Mental Health Specialist (ACSW) Garden Grove, CA

At Healthcare in Action, we serve patients experiencing homelessness through an innovative “street medicine” approach by contracting with Medicare and Medicaid health plans as well as hospitals and health systems.

Street medicine entails using a medically equipped van to deliver medical care directly to people experiencing homelessness in locations such as parking lots, encampments, and parks.

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), delivering mobile mental health and crisis stabilization services in the field. The program provides eight hours of coverage per day, seven days per week, through two field teams, each pairing an EMT with an associate-level behavioral health clinician—an Associate Clinical Social Worker (ACSW), Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT), or Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC)—who has prior crisis or field-based behavioral health experience.

The Mental Health Specialist serves as the behavioral health clinician on a two-person MCRT field team, working alongside an EMT to respond to crisis calls with GGPD. Once GGPD clears the scene, the clinician leads the crisis assessment, de-escalation, suicide risk assessment, and crisis counseling; triages the individual’s needs; connects them to appropriate services; and completes timely, accurate documentation of each response. The clinician works under the clinical supervision of the LCSW Supervisor, including supervision toward licensure.

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.

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.
• 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.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a two-person co-response team alongside an EMT and law enforcement.
• Experience working alongside law enforcement or in a co-response model, and work with individuals experiencing homelessness, are a plus.

Tuberculosis Screening Policy

To ensure the health and safety of our members, if you are 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. If you have a disability/medical reason or sincerely held religious belief that prevents you to provide information required in this policy, SCAN will initiate and engage in the interactive process to evaluate what, if any, reasonable accommodations may be available.

What's in it for you?

• Base salary range: $64,000 to $92,602 per year

• Work Mode: Remote/field

• 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!

We're always looking for talented people to join our team!  Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply now!

At SCAN we believe that it is our business to improve the state of our world. Each of us has a responsibility to drive Equality in our communities and workplaces. We are committed to creating a workforce that reflects our community through inclusive programs and initiatives such as equal pay, employee resource groups, inclusive benefits, and more.

SCAN is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action workplace. Individuals seeking employment will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, age, marital status, disability, protected veteran status or any other status protected by law. A background check is required.

#LI-ES1

At Healthcare in Action, we believe that it is our business to improve the state of our world. Each of us has a responsibility to drive Equality in our communities and workplaces. We are committed to creating a workforce that reflects our community through inclusive programs and initiatives such as equal pay, employee resource groups, inclusive benefits, and more.

Healthcare in Action is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action workplace. Individuals seeking employee will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, age, marital status, disability, protected veteran status or any other status protected by law. A background check is required.

Healthcare in Action was established in 2021 as a 501 (c)3 organization and associated medical group. Utilizing mobile clinics staffed by healthcare professionals, community health workers, and social workers, our teams travel directly to unhoused individuals living in communities across the geographies we serve, providing services where they reside – including tents, cars, shelters, and temporary housing. In meeting patients where they are and supporting their goals, HIA team members build trust – a critical component that can lead to meaningful and positive changes in health and housing. Our mission is to improve the lives of people experiencing homelessness through quality holistic care. It is our vision that all people experiencing homelessness have access to quality healthcare that addresses their mental, social and physical health needs.