Job Description
Updated New York State Education Department/Office of the Professions Licensure Requirements: According to the New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions/State Board Office for Social Work and Mental Health Practitioners, as defined in Articles 153, 154 and 163 of the Education Law, effective June 24, 2022, an individual must be: 1) Licensed as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and/or Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) to practice social work as operated by the Department of Mental Hygiene agencies. For additional information, please review 7704 Requirements for a license under NYS Social Work: Laws, Rules & Regulations: Article 154 (nysed.gov); or 2) Authorized through a limited permit valid for a period of not more than twelve months who has met all requirements for licensure as a licensed master social worker or a licensed clinical social worker except those relating to the examination and provided that the individual is under the general supervision of a licensed master social worker or a licensed clinical social worker, as determined by the department. For additional information, please review 7705: Limited permits under NYS Social Work: Laws, Rules & Regulations: Article 154 (nysed.gov). Please review http://www.op.nysed.gov/surveys/mhpsw/exempt-agencies-overview.htm for the latest information concerning the expiration of the Exemption law. The Co Response Team (CRT) Model is a collaboration between the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), with a mission of serving individuals presenting with behavioral health challenges (mental health and substance misuse), as well as an elevated risk of harm to themselves or others. Teams consist of one behavioral health professional and two uniformed NYPD officers who engage individuals together in the community. CRT is deployed pre-and-post crisis to provide clinical assessments to determine service connection needs. The Bureau of Health Promotion for Justice-Impacted Populations (HPJIP) aims to reduce the negative social and health consequences of criminal legal system involvement through innovative policy and practice change. By centering community, addressing racial inequities, honoring lived experience, and elevating trauma-and-resilience-informed-approaches, we promote evidence-based best practices to address the needs of those disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system. Position Summary: The CRT Coordinator plays a vital role in the daily operations of Co-Response Team by conducting community-based outreach alongside police officers to engage, assess, and support individuals dealing with mental health issues and substance abuse and criminal legal involvement. This position is key to Co-Response operations, providing clinical assessments and interventions in partnership with NYPD officers. The coordinator is essential to the program’s mission of directly intervening with individuals experiencing behavioral health crises, both before and after the crisis, within their communities. CRT behavioral health professionals are critical in connecting individuals to necessary services and stabilizing them in their communities. CRT is operational 7 days a week – including holidays, from 7am to 9pm. CRT is a field-based program, with no remote work options. Coordinators will be assigned one of two shifts: (three Coordinators) Sunday to Thursday, 1pm to 9pm and (three coordinators) Tuesday to Saturday, 1pm to 9pm. Job Duties and Responsibilities: Co-Response Team Coordinators, reporting directly to the Co-Response Team Supervisors, primarily responsible for day-to-day deployments. To do so Coordinators will: • Conduct field-based deployments and maintain an assigned caseload, providing short-term, intensive engagement and follow-up to individuals identified through the Co-Response program. Provide services in community settings and other environments as clinically and operationally appropriate, with an emphasis on engaging individuals who may experience barriers to traditional behavioral health services. • Provide field-based, trauma-informed behavioral health crisis intervention to individuals experiencing acute psychiatric, behavioral, or psychosocial crises, including individuals living with serious mental illness, with histories or indicators of violence risk, and/or involvement with the criminal justice system. Utilize evidence-informed de-escalation, engagement, stabilization, and crisis-intervention strategies to promote safety, reduce the likelihood of escalation, and identify appropriate next steps. • Conduct comprehensive clinical assessments before and following crisis encounters. Assess presenting concerns, mental status, behavioral health needs, substance use, environmental and social determinants of health, access to support, treatment history, criminal justice involvement, and potential risks to self or others. Integrate collateral information and real-time observations to inform clinical recommendations and disposition planning. • Gather, synthesize, and analyze information in real time from clients, family members, collateral contacts, NYPD partners, City agencies, hospitals, behavioral health providers, and community-based organizations to inform clinical decision-making, risk assessment, crisis response, and service planning while maintaining appropriate confidentiality and professional boundaries. • Identify and troubleshoot barriers to treatment engagement and service access, including mistrust of systems, previous negative experiences with law enforcement or behavioral health systems, transportation barriers, housing instability, lack of insurance or benefits, limited provider availability, and other social determinants of health. Escalate complex clinical, operational, or safety concerns to supervisory and program leadership as appropriate. • Participate in onboarding and ongoing professional development, including specialized training in crisis intervention, de-escalation, behavioral health, violence-risk considerations, trauma-informed care, cultural responsiveness, motivational interviewing, and NYPD Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), as well as other program-required trainings. • Participate in Co-Response Intake and operational functions, including data entry, database searches, referral-source communication, information gathering, deployment coordination, and other activities necessary to support timely and clinically appropriate responses. • Collaborate closely with NYPD Co-Response partners during deployments and follow-up activities, integrating clinical expertise with public-safety considerations. Support joint decision-making regarding de-escalation, stabilization, disposition, referrals, follow-up, and other appropriate interventions while maintaining the distinct roles, responsibilities, and professional standards of behavioral health and law enforcement personnel. • Build and maintain collaborative relationships with City agencies, hospitals, behavioral health providers, community-based organizations, and other system partners to strengthen the Co-Response program’s capacity to address the needs of underserved and marginalized populations and improve coordination across behavioral health, health, social service, and criminal justice systems. • Coordinate timely access to behavioral health and community-based services, including outpatient mental health treatment, intensive community-based services, substance use treatment, crisis services, housing, medical care, benefits, peer services, and other supportive resources. Prioritize continuity of care and sustainable connections to services beyond the immediate crisis. • Coordinate with FDNY-EMS, hospitals, emergency departments, and other emergency response partners regarding acute behavioral health crises, safety concerns, emergency evaluations, and involuntary hospitalization when clinically indicated and consistent with applicable laws, regulations, and agency protocols. • Maintain timely, accurate, and clinically meaningful documentation in program databases and electronic systems, including progress notes, assessments, deployment outcomes, referrals, collateral contacts, follow-up activities, disposition information, and other required documentation. • Document all direct and collateral contacts conducted on behalf of clients, ensuring documentation accurately reflects clinical interventions, risk considerations, service coordination, client engagement, outcomes, and follow-up plans while adhering to applicable confidentiality requirements and program standards. • Provide intensive short-term case management and care coordination, including submitting referrals, facilitating warm handoffs, communicating with service providers, troubleshooting barriers to access, following up on referrals, and monitoring engagement to support successful linkage to ongoing treatment and community supports. • Engage family members, natural supports, community providers, and other collateral contacts, as clinically appropriate and consistent with confidentiality requirements, to strengthen safety planning, treatment engagement, continuity of care, and community-based support. • Participate in program meetings, case conferences, trainings, and other initiatives designed to strengthen clinical practice, interagency collaboration, program operations, and outcomes. • Maintain consistent communication with supervisors and program leadership while conducting field-based work, particularly regarding significant clinical concerns, safety issues, changes in client status, barriers to engagement, emergent situations, and circumstances requiring supervisory consultation or escalation. • Perform other related responsibilities as assigned by program leadership. NOTE: • All staff traveling in NYPD patrol vehicles are required to wear bullet resistant vests. • CRT is a field-based program, public facing, requiring all staff to work on-site. • Due to the nature work, there are no remote options/ days. All staff report to the office 5 days a week. Preferred Skills: • Multilingual proficiency is highly desired. Candidates proficient in one or more of the following languages — Spanish, Hindi, Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese), and Haitian Creole— are encouraged to apply. Staff with bilingual or multilingual skills are essential in providing services to NYC residents across the five boroughs with highly diverse language and cultural needs. • Knowledge and experience with best practices around violence risk identification, assessments, crisis intervention, engagement of hard-to-reach clients, motivational interviewing, trauma informed care. • A minimum of 2 years, full-time, direct service experience, post MSW, with highly vulnerable populations, people with mental health, substance abuse issues, criminal legal involvement and families. • Experience conducting field work, home visits. • Significant provider experience in behavioral health treatment and support services. • Must have ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external partners. • Strong understanding of intersection of NYC’s criminal justice and behavioral health systems, including experience with behavioral health treatment providers. • Flexible, adaptable, ability to work in a fast paced, professional environment. Ability to work in a team. • Flexibility to provide operational coverage as needed, including working other shifts. • Proficient in computers, including Microsoft Office suite. Why you should work for us: • Loan Forgiveness: As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal/state loan forgiveness and repayment assistance programs that lessen your payments or even fully forgive your full balance. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website (https://studentaid.gov/pslf/) • Benefits: City employees are entitled to unmatched benefits such as: o a premium-free health insurance plan that saves employees over $10K annually, per a 2024 assessment. o additional health, fitness, and financial benefits may be available based on the position’s associated union/benefit fund. o a public sector defined benefit pension plan with steady monthly payments in retirement. o a tax-deferred savings program and o a robust Worksite Wellness Program that offers resources and opportunities to keep you healthy while serving New Yorkers. • Work From Home Policy: Depending on your position within DOHMH, you may be able to work up to two days during the week from home. • Job Security - you could enjoy more job security compared to private sector employment and be able to contribute to making NYC a healthy place to live and work. Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health Department) is the oldest and largest health department in the U.S., dedicated to protecting and improving the health of NYC. Our mission is to safeguard the health of every resident and cultivate a city where everyone, regardless of age, background, or location, can achieve their optimal health. We provide a wide array of programs and services focused on food and nutrition, anti-tobacco support, chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment, family and child health, environmental health, mental health, and social justice initiatives. As the primary population health strategist and policy authority for NYC, with a rich history of public health initiatives and scientific advancements, from addressing the 1822 yellow fever outbreak to the COVID-19 pandemic, we serve as a global leader in public health innovation and expertise. Come join us and help to continue our efforts in making a difference in the lives of all New Yorkers! Commitment to Equity: The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy. The NYC Health Department is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation to all individuals. To request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, contact Sye-Eun Ahn, Director of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, at sahn1@health.nyc.gov or 347-396-6549.
