Crisis Associate - Community Navigator

Are you passionate about helping people with serious mental illness build hope, connection, and a path toward recovery? The Community Navigator Program is seeking compassionate, relationship-focused Qualified Mental Health Associates (QMHAs) to provide in-reach services at Oregon State Hospital (OSH) for individuals who have been ordered for competency restoration under Oregon's Aid and Assist statutes.

As a Community Navigator, you will begin working with individuals while they are still hospitalized, creating meaningful relationships before they return to the community. Your role is to establish trust, identify strengths, understand personal goals, and help lay the foundation for a successful transition back to community-based services. This position is more than care coordination. It is an opportunity to become a consistent, supportive presence during a critical point in a person's recovery journey. By engaging individuals early, collaborating with hospital staff, community providers, and natural supports, you will help reduce barriers to discharge, improve continuity of care, and promote long-term stability in the community.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES 
Provides individual and group recreational, social and skills training services under a professionally developed service plan; keeps records of persons served status; performs service plan directed case management functions under close supervision; performs related duties as required.  Primary responsibility of this class is to assist and support other mental health professionals, without primary responsibility for a caseload.
 
SUPERVISION RECEIVED 
Works under close supervision of a supervisor who assigns work, establishes goals, and reviews the results obtained for overall effectiveness.
 
SUPERVISION EXERCISED 
Supervision of others is not a responsibility of positions in this classification.

• Conduct in-reach visits at Oregon State Hospital with individuals participating in competency restoration services. Build rapport through consistent, person-centered engagement. Develop an understanding of each individual's strengths, needs, preferences, and recovery goals. Coordinate with hospital treatment teams, county behavioral health staff, and community providers to support discharge planning.
• Connect individuals with housing resources, treatment, peer support, benefits, and other community resources prior to discharge. Serve as a trusted point of contact throughout the transition from hospital to community. Promote recovery, independence, and community integration while supporting public safety and treatment engagement.
• Assist clients of the Behavioral Health Crisis Center to follow the crisis treatment plan created by the Qualified Mental Health Professional. Provide one on one skills training to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, as needed per QMHP. This includes teaching relaxation techniques, crisis intervention skills, assisting clients with phone calls, or other skills the QMHP deems appropriate in the community setting.
• Drive the client to appointments, for emergency meds, for food boxes, or to locations as directed by the QMHP.
• Provide support to the Crisis, Diversion, and Respite programs. Clean Respite apartments, as needed, as well as respite vehicles. Take laundry to the cleaners and disperse once returned clean. Answer the phones and greet clients (beginning paperwork). Monitor lobby as needed.
• Provide services in a variety of settings-including the office, hospitals, carceral facilities, and in the community where the individual is located, while adhering to the Mobile Crisis Intervention Services training schedule as require by all staff.
• Attend monthly individual supervision meeting with Clinical Supervisor.
• Attend mandated trainings as assigned.
• Clea up lobby, as needed.

• Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Response Level 2: In the event of an emergency, employee makes a reasonable effort to report to work. Employee may be required to perform duties outside of their regularly assigned duties. Employee may be requested to work an extended or flexible schedule. Staff at this response level must complete Incident Command System 100 and 700 on-line or in-person training.

EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING

1. Three years relevant work experience in a behavioral health services field; OR 
2. Bachelor's degree in a behavioral science field; OR 
3. Any satisfactory combination of work, education, training or experience relevant to the position, as determined by Marion County. 

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS (individual recruitment will specify details)

• Must possess a current Mental Health & Addiction Certification Board of Oregon (MHACBO) Qualified Mental Health Associate certification (QMHA) or register within ninety (90) days of hire, and complete in accordance with MHACBO guidelines. See MHACBO website for requirements.
• This position may be subject to the following: Must not be excluded from participation in the federal health care programs (Medicaid, Medicare and other federally funded programs that provide health benefits); AND must not be excluded from participating in federal procurement (Federal Acquisition Regulation) and non-procurement activities (Executive Order No. 12549).
• Must possess a current driver's license in the applicant's state of residence and an acceptable driving history.  Marion County will obtain a copy of the driving record for all qualified applicants from Driver and Motor Vehicle Services and review the driving record according to the Marion County policy and procedure for Driving on County Business.  The policy can be found at:  http://apps.co.marion.or.us/APAP/.
• The finalist for this position will be required to pass a criminal history background check; however, conviction of a crime may not necessarily disqualify an individual for this position.
• This is a safety sensitive/special needs position. Final candidates selected for this position will be required to pass a pre-employment drug screen, including testing for marijuana. The Marion County Drug and Alcohol Use and Testing Policy can be found at: http://apps.co.marion.or.us/APAP/policy.aspx?p=policy&pid=518.
• This assignment is represented by a union.
• This is a full-time position, which is eligible for overtime.
• Typical Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with flexibility depending upon the needs of the department and program.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES 
Working knowledge of the general concepts of mental health (including common symptoms for major behavioral health conditions) and chemical dependency as well as community resources; de-escalation, crisis intervention, and engagement strategies; strengths-based resiliency and recovery models; definitions of basic- and community-living skills; measurable goals/outcomes of mental health recovery, substance use disorders recovery, and co-occurring disorders recovery; evidence-based strategies for skills training and improving overall health; daily living activities that promote health and wellness.

Ability to demonstrate active listening skills and interviewing techniques; establish effective working relationships with diverse individuals and foster shared decision-making with behavioral health consumers, family members, and providers; clearly convey information about behavioral and general health; exercise cultural and trauma-informed competency when linking to resources; follow directions and accept feedback in a professional manner; prepare reports and document services provided to persons served in a timely and professional manner with clarity, conciseness, and completeness; work within an interdisciplinary team; practice appropriate boundaries with consumers; recognize unsafe situations.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
Operates a motor vehicle; sees using depth perception; stands; sits; moves about the work area; climbs 1 floor of stairs; reaches overhead; lifts up to 15 lbs.; pushes, pulls and carries up to 10 lbs.; operates a keyboard; speaks clearly and audibly; reads a 12-pt. font; hears a normal level of speech; works in areas that may be exposed to heat, cold, humidity, dust, smoke, vibration, and noise; works in areas that may be wet or uneven. Use of household cleaning chemicals (bleach, cleansers).

We offer tuition assistance for employees interested in professional development.

• Up to $1,500 per year to reimburse for tuition, licensure and/or other educational expenditures. According to the Marion County policy administrative policies regarding tuition payments.  The policy can be found at:  Marion County Tuition Payment Policy 303