ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW:

Covenant House California (CHC) is a nonprofit organization that provides sanctuary and support for youth overcoming homelessness, ages 18-24. CHC believes that no young person deserves to be homeless; that every young person in California deserves housing, food, clothing, education, and most importantly, to be loved. CHC provides a full continuum of services to meet the physical, emotional, educational, vocational, and spiritual well-being of young people.

CHC’s doors are open to youth and staff regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. We believe that youth and team members deserve to be in an environment that is inclusive and affirming; where everyone is treated with dignity and respect and valued and appreciated for who they are. Maintaining a diverse community of youth and staff is key to our ability to achieve our mission most effectively. We are also committed to being a leader in advancing anti-racism, and to promoting opportunities for the free expression of the lived experiences of our youth and staff.

We are looking for people who, like us, believe that every young person deserves a place to belong. We think it takes all kinds of people to create diverse solutions to end youth homelessness and we are on a committed journey to build an inclusive and equitable work culture that brings out the best in everyone. In our Los Angeles location, which is our flagship site, we offer a full continuum of housing and support services to young people. Over the past 36 years, our services have grown and expanded, and we serve more than 900 young people every year.

As this position provides direct care to young people that are 18-24 years old, we require that applicants are at least 25 years old.

Covenant House California offers an excellent benefits package,, including medical, vision, dental, an EAP program, 403b retirement account, and a generous vacation package.

CLASSIFICATION: Exempt Salary 40-hrs / week

SALARY RANGE: $82,700 – $103,400 / annually

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Licensed Mental Health Clinician is responsible for providing and coordinating services that promote the emotional, mental, and social well-being of youth in our Los Angeles based programs. This would include providing therapy, clinical consultation within the case management support, and staff training. The Licensed Mental Health Clinician will work in collaboration with the other program leadership to ensure that assessments, service planning, documentation and interdisciplinary teamwork effectively engages to work with the young people we serve. The position also assists in supporting and ensuring that documentation, data tracking and reports for contracts and grants are prepared accurately and timely. The Licensed Mental Health Clinician will also work to enhance and support our work and programming for trafficked youth. All staff at CHC are expected to roll up their sleeves and lead alongside their teams, to foster, train, and support each staff around the relentless engagement of the young people we serve and a deep commitment to our mission.

The ideal candidate will have experience working with youth that have experienced homelessness and trafficking, the LGBTQ+ community, and/or whom often face multiple issues and have complex needs. This person will have knowledge and/or experience working with youth development programs, within a harm reduction framework, using trauma informed practices and will value working with a multi-disciplinary team to create a safe inclusive environment for all.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Provide appropriate individual and group therapeutic interventions to youth in our residential and alumni programs across Los Angeles sites.
• Assist in crisis intervention and support to staff in various programs through an engaged coaching and mentoring approach. Facilitate debriefing opportunities with program leadership to be used as teachable moments and creating feedback loops to better inform our programs and interventions with youth.
• Day to day leadership and operational management to ensure the quality of services in CHC residential services including on-going training and clinical support of the case managers and YES staff in collaboration with program leadership.

• Collaborate with Training Director and program leadership to ensure annual and ongoing training of program staff regarding mental health and substance use with a harm reduction, trauma informed, and housing first approach.
  • In collaboration with the Residential Director and SVP, work to provide timely, accurate and thorough documentation of direct services to youth through ETO, Therapy Appointments, and other assigned databases.
  • Participates in and co-facilitates monthly case reviews with the Residential Directors at the various sites and in support of alumni and community housing program participants
  • Supervises and supports master level interns, adhering to school and agency supervision requirements, completing supervision documentation, and writing student evaluations.
  • Ensures that CHC is adequately and consistently represented in community and service provider meetings related to mental health services and supports.
  • Creates and updates community mental health and substance abuse treatment resources. Coordinates and supports a seamless referral process for our youth to these community resources.
  • Other duties as assigned.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION: Master's degree in social work, counseling, psychology (or related field). Is licensed by, and in good standing with, the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, and is permitted to practice psychotherapy in the State of California.

EXPERIENCE: 2+ years of experience in mental health, youth services and/or residential setting (preferably with runaway and homeless youth).

SKILLS: Clinical mental health knowledge and skills working with individuals experiencing homelessness, trafficking and substance use. Excellent organizational skills. Ability to work effectively both independently and within a team approach. Ability to provide clinical service is individual and group sessions. Community resource expert. Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in written form. Bilingual in Spanish preferred.

WORKING CONDITIONS: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. General business/office/shelter environment. Must be able to lift up to 40 lbs. on occasion, bend, sit, and stand for prolonged periods of time. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to loud. This is an in-person, 100% Full-Time (40 hour per week) position. Sitting, standing, walking and driving for prolonged periods may be required. As the shelter is a 24/7 operation, some non-traditional hours on weekends and evenings may be required as a condition of employment.

TRANSPORTATION:This position may require occasional travel by car to support program participants at various sites and locations. Must have a valid CA drivers license, reliable transportation, and a good driving record.

KNOWLEDGE/TRAINING: Experience working with youth that have experienced homelessness and trafficking, the LGBTQ+ community, and/or whom often face multiple issues and have complex needs. This person will have knowledge and/or experience working with youth development programs, within a harm reduction framework, using trauma informed practices.

SUPERVISORY DUTIES: The position may be asked to supervise and/or support masters-level interns and/or field placement students.

EQUIPMENT USED: Telephones, computers, computer peripherals, Microsoft Suite, email, and internet programs.

ADDITIONAL: As our agency provides direct care to young people that are 18-24 years old, we require that applicants are at least 25 years old.

Covenant House California is an Equal Opportunity Employer.