Apply for Behavioral Health & Forensic Clinical Coordinator

Job Summary

$78,747 - $123,780 / year DOQ + Full-Time County Benefits 

The Behavioral Health and Forensic Clinical Coordinator is responsible for overseeing the Colonial Behavioral Health Docket, including referral and screening processes, case staffing, treatment coordination, participant monitoring, court reporting, continuity of care, and discharge planning. This position will collect and maintain data as necessary for DIMS and other grant-related statistics and will submit all required grant-related reports. This position works collaboratively with prosecutors, defense counsel, courts, community corrections, law enforcement, behavioral health providers, and community partners to support appropriate treatment, diversion, supervision, and case management strategies for justice-involved individuals with behavioral health needs.

The Behavioral Health and Forensic Clinical Coordinator leads the development, implementation, and evaluation of the Court’s and Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office’s efforts to provide mental health treatment in criminal cases as an alternative to incarceration. The position provides advanced professional clinical, forensic behavioral health, and program coordination work supporting justice-involved individuals who have serious mental illness, co-occurring disorders, or other significant behavioral health needs. This position serves as a clinical resource by conducting or coordinating behavioral health screening and assessment, reviewing relevant clinical and criminal justice information, providing clinical consultation, identifying treatment and service needs, and facilitating referrals for appropriate behavioral health and forensic evaluations. This position designs proactive and responsive programs to address the burden upon the criminal justice system with incidents driven by episodes of mental health instability that would be more appropriately addressed in a therapeutic setting.

Responsibilities:

Behavioral Health Screening and Clinical Assessment
• Oversees behavioral health screenings and clinical assessments within the scope of professional licensure.
• Analyzes available clinical, criminal justice, treatment, and collateral information to identify behavioral health needs, risk factors, treatment needs, and circumstances requiring additional professional evaluation.
• Identifies indicators of serious mental illness, co-occurring mental health and substance-use disorders, crisis needs, and other significant behavioral health concerns.
• Applies professional clinical judgment to determine when referral for psychiatric, psychological, competency, substance-use, crisis, or other specialized evaluation may be appropriate.
• Maintains professional clinical boundaries and performs clinical activities consistent with the individual’s Virginia license.

Commonwealth’s Attorney and Criminal Justice Coordinator
• Provides behavioral health and clinical consultation to prosecutors regarding individuals whose criminal cases involve significant behavioral health concerns.
• Oversees community awareness of the Behavioral Health Docket to ensure that cases that warrant consideration for behavioral health services, specialty-docket referral, diversion opportunities, or additional clinical evaluation are consistently identified.
• Educates attorneys and other criminal justice professionals on relevant behavioral health information and treatment considerations while remaining within the professional’s clinical role.
• Consults with courts, defense counsel, community corrections, law enforcement, treatment providers, and other authorized partners regarding behavioral health needs and available resources.

Behavioral Health Docket Coordination
• Oversees referrals to the Behavioral Health Docket.
• Coordinates participant screening and eligibility-related clinical information gathering.
• Oversees multidisciplinary case staffing.
• Ensures necessary communication among the court, attorneys, supervision personnel, behavioral health providers, and other docket partners.
• Coordinates treatment and community-service referrals.
• Monitors treatment participation and other behavioral health components of the participant’s plan.
• Prepares or gathers required clinical/program information for docket review and court reporting.
• Oversees continuity of care and discharge planning.
• Maintains program information and assists with performance monitoring and quality improvement.
• Ensures all grant requirements are met.

Treatment Coordination and Continuity of Care
• Establishes and administers quality-control processes for assigned housing programs.
• Conducts or coordinates supervisory review of client files, eligibility determinations, calculations, case documentation, payments, and other transactions.
• Coordinates referrals to behavioral health treatment, crisis services, substance-use treatment, psychiatric services, housing, and other appropriate community resources.
• Oversees continuity of behavioral health care as individuals move between detention, community supervision, treatment providers, and other components of the justice system.
• Develops and maintains working relationships with community behavioral health providers and other service organizations.
• Provides consultation regarding appropriate case management and supervision strategies for individuals with significant behavioral health needs.
• Educates justice system partners in understanding available treatment resources and service pathways.

Program Development, Training, and Administration
• Develops and improves behavioral health screening, referral, and coordination protocols.
• Collects and analyzes program information to support monitoring and quality improvement.
• Oversees grant administration, performance measures, and required reporting.
• Develops working relationships and referral pathways with behavioral health and community providers.
• Provides behavioral health education and training to prosecutors, law enforcement, community corrections personnel, and other justice system partners.
• Maintains accurate, objective, timely, and appropriately confidential clinical and program documentation.
• Organizes and participates in multidisciplinary meetings, case conferences, and program-planning activities.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in social work, counseling, psychology, or closely related field with five (5) years of post-graduate clinical relevant experience.
• Virginia professional clinical licensure appropriate to the duties of the position, such as LCSW, LPC, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, or another appropriate Virginia recognized clinical behavioral health license.
• PhD preferred.
• Experience working with justice-involved population and forensic behavioral health.
• Experience working with courts, prosecutors, defense counsel, corrections, or law enforcement.
• Experience with behavioral health or other specialty court dockets.
• Working knowledge of clinical behavioral health screening and assessment and treatment centers.
• Expertise in the principles of forensic behavioral health, treatment coordination, and continuity of care principles.
• Ability to recognize behavioral health conditions requiring further assessment or intervention and be able to distinguish between clinical recommendations and legal determinations.
• Capability to translate complex clinical information into understandable information for attorneys, judges, law enforcement, corrections personnel and other non-clinical professionals.

Click here ​for full job description. Accepting applications until position is filled. Cover letters and resumes may also be attached, but a fully completed application is required for your application to be considered.

James City County is dedicated to building a diverse workforce and is committed to providing reasonable accommodations. If you need assistance with completing the employment application, please contact the HR Department at 757-253-6680 or email [email protected].