Program Assistant I-CoT-CMHHIP

As a cornerstone of the Pueblo community for over a century, Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo (CMHHIP) is a leading employer, provider of quality mental health services, and a community partner. CMHHIP is a 24 hour behavioral health acute care facility that is intended to provide a safe, secure, and therapeutic setting for patients with both psychiatric and medical issues.  The services provided include evaluation and treatment for patients who are severely mentally ill, and the goal of this facility is to return patients to their optimal level of functioning and assist them in returning to the community as appropriate.

The purpose of the Continuity of Treatment (CoT) Department at the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo (CMHHIP) is to enhance, support, and maintain therapeutic integrity and active treatment programming across all inpatient units. The department delivers evidence-based clinical treatment, psychotherapy, rehabilitative programming, and specialized substance use disorder (SUD) assessment, evaluation, and education.

To facilitate patient stabilization, behavioral rehabilitation, and discharge readiness, CoT strategically manages hospital-wide clinical staff deployment, scheduling, and backfilling to minimize therapeutic group and activity cancellations. Additionally, the department develops and maintains high-volume deployment tracking systems, analyzing call-off data, backfill trends, and group compliance to ensure strict adherence to federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Joint Commission "Active Treatment" standards. The target patient population includes forensic and civil individuals with severe and persistent mental illness, cognitive impairments, and complex legal statuses (e.g., incompetent-to-proceed, not guilty by reason of insanity, and civil commitments).

100% In-Person Working Arrangements

Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo is a 24-hour facility

This position will comply with the Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health/Division of Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo /Unit: Continuity of Treatment current working arrangements. 

Please note: These working arrangements are subject to change.

About the Position:

This position exists to provide technical program support and operational work leadership within the Staffing Office sub-arm of the Continuity of Treatment Department. Reporting directly to the Workforce Manager, the position serves as the operational coordinator and Work Lead over three Administrative Assistant III Staffing Coordinators. The position provides staffing calendar and tracker maintenance for the Staffing Office sub-arm; coordinates data entry, cohort spreadsheets, and classroom material readiness for the Training & Education sub-arm; and provides documentation scanning, logging, and supervision-record tracking for the Clinical Group Facilitation sub-arm. The role ensures that therapeutic group and activity coverages are executed in compliance with hospital operating policies and CMS active treatment regulations.

Staffing Office Support & Coverage System Maintenance (Staffing Sub-Arm):

• Under the direct supervision of the Administrative Staffing Manager, this position acts as the operational system administrator for the department's coverage window calendar, ensuring daily system alignment across scheduling tools

• Responsible for processing the results of approved leave and training notices of clinical department staff into the coverage window spreadsheets, marking staff as unavailable on Google Calendar, removing individuals from calendar invites, and enforcing the "Hard Stop Rule" (ensuring pre-assigned coverage plans override standard schedule rotations)

• Executes the required system adjustments: updating the CoT Scheduling Tracker, adjusting the Interdepartmental Tracker, revising coverage windows, and sending immediate notifications to the Scheduling Coordinators

• Conducts the required monthly Interdepartmental Tracker audit, performing a line-by-line comparison of unit rosters and therapist schedules to identify, document, and resolve coverage gaps or scheduling mismatches before shift operations begin

Work Leadership & Staffing Quality Control:

• Functions as the active Work Lead for the three AA III Staffing Coordinators to maintain continuity in the department's front-line scheduling operations

• Assigns daily tasks, establishes workflow priorities, schedules coverage desk rotations, and monitors the progress of scheduling queues

• Responsible for checking the work products of the Staffing Coordinators for timeliness, accuracy, and compliance with hospital policy, resolving scheduling escalations or scheduling-tool input errors

• Compiles, synthesizes, and interprets daily staff call-off, deployment, and group cancellation metrics, translating raw data into formatted monthly operational reports for the Workforce Manager to evaluate staffing trends, track regulatory compliance, and support division-wide resource forecasting

Clinical Operations & Compliance Record Support (Facilitation Sub-Arm):

• Provides essential administrative and logistical program support to the Education and Training Administrator and Clinical Trainers

• Tracks and monitors training cohort calendars, gathers information from New Employee Notifications to build cohort spreadsheets, and registers classes in the training schedule templates

• Grades written assessments, compiles pre- and post-test data, and generates basic progress reports summarizing trends for the training leadership

• Maintains classroom readiness by prepping and setting up training laptops (cleaning devices, troubleshooting baseline connectivity, and verifying login instructions), managing classroom inventories, and ordering training supplies from Central Sterile Supply or requesting specialty purchases
• Monitors employee training certifications within the Cornerstone platform, tracking compliance, updating status sheets, and issuing reminders to supervisors regarding upcoming renewals
• Provides operational compliance and data maintenance support directly to the Clinical Manager and Clinical Work Leads
• Receives physical Wellness Check forms from mental health clinicians, cross-checks them against group logs for completeness, and scans, labels, and archives Unit Search Forms into secure electronic drives
• Tracks operational compliance parameters for the facilitation arm, maintaining logs of completed mandatory 1:1 supervision meetings between Work Leads and facilitators, and archiving signed supervisor forms

Other Duties as Assigned

• Responsible to perform assigned tasks and duties within the scope of practice for this position that do not fall within the realm of  above duty statements

Minimum Qualifications:

Experience Only:

Four (4) years of relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position

OR

Education and Experience:

A combination of related education and/or relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position equal to four (4) years

 Preferred Qualifications:

1+ years of experience with the Google Workspace suite of Programs

1+ years of experience working with director- or executive-level supervisory staff

1+ years of experience with treatment programming and employee scheduling

1+ years of experience with budget tracking and compliance

Conditions of Employment:

• Full background and reference checks required

• Other Conditions of Employment specific to Program

• Former State employees who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination must:.

• Disclose that information on the application

• Explain why the prior termination or resignation should not disqualify you from the current position

• Provide your employee number from your prior State employment.  Absent extraordinary circumstances, prior disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination and failure to provide this information will disqualify the applicant from future State employment with CDHS.

• Shall not initiate or engage in sexual, social, personal, or financial relationships with patients either during or at any time after hospitalization, even if the patient requests or initiates such a relationship. All relationships with current or former patients must be disclosed on your application
• Successfully pass all modules of the CMHHIP New Employee Orientation core curriculum, to include English reading comprehension, relevant competency assessments, and written/practical exams in Defensive Tactics
• Possess the physical ability to successfully complete hospital-adopted physical interventions (MANDT) and CPR 
• Lift arms above head and kick as high as own waist
• Stabilize another person to accomplish a controlled containment to the floor
• Withstand impact on own body using an ASP shield
• Rotate body 90 degrees with feet planted for using a defensive tactic
• Kneel on one or both knees and stand up again with multiple repetitions
• Must be able to see and hear to observe, address, and respond to potential breaches in safety
• Seize, hold, control, or subdue violent or assaultive persons and defend oneself or others to prevent injury
• Demonstrate body agility, strength of all four limbs, and the ability to walk and climb stairs consistently
• Work in situations involving assaultive behavior, physical control of another person, and/or restraint situations
• Ability to read and comprehend the English language; effectively and fluently communicates in English, both verbally and in writing
• Work in an environment with fluctuating noise and temperature (hot and cold), which may include working outdoors in inclement weather and/or concrete floor/wall work settings
• Willing and able to travel;
• 2-step TB (tuberculosis) screening is required of all new employees upon hire
• Annual Influenza vaccination
• Other vaccinations as required by the State of Colorado  

CDHS Selection Process Explanation

Employment history is calculated on a full-time basis (40/hrs per week). Part-time employment is calculated on a prorated basis to determine qualifications. Be sure your application specifically addresses your qualifications, experience, work products, and accomplishments as they relate to the position and minimum requirements. 

• Preferred Qualifications & Competencies:

  • Relevant years of state service experience.

Minimum Qualification Screening Process 

A Human Resources Analyst will review the work experience/job duties sections of the online job application to determine whether your experience meets the minimum qualifications for the position.  You must complete the official State of Colorado online application.  Cover letters and resumes WILL NOT be reviewed during the minimum qualifications screening process. You must specifically document your work experience and qualifications in the application form. Do not use "see resume" or "see attached."

After minimum qualification screening, the comparative analysis process will involve reviewing and rating of all the information you submit. The comparative analysis step may also include your results from standardized testing. 

Document your work experience/job duties to the extent to which you possess the skills, education, experience, minimum qualifications, and preferred qualifications. 

If listed, answer all supplemental questions as your answers to these questions will be evaluated during this phase. Provide at least 4-8 sentences for each supplemental question.     

Supplemental Questions 

Answer the supplemental questions completely and thoughtfully. We will rate your answers  based on the content of your response and your writing skills (spelling, grammar, and clarity of your writing).

Appeal Rights

You may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director if your application is eliminated.  You will find the appeals process, the official appeal form, and how to deliver it on the State Personnel Board website.

• You or your representative must sign and submit the official appeal form for review.  

• You can find the official appeal form here. 

• You must be deliver the official appeal form to the State Personnel Board:

  • By email ([email protected]), or

  • Postmarked in US Mail to(1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver CO 80203, or 

  • Hand delivered (1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver CO 80203), or

  • Faxed (303.866.5038) within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of notice or acknowledgement of the department’s action.

Contact the State Personnel Board for assistance:

• At (303) 866-3300, or

•  Refer to the  Colorado Code of Regulations (CCR) 801-1, State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, Chapter 8, Resolution of Appeals and Disputes, within the Rules webpage.

Supplemental Information

• How to apply to the State of Colorado (Youtube Video, Runtime 3:59, Closed Captions Available)

• The Assessment Process

About Us & Benefits

If your goal is to build a career that makes a difference, join the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). Our professionals strive to design and deliver high quality human and health services that improve the safety, independence, and well-being of the people of Colorado. Each of us is committed to contributing to a safe and accessible CDHS. In addition to a great location and rewarding and meaningful work, we offer:

• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan plus 401(k) and 457 plans

• Medical and dental health plans

• Employer supplemented Health Savings Account

• Paid life insurance

• Short- and long-term disability coverage

• 11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave

• State of Colorado Employee BenefitHub Resource Center

• Employee Wellness program

• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training and more

• Remote work arrangements for eligible positions

• *Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Our Values

• We believe in a people-first approach: We prioritize the needs, well-being, and dignity of the individuals, families and communities we serve. We commit to respect, fairness and access in every decision, policy and interaction. We engage client voices and experiences in the development and implementation of the services we provide.

• Balance creates quality of life: We want our team to be resilient through a supportive workplace that values flexibility, health and wellness, and employee engagement.

• We hold ourselves accountable: We take responsibility through our actions, programs, and results for the state of health and human services in Colorado.

• Transparency matters: We are open and honest with employees, our partners, the Coloradans we serve, and the public.

• We are ethical: We abide by what is best for those we serve by doing what is right, not what is easy.

• Collaboration helps us rise together: We work together with all partners, employees, and clients to achieve the best outcomes for Coloradans.

ADA Accommodations

CDHS is committed to a Colorado for ALL qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment. 

This includes completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or performing essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to [email protected].

EEO Statement

The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer

We are committed to increasing a “Colorado for ALL" of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services. Therefore, we encourage responses from people of all backgrounds and abilities.  The State of Colorado believes that a “Colorado for ALL” drives our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them. Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

Additional Support For Your Application

Toll Free Applicant Technical Support

If you experience technical difficulty with the NEOGOV system (e.g. uploading or attaching documents to your online application) call NEOGOV technical support at 855-524-5627 Mon-Fri between 6 am and 6 pm (Pacific Time).  Helpful hints: if you are having difficulty uploading or attaching documents to your application 1) ensure your documents are PDF or Microsoft Word files and 2) close the document before you attempt to upload (attach) it.