Mental Health Specialist (ACSW) Garden Grove, CA

Healthcare in Action • Garden Grove, CA

6d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Garden Grove Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) is a co-response program operated by Healthcare in Action (HIA) in partnership with the City of Garden Grove and the Garden Grove Police Department (GGPD). This program delivers mobile mental health and crisis stabilization services in the field, providing eight hours of coverage per day, seven days per week, through two field teams. Each team pairs an EMT with an associate-level behavioral health clinician (ACSW, AMFT, or APCC) who has prior crisis or field-based behavioral health experience. The Mental Health Specialist acts as the behavioral health clinician on a two-person MCRT field team, working with an EMT to respond to crisis calls with GGPD. After GGPD clears the scene, the clinician takes the lead in crisis assessment, de-escalation, suicide risk assessment, and crisis counseling. They will also triage the individual’s needs, connect them to appropriate services, and ensure timely and accurate documentation of each response. The clinician reports to the LCSW Supervisor and receives supervision toward licensure.

Requirements

• Master’s Degree in Social Work, Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, or a related behavioral health field
• Active registration with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) as an ACSW, AMFT, or APCC required. Registration must be maintained in good standing while accruing supervised hours toward licensure.
• Valid California Driver’s License required.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a two-person co-response team alongside an EMT and law enforcement.
• Tuberculosis Screening Policy: If selected for this position, your job offer with SCAN will be contingent on providing proof of Tuberculosis screening upon hire or providing proof of a negative screening within the last year.
• A background check is required.

Nice To Haves

• One or more years in a mental health or clinical environment, including experience in crisis response, behavioral health, or field-based work with individuals experiencing mental health and/or substance use crises preferred.
• Prior crisis intervention or field-based behavioral health experience preferred.
• Experience working alongside law enforcement or in a co-response model, and work with individuals experiencing homelessness, are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Conduct crisis assessment, triage, and behavioral health evaluation of individuals in the field once GGPD has cleared the scene.
• Lead de-escalation and provide crisis counseling to individuals experiencing mental health and/or substance use crises, both housed and unhoused.
• Perform suicide and violence risk assessment and safety planning, determining when an individual requires a higher level of care.
• Connect individuals to appropriate services, including HIA’s street medicine team, a community provider, the CAT team, or the Department of Mental Health (DMH), and safely and appropriately transfer care to the receiving provider, including hospital staff, crisis stabilization units, or other mental health facilities, through documented warm handoffs.
• Partner with the EMT on scene safety, maintaining communication with GGPD and approaching individuals only after GGPD clears the scene.
• Complete timely, accurate documentation of each response, including assessments, dispositions, and follow-up, in the applicable systems, and support program reporting requirements.
• Operate within the approved scope of work, observing program boundaries (no involuntary holds, no transport of individuals in program vehicles) and escalating to the CAT team, Police, or DMH when an involuntary hold or higher level of care is needed.
• Escalate to GGPD if a safety concern arises in the field or at a receiving facility, and escalate clinically complex or high-risk cases to the LCSW Supervisor.
• Consult the LCSW Supervisor on cases during the weekdays and the on-call clinicians (advanced practice provider and back-up physician) as needed on weekends; participate in clinical supervision toward licensure, joint training, and case conferencing during midweek overlap activities.
• Protect confidential information by following all HIPAA regulations; actively support the achievement of SCAN’s and HIA’s Vision and Goals; and perform other duties as assigned.
• This position is a patient-facing role and a healthcare worker.

Benefits

• Base salary range: $64,000 to $92,602 per year
• An annual employee bonus program
• Robust Wellness Program
• Generous paid-time-off (PTO)
• Eleven paid holidays per year, plus 1 floating holiday, plus 1 birthday holiday
• Excellent 401(k) Retirement Saving Plan with employer match and contribution
• Robust employee recognition program
• Tuition reimbursement
• An opportunity to become part of a team that makes a difference to our members and our community every day!

What This Job Offers

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