Mental Health Clinician for Foster Youth

WestCoast Children's Clinic • Oakland, CA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

WestCoast Children’s Clinic is a nonprofit community psychology clinic in Oakland, California, providing mental health services to children, youth, and families in the Bay Area. The STAT Program provides Screening, Stabilization and Transition services to children entering foster care or experiencing placement changes in Alameda County. The STAT Clinician conducts mental health screenings and assessments and delivers mobile, individual, family, and milieu-based therapy in community settings and at the AC TrSCF. The role includes follow-up services to help youth stabilize in foster or group homes, coordinated with caregivers, social workers, and multidisciplinary care teams. The program serves children and young adults from birth through age 20 and focuses on addressing the effects of abuse and neglect while reducing the impact of separation from family, home, and community. Clinicians may also maintain a small caseload of clients with chronic placement instability for up to a year.

This is a regular, full-time, exempt position based in Oakland, California, with a hybrid arrangement: client services are provided in person, while documentation may be completed remotely. The regular schedule is Monday through Friday. Mobile service delivery requires travel, generally within a 90-mile radius of Oakland. Salary is $72,000 per year for master’s-level clinicians collecting hours toward licensure and starts at $82,000 for licensed clinicians. Qualified Spanish-speaking candidates receive an additional 10% language differential.

Requirements

• Master’s or doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology, marriage and family therapy, or social work.
• Master’s-level candidates must be currently registered with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
• At least 1–2 years of post-graduate experience working with children or youth.
• Demonstrated experience providing individual psychotherapy, parent support, and family therapy to children, adolescents, and families, particularly youth in or entering foster care.
• Demonstrated experience delivering culturally responsive care in diverse communities.
• CPR, First Aid, and Bloodborne Pathogens certifications.
• Demonstrated clinical experience within foster care, DSS, and community mental health systems.
• Ability to travel by car to meet with clients, generally within a 90-mile radius of the Oakland office; alternative transportation may be accommodated based on program and client needs.
• Clean California DMV record.
• When driving for WCC, current vehicle insurance is required.
• Ability to meet the role’s clinical service, mobile service delivery, multidisciplinary collaboration, cultural competence, complex care management, time management, communication, documentation, administrative, and professional conduct expectations.

Nice To Haves

• Current California mental health license, or eligibility for a waiver under California Department of Mental Health requirements before the hire date.
• Prior residential, milieu, or community-based mental health experience.
• Knowledge of de-escalation techniques.
• Knowledge of attachment theory, brief psychotherapy modalities, early childhood and adolescent development, trauma, and principles of milieu therapy.
• Knowledge of Medi-Cal reimbursement procedures and EHR systems such as Welligent, or ability to learn them.

Responsibilities

• Conduct mental health screenings, informal assessments, and therapeutic interventions in community settings and at the AC TrSCF when children enter or transition within the child welfare system.
• Partner with case manager engagement specialists, county social workers, foster caregivers, and other multidisciplinary team members to make comprehensive recommendations and address clients’ mental health and wellness needs.
• Provide short-term therapy, generally over a 30–60 day period, and offer collateral support and guidance to foster parents, relatives, STRTP staff, and partnering providers to support placement transitions and stabilization.
• Provide individual and family therapy, caregiver guidance, collateral contacts, and case management for children with chronic placement instability for 3–12 months as part of an integrated care team.
• Deliver mobile, community-based services at WCC program sites, homes, schools, and partner locations, with travel of up to 90 miles from Oakland.
• Participate actively in multidisciplinary team-based care and coordinate regularly with team members to deliver cohesive care.
• Make collateral contacts and advocate on behalf of clients as needed.
• Maintain clinical caseload minimums, meet billable-hour and agency-defined goals, and comply with billing, record-keeping, documentation, and deadline requirements.
• Attend agency and program meetings, individual clinical supervision or consultation, clinical case conferences, and required professional development trainings.

What This Job Offers

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