Behavioral Health Specialist, Social Work​/Counselor III - Grand Mesa Services Center

About the Division of Youth Services

The Division of Youth Services (DYS) provides a continuum of residential and non-residential services that encompass juvenile detention, commitment, and parole. DYS is the agency statutorily mandated to provide for the care and supervision of youth committed by the District Court to the custody of the Colorado Department of Human Services. The Division operates fifteen secure facilities that serve youth between the ages of 10 and 21, who are pre‑adjudicated, sentenced, or committed.

DYS also contracts with numerous private residential and non‑residential service providers throughout the State. For pre‑adjudicated youth, the Division is responsible for the management and oversight of Colorado Youth Detention Continuum, a State‑funded, locally administered program that provides services to youth at risk of further progressing into the juvenile justice system. In addition to residential programming, DYS administers juvenile parole services throughout the State.

You are required to work at your assigned work location during scheduled work times. This mental health counselor role provides mental health and case management services to committed and detained youth in DYS. Services include clinical assessment, medication monitoring in conjunction with the facility psychiatrist, individual, group, family and milieu therapies, suicide risk assessment and monitoring, report writing, and mental health service coordination with a multi‑disciplinary team (MDT).

• Maintain a caseload and conduct individual, group, and family therapy sessions using evidence‑based treatment theories in mental health treatment for adolescents.
• Maintain a clear understanding of adolescent development, appropriate interventions for this population, and developmental needs.
• Use theories relevant to the needs of the youth and their individual history, considering their age, ethnicity, culture, religion, and sexual issues to affect behavior change. Interpret treatment issues, problems, expectations, and changes in behavior for residents and families.
• Document and assess the effectiveness of specific interventions toward program progression and youth stabilization.
• Provide therapeutic services using a strength‑based approach and holistic manner.
• Collaborate with the medical team and psychiatrist regarding psychotropic medication assessment or continuation to aid in youth stability.
• Collaborate with educational/vocational systems to ensure appropriate academic services are provided.
• Seek out additional resources as necessary to ensure the best approach to treating the youth based on their developmental and neurocognitive ability.
• Provide therapy in a manner consistent with the youth’s ability, taking into account any necessary modification needed due to trauma, substance abuse, brain injury, and mental health disorders.
• Support agency services of cognitive behavioral‑based interventions, social learning theory, and motivational interviewing.
• Actively engage family/caregivers in the process of stabilizing and transitioning youth to placement.
• Assess progress and barriers to progress, and document all case management and therapeutic services in the Fusion Electronic Health Record system.
• Follow Sanctuary/ROCK Program.
• Facilitate Community Review Teams as needed for Individual Growth and Change Plans and other interventions as they are developed.

• Address mental health and other needs identified, taking into consideration the estimated length of stay.
• Review assessment data, when completed, and recommendations with youth, gather additional historical information, develop therapeutic rapport, ensure the youth is engaged in a supportive and educative manner, protect confidentiality, and handle problematic symptoms sensitively.
• Engage parents/family members, significant others, guardians and referring agents to interview and obtain relevant collateral and supportive data.
• Recognize signs and symptoms of serious mental illness (per DSM‑5) and monitor exacerbation, decompensation or improvement of mental health status.
• Complete a brief mental health status…