The Enhanced Clinical Community Support (ECCS) Program is an innovative new program offered by Kaleidoscope to serve youth in foster care who are receiving inpatient psychiatric care by supporting their transition to community based services and stabilization in a home setting.

The Community Clinician provides direct clinical guidance and support to caregivers and their case management team as youth in the care of DCFS return to the community following an inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. This is achieved through consultation with all providers serving the youth, facilitating frequent and clinically informed child and family team meetings, training other professionals on the treatment team on trauma informed models, and supporting caregivers through trauma informed psychoeducation and therapeutic parenting guidance. Additionally, the ECCS Clinician may provide direct clinical services for the youth and family as needed, as well as referrals and linkages to long-term community based providers. Emphasis is placed on implementing immediate intervention to reduce crises and promote stabilization, and resolving systemic barriers to resource linkage and stability in a community based setting.

The ECCS program is grounded in a community-based framework, providing services in the home and other settings that are most convenient for the families we serve. Community Clinicians will spend a significant portion of their time in the field, and will be expected to travel throughout Cook County on a daily basis.

About Kaleidoscope:

Founded in 1973, our mission today is to empower children, youth and families impacted by abuse and neglect to build resourcefulness, resiliency and supportive relationships through innovative, individualized case management and clinical services. Our vision is that all children and youth have the opportunity to enjoy safe and healthy lives nurtured by responsive adults.

At Kaleidoscope, we stake our reputation on providing the highest quality child welfare services to children, youth and families involved with the Department of Children and Family Services. The work we do is both challenging and rewarding. To accomplish this high level of success, we place the utmost value on our employees and seek to provide them with opportunities for professional growth through supportive supervision, ongoing attachment and trauma-informed clinical training, small caseload ratios, flexible work schedules, competitive pay and excellent benefits.

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

• Work with a caseload of 7-10 youth in care, their caregivers, case agency and their support team.
• Organize and facilitate child and family team meetings with client, caregiver and case agency.
• Facilitate consistent and ongoing communication with assigned case agency and all relevant parties to identify family needs, child needs, and system barriers.
• Provide training and support to the caregivers on trauma, addressing trauma behavioral symptoms and the promotion of healthy and secure attachments.
• Collaborate with the child and family team to develop, review and modify a personalized plan outlining objectives for the child, caregiver(s), assigned agency, and other collaterals as needed.
• Utilize trauma informed interventions such as ARC, SPACE, SPARCS, TF-CBT, or other evidence-based model that meets the various clinical needs of children, youth, families, and collaterals on assigned caseload.
• Utilize an array of clinical interventions to meet the needs of children, youth, and adults, including, but not limited to, therapy, clinical guidance, and wrap-around services.
• Ensure documentation of all admission, ongoing and closing activities in a timely manner using approved forms. This includes, but is not limited to, IM+CANS.
• Provide on-going clinical consultation to staff/caregivers regarding children and youth’s functioning and appropriate treatment approaches to be used by staff/caregivers in supporting the child to meet his/her treatment needs.
• Consult regularly with supervisor, DCFS liaison, and other service entities to ensure mental health, permanency, safety and wellbeing needs of youth and family are being met.
• Participate in conferences, court hearings, team meetings, staffings, and other meetings in the community as required as an advocate for children, youth, and families, or as a representative of the agency

General Requirements:

Minimum Degree Required: Master degree in social work or social service related degree

Licensure: LCSW or LCPC licensure preferred

Schedule: This job requires a flexible schedule and the ability to work evenings (example: 10am-6pm, 11am-7pm)

Information Technology Skills Required: Microsoft Office Proficiency

Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication and time management skills

Full time use of minimally insured, operating automobile and valid driver’s license