Mental Health Program Specialist 3 (Clinical) – (NY HELPS), Central Office;

Minimum Qualifications Non-Competitive Minimum Qualifications Under the NY HELPS Program :

A bachelor’s degree in a health or human services area and four years of professional clinical experience in a mental health program.+

Educational Substitutions : A master's degree in clinical mental health counseling, clinical psychology, community mental health counseling, counseling and community psychology, counseling, forensic psychology, mental health counseling, nursing, psychoanalysis, psychology, rehabilitation counseling, or social work can substitute for one year of specialized experience.

Transfer Opportunity :

Candidates must have permanent status as a Mental Health Program Specialist 3 (Clinical) and be eligible for lateral transfer;

OR be eligible to transfer via Section 70.1 or Section 52.6 of the Civil Service Law by having at least one year of permanent service in a qualifying title within two salary grades or one M-grade of this position

Candidates with clinical background and / or prior hospital experience are preferred for these roles.

Duties Description The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) is recruiting to fill two Mental Health Program Specialist 3 (Clinical) positions in the Division of Planning and Quality Management.

The incumbent of these positions will be part of a new unit of multi-disciplinary teams of professionals focused on improving care and care transitions for individuals with complex needs throughout the continuum of care (inpatient psychiatry, Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Programs (CPEPS), and within the community).

The Mental Health Program Specialist 3 (Clinical) will be responsible to provide oversight, support, and Technical Assistance to Article 31 and Article 28 mental health emergency departments, CPEPS, and inpatient units around patient transport, evaluation, treatment, and discharge.

In addition, the incumbents will provide higher-level technical assistance to the community mental health system providers on the development and maintenance of high-quality programming to help improve outcomes for individuals with complex needs served in these programs.

The incumbents will support local community operations within the geographic regions assigned, and a majority of the work will be field based at various provider agencies.

The incumbents will be responsible for assisting in a variety of activities related to the transition of mental health services into an integrated network of physical and behavioral health providers.

Specific duties to be performed may include, but are not limited to, the following :

Supervise a regional team providing technical assistance and direction to hospitals (Article 28 mental health emergency departments, CPEPS, and inpatient units) around evaluation, treatment and discharge.

Oversee ongoing regional specific meetings with staff from the team and with various units within the Field Office to evaluate effectiveness, improve coordination of care, identify gaps in services and disseminate information.

Provide programmatic assistance and technical direction to providers that will facilitate the transition to alternative community settings for individuals with serious mental illness currently being discharged from Article 28 hospitals, CPEP, or inpatient.

Provide support and technical assistance around updated regulations for hospitals and community providers.

Clarify standards of care for existing hospital activities / protocols regarding psychiatric admission, treatment and discharge and modifying or establishing new policies / processes / checklists as needed to create equity, systemic accountability, and standards for evaluation.

Support programs in identifying and navigating resources, providing assistance with systems navigation.

Identify and report on systems barriers, challenges, and problem areas.

Provide expert technical assistance, case consultation and support to licensed or designated providers on complex cases, to ensure compliance and knowledge of OMH regulations, guidelines, and notifications;

share information to improve communications, accountability, and quality of care through linkages.

Address consumer, family and / or provider complaints that involve fact finding and follow up with involved parties, and coordinate services needed with other OMH programs and / or other state agency resources.

Identify regional specific mental health service trends and needs using quantitative analysis of research to obtain objective information for necessary decision making that leads to improved delivery of mental health services in a fully managed care system.

Collaborate with other state agencies around hospital treatment and the transition of mental health services into the communities.

Supervise staff and review and evaluate work performance, recommend training, and mentor staff to ensure optimum work performance.

Provide education on resources and new evidence-based care to supervisees.

Facilitate communication between various provider agencies.

Monitor and analyze service, management, clinical, and quality of care data / statistics.

Review and monitor all required reports, including data collection, incident reports, expenditure reports, site visit summaries, corrective actions plans, to identify programmatic trends and challenges.

Work in collaboration with field office staff and other departments on the monitoring, bringing back compliance issues and findings to the appropriate departments.

Work with providers and other stakeholders, as well as coordinate efforts with other OMH divisions to address issues related to service delivery and implementation.

Assist and support on specific special projects as assigned.

Travel through the assigned geographic region is required, with incumbents expected to be working in the field up to 70% of their work week.