Assistant Director of Clinical Services

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT:

The Cambridge Community Safety Department’s (CSD) mission is to provide a civilian response to behavioral health crisis; to connect with vulnerable individuals to identify needs and to partner with public safety; health care and nonprofit service providers to enhance the community’s health and well-being. We value compassion; self-determination and evidenced based intervention to guide our prevention and intervention efforts.

The Community Safety Department is guided by the following values:

• We are continuously learning, evolving and reimagining our approach in order to best meet the needs of the community we serve. We embrace a growth mindset and value curiosity, humility, and our shared humanity.
• We commit to living restorative practices such as building empathy, compassion, trust and mutual respect in all we do.
• We center relationships, partnerships, authentic collaboration and joy in our work. We are guided by the wisdom, insights, and experiences of those who came before us and those who are doing the work today to build solutions community-wide. We are intentionally laying groundwork for the future we envision.
• We are consciously not reproducing systems of oppression. We aim to create equitable, anti-racist, and non-discriminatory ways of serving our community.
• We acknowledge the historical implications of the criminal legal system and the harm it has done to our communities.
• We value the dignity and humanity of all people.

The Community Safety Department (CSD) is hiring non-public safety personnel who will provide key community services focused on behavioral health crisis (mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance use), violence prevention and intervention, and overall wellness. The primary program of CSD is the Community Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) Teams. CARE is an alternative response model that is dispatched to 911 calls for non-violent behavioral health crises. In addition, the teams conduct routine community outreach and follow up to address needs identified to assist individuals and families to improve health and quality of life. The CARE Teams are staffed by a licensed clinician and responders who may have a human services or medical background. The City established the CSD in response to a City Council policy order to develop an unarmed alternative response program, as well as in response to community concerns about supporting Cambridge’s most vulnerable residents and enhancing violence prevention effort. You can find further information about CSD at cambridgesafety.org.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The purpose of this position is to provide clinical and programmatic leadership for the CARE Team and assist with the overall functioning of the Community Safety Department. There are two Assistant Directors of Clinical Services (ADCS) that share supervisory duties that ensure the quality of clinical work and empower staff to advance to further levels of competency. The ADCS’s work with the CSD Leadership Team to set the tone in creating a work culture of compassion, learning, mutual respect and humility. The ADCS’s report to the Director of the Community Safety Department. The ADCS’s will lead by example in valuing the experiences and perspectives of all members of the team. The ideal candidate will be flexible, adaptable, eager to learn, willing to give and receive direction with comfort and ready to lead an innovative approach to public safety. The ADCS’s will work in collaboration with other public safety professionals, city departments, and health care and nonprofit agencies to improve quality of life as viewed through a lens of social determinants of health.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Monitor Communications from 911 and CARE Teams to support teams when they are in the field and to ensure appropriate disposition.
• Train and supervise employees to ensure adherence to CSD procedures and clinical interventions in the field.
• Ensure documentation quality, completion and compliance at all times, as well as monitor timelines and CSD policies and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable laws and requirements related to service delivery policies, practices, and reporting standards.
• Responsible for performance feedback and formal evaluation, and disciplinary action in consultation with CSD Leadership Team.
• Develop, coach, guide, and determine individual performance expectations for direct reports.
• Monitor, manage, and remain accountable for performance goals and concerns of direct reports.
• Support field clinicians to appropriately assess risk related to mental illness and substance use as well as mandated reporting requirements.
• Maintain compliance with confidentiality policies and procedures at all times.
• Assist with outcome measures.
• Lead and attend all appropriate internal and external clinical meetings and trainings.
• Coordinate and supervise Social Work student(s) field practicum.
• Be involved in quality improvement projects to continue to inform the development of alternative response and innovative violence prevention initiatives.
• Provide weekly supervision to each assigned team member and real time consultation regarding calls.
• Coordinate initial and ongoing training and professional development opportunities for all staff of the CSD.
• Dispatch responders when necessary to assess a situation in person and be available for dispatch as needed.
• Maintain and enhance customer service to ensure that both external and internal stakeholders have a positive experience, while establishing and maintaining a collaborative relationship with community and collateral providers and partners.
• Participate in peer review, supervision, educational and administrative meetings as directed.
• Be available by phone or in person during CARE Teams’ response shifts. Shifts are currently Mon – Friday but may expand to nights and weekends. Initiate, cultivate and maintain professional relationships with other City departments and community providers.
• Maintain positive and mutually respectful relationships with other human service providers, City departments, vendors, and the community.
• Serve as a liaison between CSD and other community providers.
• Attend community meetings such as MDOT, case conferencing and other meetings that pertain to mental health, unhoused community members and substance use in Cambridge.
• Work with other City departments to identify needs, gaps in services, create training and programming to meet the needs of the community.
• Train community partners to increase their skills for engaging with community members.
• Represent the department in a positive and professional manner.
• Manage a consultation call line for City employees with inquiries regarding challenging interactions .
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Education/Experience/License/Certification:

• Graduate from an accredited MSW program; master's in psychology (MA), master's in education (Counseling -Med.) or other related field.
• Current Massachusetts license LMHC, LMFT, LICSW or other related field.
• Minimum of 7 years relevant post-graduate experience in mental health, community health, crisis intervention or criminal justice setting.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience providing supervision in mental health crisis intervention.
• Commitment to anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
• Must possess a valid driver's license.
• Available during the workday and while on-call, as needed.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong clinical supervision skills including:
• Ability to provide direct and compassionate real-time feedback
• Ability to assess when direction and guidance are needed as opposed to reflection and coaching
• Authentic trust-building skills
• Sensitivity to multicultural populations and their experiences and perspectives.
• Ability to quickly create rapport with staff and community members, and to navigate encounters with professionalism when attempts at rapport are challenging.
• Working knowledge of major mental illness, personality disorders, dementia, complex trauma, intellectual/developmental disabilities, substance use disorders, suicide assessment, safety planning and crisis de-escalation.
• Ability and eagerness to spend time outdoors and in the community with vulnerable individuals, some of whom are experiencing homelessness.
• Ability to work independently yet collaboratively towards a common goal.
• Ability to learn and help navigate all applicable resources with patients/clients.
• Ability to learn and help navigate all applicable resources with patients/clients.
• Ability to maintain strong professional boundaries.
• Ability to maintain strong professional boundaries.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong familiarity with psychiatric conditions, crisis de-escalation, and recovery principles.
• Commitment to anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion. The City of Cambridge's workforce, like the community it serves, is diverse. Applicants must have the ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds and ideologies.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Strong awareness of local social service providers/community resources.
• Experience and comfort with working with adults experiencing homelessness, mental illness and substance misuse.
• Experience working with Public Safety entities and/or crisis response.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Ability to access, input, and retrieve information from a computer. Ability to answer phones and maintain multiple files. Ability to travel throughout the City of Cambridge to various meetings, site visits, etc.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Standard office environment. Fluorescent lighting and window unit air conditioning. Moderate noise level. This position may be eligible for hybrid work under the City's Telework Policy depending on operational needs.

SUMMARY OF BENEFITS

• Health, dental and vision insurance.
• Vacation, personal and sick days.
• Sick incentive pay eligibility.
• Management bonus of $2700/year.
• City employee commuter benefits (T-Pass reimbursement, Blue bikes membership, EZRide Shuttle membership)

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED:

Please upload the below documents to complete your application:

• Resume
• Cover Letter

SUMMARY OF BENEFITS

• Health, dental and vision insurance.
• Vacation, personal and sick days.
• Sick incentive pay eligibility.
• Management bonus of $2700/year.
• City employee commuter benefits (T-Pass reimbursement, Blue bikes membership, EZRide Shuttle membership)