JJI FFT (Function Family Therapy)Therapist

Rising Ground seeks a qualified professional to join our team of professionals in the Bronx.

Juvenile Justice Initiative (JJI) is an ACS program designed to provide intensive, family-based services for youth involved in the juvenile justice system either in lieu of placement as a dispositional alternative (as a condition of probation), or as the provision of aftercare for youth returning home from Close To Home. The goals of JJI are to improve individual and family functioning, reduce the number of youth in placement, reduce the length of time youth spend in placement and reduce recidivism. The JJI team practices the evidence-based treatment model, Functional Family Therapy (FFT) to families who reside in NYC.

Responsibilities

The JJI FFT Therapist provides FFT (Functional Family Therapy) to a maximum of 8 families at a time who reside in NYC. We provide FFT to families with an identified youth, ages 12-18, who is referred to us as a requirement of their terms of Probation or Aftercare status. FFT is an evidence-based model which is home-based, intensive, family therapy. The FFT Therapist participates in all FFT training and consultation activities, and program reviews. In addition to providing Family Therapy, the FFT Therapist will collaborate with other service providers, including but not limited to the Department of Probation and ACS staff. The FFT Therapist is required to complete all ACS and FFT documentation requirements and adhere to the Preventive Services Standards, including meeting appropriate casework contacts and assessing for child safety.

Other duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Provide home-based clinical treatment with adherence to the Functional Family Therapy (FFT) model.
• Conduct assessment including review of referral information, identifying and engaging key participants, identifying systemic strengths and weaknesses, and developing an analysis of the fit problem behaviors within the ecological context. Adhere to the Preventive Services Standards and policies, including child welfare safety assessments and meeting minimum monthly casework contacts.
• Participate in all agency, ACS/JJI and FFT model program training, individual supervision and group consultation activities.
• Collaborate with all relevant systems and key participants within each system to ensure their buy-in and cooperation throughout treatment. This includes weekly contact with Office of Probation and monthly progress reports.
• Maintain clear and concise documentation of treatment efforts that promote peer and supervisory review and feedback, and that demonstrate compliance with FFT model Analytic Process. Complete all FASPS, progress notes, opening and closing of cases and any other reporting/case management requirements via Connections and PROMIS in a timely and accurate fashion. When required, submit progress reports to the court.
• Engage youth, primary caregiver and other key participants in active change-oriented treatment by identifying and overcoming barriers to engagement.
• Implement a problem conceptualization, treatment planning, intervention implementation, outcome review and strategy revision procedure using the FFT models Analytic Process.

Qualifications;

The FFT Therapist will hold a Masters Degree from an accredited university in a field that has professional licensure. The field includes the following disciplines: Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, and Psychology. They will have experience working with adolescents and knowledge of the juvenile justice system. Also, experience and skills with the concept and practices of family therapy and behavior management techniques, mental health treatment, as well as knowledge of and experience providing treatment for domestic violence issues and substance abuse issues. 

In addition, the Therapist must demonstrate the following:

• Strong clinical skills.
• Ability to work with adolescents.
• Very good interpersonal/communication skills.
• Ability to work with respect for cultural diversity.
• Belief in the capacity of people to grow and change.
• Flexibility to work when the families are available to meet.
• Ability to set appropriate boundaries and limits for best practice.
• Commitment to empowering families to solve their own problems.
• Willingness to carry a caseload and work with families in their own homes.
• Ability to intervene decisively, when necessary, to protect family members.
• Ability to internalize and work within the Functional Family Therapy philosophy and model.
• Ability to establish a mutually respectful relationship, in which the family is a full partner, empowered to solve their own problems.

Competitive salary and benefits. Apply online/

EOE/AA