encampments, and other locations). Employees can expect to spend up to 80% of their time in the field. Therefore, in this position, you could be exposed to extreme weather, unsanitary conditions, diseases and illness, animals, open air drug use and paraphernalia, criminal activity, and other harsh conditions. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is provided. Employees must work within the state of Colorado on their off-site days. The office for this position is located at 201 W. Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80202.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Mental Health, or a related field.
• Three (3) years of experience working with and counseling patients and individuals with special needs such as mental health issues, substance abuse, homelessness, and marginalized individuals within the criminal justice system.
• Requires a valid Driver’s License at the time of application.
• Licenses and certifications must be kept current as a condition of employment.
• At least 3 years’ experience managing a complex care caseload and providing case management services in the community.
• Experience working with unhoused community members, individuals with chaotic substance use, and individuals diagnosed with a severe and persistent mental illness
• Comprehensive knowledge base of community resources
• Dedication to trauma-informed, person centered, and culturally responsive care
• Previous training in motivational interviewing and harm reduction best practices
• Ability to build trust and rapport quickly
• Competence with determining the most appropriate level of care for a participant to meet a participant’s need
• Strong ability to be flexible and work with a team
• Enjoyment from working outside of the typical office space
• Exceptional organization skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent customer service skills, along with initiative, empathy, flexibility, and patience, which will translate to work with clients, other City agencies, and community partners.
• A tenacious work ethic.
• Strong situational awareness and ability to de-escalate situations
• Ability to adapt to changing situations.
• Applicants for employment with the City and County of Denver must have valid work authorization that does not require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S.

Nice To Haves

• Bi-lingual or multi-lingual would be highly beneficial for this work, though not required.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of clients with high-service utilization and needs that could include transiency, behavioral and mental health disorders, substance use disorders, medical health, job readiness and education, and criminal justice involvement.
• Work as a team amongst Denver City agencies to include The Office of Social Equity and Innovation, The Department of Safety, The Office of Neighborhood Safety, The Office of Housing Stability and other programs managed by The Department of Public Health and Environment.
• Maintain positive working relationships with community partners and health providers.
• Actively participate in community outreach, jail-based in-reach, diversion, and reentry efforts for identified clients.
• Support clients with a wrap-around care management model to ensure consistent communication, engagement, and employable “safety nets” in the event of client disengagement.
• Act as a liaison between R2R program management, client referral, and community partners.
• Meticulously track client data, client engagement, and client outcomes.
• Transport clients to treatment placements, resources, or other services.
• Communicate with contract managers on provider outcomes.
• Participate in team meetings, individual and group consultation, and community-based learning opportunities.
• Provide coverage for team members when needed, which could include meeting with clients and performing case management duties.
• Support clients with life skills, including cleaning; light moving of items to next temporary or permanent housing opportunity; clearing rooms/residences; and transporting clients and their belongings as needed.
• Respond to client emergencies during business hours.
• Along with all department staff, this position will actively participate on an emergency preparedness and response team to support DDPHE’s responsibilities outlined in the City’s Emergency Operations Plan. This may require being ‘on-call’ from time to time to help respond to emergencies. Additional training commensurate with assigned duties will be provided.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• A guaranteed life-long monthly pension, once vested after 5 years of service
• 457B Retirement Plan
• 140 hours of PTO earned within first year + 12 paid holidays, 1 personal holiday and 1 volunteer day per year
• Competitive medical, dental and vision plans effective within 1 month of start date

What This Job Offers

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