Community Support Specialist
New Season

Community Support Specialist (CSS)

Job Description

New Season

Employee Name:

Reports to: Program Director

Job Code: TC34

Department: Clinic

FLSA: Non-Exempt

Direct Reports: 0

New Season:

For over 30 years, New Season Treatment Centers have been a leading national health care service provider of outpatient treatment centers that specialize in providing safe, quality and best in class care for individuals living with Opioid Use Disorder ("OUD").

Operating in over 70 treatment centers in multiple states, our team members are engaged in medication-assisted treatment, counseling, support, and care management of individuals living with OUD. We treat the whole person and, in so doing, address the underlying causes of OUD in an effort to provide a continuum of care that not only addresses treatment needs but supports the patient on their journey to recovery.

Job Summary:

Provides community support services to patients as required. Works with a multidisciplinary treatment team consisting of Medical Director, Program Director, Treatment Services Coordinator, Counselors, Community Support Specialist and Nurses to identify and meet the clinical needs of the patient and to assist in their overall well-being.

Essential Functions:

• Works with or on the behalf of patients in accordance with an individualized treatment plan, providing services to maximize an individual's immediate and continued community functioning while achieving and sustaining recovery/resiliency from mental illness and/or substance use disorders.
• Uses interventions, based on individualized strengths and needs, to develop patient's interpersonal/social, family, community, and independent living functional skills including adaptation to home, school, family and work environments when the natural acquisition of those skills is negatively impacted by the individual's mental illness and/or substance abuse disorder.
• Provides services that result in positive outcomes including but not limited to the following areas: employment, education, housing, social connectedness, abstinence/ harm reduction, decreased criminality/legal involvement, family involvement, decreased psychiatric hospitalizations, and improved physical health.
• Develops a discharge and continuing recovery plan to include, if applicable, securing a successful transition to continued services.
• Contacts individuals and/or referral sources following missed appointments in order to re-engage and promote recovery/resiliency efforts.
• Supports individuals in crisis situations including locating and coordinating resources to resolve a crisis.
• Maintains contact with individuals who are hospitalized for medical or psychiatric reasons and participate in and facilitate discharge planning for psychiatric hospitalization and for medical hospitalization as appropriate.
• Provides information and education to individuals in order to learn about and manage mental illness/serious emotional disturbance and/or substance use disorders including symptoms, triggers, cravings, and use of medications.
• Builds skills in individuals for effective illness self-management including psy education, behavioral tailoring for medication adherence, wellness/recovery planning, coping skills, and social skills.
• Makes efforts to ensure that individuals gain and maintain access to necessary rehabilitative services, general entitlement benefits employment, housing, schools, legal services, wellness or other services by actively assisting individuals to apply and follow-up on applications; and to gain skills in independently accessing needed services.
• Ensures communication and coordination with and between other interested parties such as service providers, medical professional, referral sources, employers, schools, child welfare courts, probation/parole, landlords, natural supports.
• Ensures follow through with recommended medical care, to include scheduling appointments, finding financial resources and arranging transportations when individuals are unable to perform these tasks independently.
• Develops and supports wellness and recovery goals in collaboration with the individual, family, and/or medical professionals, including healthy lifestyle changes such as healthy eating, physical activity, and tobacco prevention and cessation; and coordinates and monitors physical health and chronic disease management.
• Assists to develop natural supports including identification of existing and new natural social supports in relevant life domains.
• In coordination with the treatment team, improvements in the individual skills in communication, interpersonal relationships, problem solving, conflict resolution; stress management; and ability to identify risky social situations and triggers that could jeopardize recovery.
• Provides family education, training and support to develop the family as a positive support system to the individual. Such activities must be directed toward the primary well-being and benefit of the individual.
• Helps individuals develop skills and resources to address symptoms that interfere with seeking or successfully maintaining employment, including but not limited to, communication, personal hygiene and dress, time management, capacity to follow directions, planning transportation, manage symptoms/cravings, learning appropriate work habits, and identifying behaviors that interfere with work performance.
• Builds skills in individuals associated with obtaining and maintaining success in school such as communication with teachers, personal hygiene and dress, age appropriate time management, capacity to follow directions and carry out school assignments, appropriate study habits, and identification of behaviors that interfere with school performance.
• Builds personal self care and home management skills associated with achieving and maintaining housing in the least restrictive setting by addressing issues like nutrition, meal preparation, household maintenance including house cleaning and laundry, money management and budgeting, personal hygiene and grooming, identification and use of social and recreational skill, use of available transportation, and personal responsibility.
• Documents services that clearly describe the need for the service, the intervention provided, the relationship to the treatment plan, the provider of the service, the date, actual time and setting of the service, and the individual's response to the service in the patient's medical record.
• Reports patient abuse, neglect and exploitation as required.
• Reports patient grievances as required.
• Educates patients in all aspects of treatment, corresponding health issues and steps to recovery.
• Assists in monitoring all patient activities on center premises.
• Actively participates in community relations activities as directed and authorized.
• Ensures the reading and understanding of the Policy and Procedures Manual.
• Ensures compliance with 42 CFR Part 2 (Federal Confidentiality Regulations) and 45 CFR, Parts 160 & 164 (HIPAA).
• Is responsible for obtaining or maintaining proper licensure and/or certification according to specific state requirements.
• Actively participates in preparation for surveys and inspections conducted by CARF, the State, DEA, Board of Pharmacy and any other agency site visits as dictated by the state laws or regulations.
• Participates in all staff meetings.
• Ensures compliance with local, State, Federal and New Season, LP rules, regulations and policies.
• Always acts in the best interests of the program and company; honors, supports, and protects the proprietary data and rights of the company.
• Performs other tasks as assigned by clinic, region or corporate leadership.

Other Responsibilities:

• Minnesota Staff Only: Responsible for completing Freedom From Chemical Use Form.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

(This position will supervise non-exempt staff in support roles performing duties described in "Essential Functions".)

None

Essential Qualifications:

(To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the competencies (minimum knowledge, skill, and ability) required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions).

Education/Licensure/Certification: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in social work, psychology, nursing, or a closely related field.

Required Knowledge: Entry-level knowledge. (Basic 270 education hours, 300 hour practicum) Must be computer literate and have basic knowledge of all Microsoft products.

Experience Required: Preferred 500 hours of experience in substance abuse.

Skill and Ability: Must possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills, be able to multitask, prioritize, be dependable and reliable.

Physical Demands/Work Environment:

(The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)

Finger Dexterity: Use primarily for writing, operating calculator, telephone, keyboard and other office equipment.

Talking: Ability to communicate with patients and fellow employees.

Hearing: Ability to hear normal conversations and receive ordinary information.

Vision: Average, ordinary, visual acuity necessary to observe patients and work on computer. Clear vision at 20 inches or less and distant vision at 20 feet or more.

Physical Strength: Sedentary work; sitting much of the time. Ability to lift up to 10 pounds. Movement such as standing, walking and occasional bending or reaching is required. Exerts up to 10 pounds of force occasionally.

Working Conditions:

(The working conditions described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)

Mental Activities:

(The mental activities described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)

Reasoning Ability: Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram or schedule form. Ability to maintain confidentiality.

Mathematics Ability: Basic mathematics skills required.