March 23, 2023

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT

Unit Director, Children's Crisis Services,

Division of Integrated Community Services for Children and Families, Office of Mental Health

Grade 25

Full Time Salary Range: $86,348 to $109,898

The Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc. is seeking (1) highly skilled and motivated individuals for a fulltime Unit Director for Children's Crisis Services position managing crisis program efforts in New York State (NYS). This position is located at the NYS Office of Mental Health(OMH), Albany, NY.

Function and Scope

NYS is engaging in a historic transformation of the children's system of care to ensure that children and families receive timely and appropriate intervention and follow-up. The NYS OMH is committed to identifying and meeting the behavioral health needs of children and families. The NYS OMH also believes that everyone should have an equal opportunity for mental wellness. This means removing obstacles and implementing services and policies aimed at reducing disparities in access, quality, and treatment outcomes for historically marginalized, underserved, and unserved populations.

The ideal candidate will have excellent organizational skills and the ability to work independently; excellent communication and writing skills; the ability to manage multiple deliverables simultaneously; knowledge of data management and analysis; the ability to work in a multidisciplinary team and communicate with professionals with both clinical and non-clinical backgrounds.

The Division of Integrated Community Services for Children and Families is focused on meeting various goals and objectives in children's mental health, including, but not limited to:

• Prioritizing early identification and intervention across the lifespan and investing in programs which support the treatment and support of emotional disorders and mental illnesses.
• Addressing access to services for children in need of mental health treatment through primary care, school-based services, home and community-based services and crisis intervention.
• Supporting an array of OMH licensed residential, outpatient, crisis, and inpatient programs for children and youth
• Developing and supporting an array of robust community services, including a comprehensive and coordinated crisis response system, which will address the emergent and immediate needs of New Yorkers of all ages and at the same time, connect individuals to the wider mental health system.
• Ensuring a focus on policymaking and program development that is data-driven, youth and family centered, and advances diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice

Responsibilities

Under the general direction of the Bureau Head for Children's Residential, Inpatient, and Crisis Services, the Unit Director has statewide responsibility for crisis services for children, including Children's Crisis Residence and Home Based Crisis Intervention, and collaborative responsibility with the Bureau of Crisis Emergency and Stabilization Initiatives in the Adult Community Care Division for 988/Mobile Crisis, Crisis Stabilization Centers, Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Programs, and other crisis services. The incumbent is responsible for making independent decisions concerning complex programmatic and operational issues. The duties of the Unit Director will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Direct statewide mental health services provided to children and their families through crisis programs.
• Manage statewide implementation of OMH policy directives within all children's crisis services and programs.
  • Ensure policies and guidance developed conform to State and federal regulations and requirements.
  • Identify needs for programmatic and regulatory reform in cases where current policies and/or regulations hamper the implementation of appropriate and effective mental health services for children and adolescents.
  • Direct statewide training activities associated with children's crisis programs, including guiding curriculum development and advanced topic train the trainer programs.
• Review program trends/findings and recommend program changes or support activities to expand or improve children's crisis services.
  • Participate with OMH Bureau of Inspection and Certification and Field Office staff in review of case records and site visits.
  • Monitor program findings to ensure provider quality of care and service access. Make independent recommendation for program changes to ensure program changes, training and technical assistance and support initiatives.
  • Monitor agency/provider progress to make sure changes are implemented or improvements are made to quality of care.
• Review quality improvement initiatives for all children's crisis programs statewide.
• Administer the on-going evaluation of crisis-based services provided to children. Participate with OMH Office of Population Health and Evaluation staff to assess the effectiveness of services and develop strategies for improvements. Conduct and oversee program evaluation activities to determine whether the changes implemented are effective.
• Review and recommend fiscal strategy for children's crisis services and corresponding justification.
• Review management reports prepared by Bureau staff in such areas as utilization rates, patient characteristics, length of stay data, referral and admission patterns, budgetary compliance and unit cost data.
• Verify regulatory compliance and programmatic adherence for community-based treatment providers
• Supervise subordinate staff. Assign and review work. Ensure staff is provided training necessary to perform their duties and conduct performance evaluations. Support professional development of staff.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in one of the major fields of study as follows: psychology, counseling and community psychology, social work, nursing, recreation therapy, rehabilitation counseling, special education, child and family studies, mental health counseling, psychoanalysis, marriage and family therapy, creative arts therapy, public administration, public policy, hospital administration, health administration, public health, sociology, or criminal justice;
• AND four years of professional clinical experience or professional administrative experience in a mental health program.
  • Professional clinical experience is defined as the direct care, treatment, or instruction of patients in a federal or state operated, licensed, certified, or funded mental health program in the disciplines of psychology, counseling and community psychology, social work, nursing, recreation therapy, rehabilitation counseling, mental health counseling, psychoanalysis, marriage and family therapy, or creative arts therapy.
  • Professional administrative experience is defined as mental health program experience in the areas of budgeting, fiscal, business administration, and/or administrative planning; OR quality management; program evaluation; or experience in federal, state, or local government focusing on the planning, development, oversight, coordination, and operation of mental health programs.
• Substitution:
  • A master's degree in one of the major fields of study indicated above may be substituted for one year of the required experience above.
  • A doctoral degree in one of the major fields of study indicated above may be substituted for two years of the required experience above.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of crisis programs for children/youth and their families, such as children's mobile crisis, children's crisis residence, Home Based Crisis Intervention, etc.
• Five years of experience in clinical or administrative experience in a mental health program, such as
  • a residential program for children and youth with mental health challenges
  • an inpatient psychiatric program for children and youth with mental health challenges
  • a crisis program for children and youth with mental health challenges
  • a partial hospital or day treatment outpatient program for children and youth with mental health challenges
  • a care management program for children and youth with mental health challenges
  • a program serving at-risk children and youth
• Advanced knowledge of one or more OMH licensed, designated, or funded programs
• Two years of experience in the development of regulations or policies that govern the provision of health and/or mental health services and/or training and technical assistance related to implementation of such regulations or policies
• Three years of experience working with organizations or individuals from underserved populations, including but not limited to experience gathering community level (including from families and youth) input about the unique needs of such population and the design and implementation of activities at the reduction of disparities in access, quality, and treatment outcomes
• Two years of project management, program oversight, and/or program development experience.

Work Location: 44 Holland Avenue, Albany, NY 12229

RFMH employees may be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 depending on work location and must provide proof of vaccination. Individuals that are not vaccinated for COVID-19 are ineligible for appointment to positions that require vaccination. Fully vaccinated is defined as two (2) or more weeks since receiving either the second dose in a two-dose COVID-19 vaccination series (e.g., Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) or the first and only dose of a single-dose vaccine (e.g., Johnson & Johnson [J&J]/Janssen).

To Apply: Submit an application on our website at https://rfmh.applicantpro.com/jobs/ no later than April 13th, 2023. Click on Employment Opportunities. Please note only applications submitted through our website will be considered.

The Research Foundation is a private not-for-profit corporation and is not an agency or instrumentality of the State of New York. Employees of the Research Foundation are not state employees, do not participate in any state retirement system, and do not receive state fringe benefits. Excellent Benefits Package. Employer/Minority/Women/Disabled/Veteran Employer. VEVRAA 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) compliant