Director of Behavioral Health

General Description of Position:

Directs the day-to-day operations of the Behavioral Health Program by providing the best supports to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are experiencing high behavioral and mental health needs. and implements programmatic and administrative policies and procedures to attain program goals and objectives.

The goal of the program is to help people to reach their goals and dreams by providing education, role modeling and encouragement. This includes supporting people to have a meaningful day and a rich life while coping with their mental and behavioral health. You will work closely with the person, the family, external case management, behavior support specialist as well as behavioral health supports offered in the community. Additionally, this position works with and supports the person's team by modeling, coaching and teaching skills that will improve their ability to be effective in supporting the person to achieve success.

Supervises the staff, evaluates employee performance, and makes recommendations for further growth or improvement. Oversees quality assurance in the program’s service delivery including clinical care and documentation. Makes programmatic and administrative recommendations to provide best services and supports to adults with disabilities with high behavioral and mental health needs to the vice president in accordance with the agency/program goals and objectives.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree required, preferably in psychology, behavioral health, occupational therapy, social work, human services, social services or related field from an accredited college or university. Experience in and knowledge of behavior consultation, crisis intervention, the effects of medications on behavior and teaching skills are also preferred.
• Additional experience preferred in working with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities, and/or other disabilities with significant mental health needs.

• Valid driver’s license – must have a safe driving record and be insurable under our insurance
• Pass a qualifying criminal background check which includes a motor vehicle report

• Negative drug test

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Prolonged periods of standing, reaching, and bending.
• Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds at times.
• Physical agility in being able to move quickly in response to a crisis situation.

Required Skills and Abilities:

• Clinical expertise in crisis intervention, skill in working with people with mental illness trauma, and with individuals undergoing acute episodes of psychiatric distress; skill in diagnosis and assessment.
• Ability to work as part of a comprehensive community mental health team and to represent the agency in the community.
• Skills in supervising, evaluating, and disciplining staff of professionals and paraprofessionals.
• Familiarity with community support systems, health care and human service resources, court and police activities, etc.
• Good organizational skills and administrative abilities.
• Flexibility in days and hours available for scheduled work including weekends.
• Knowledge of and the ability to adhere to a professional code of ethics.
• Knowledge of and the ability to comply with Administrative Rules of South Dakota and the Home and Community Based Settings Rules (HCBS), and Department of Health

Responsibilities:

1. Provide direct supervision of leadership staff in the homes to include orientation, monitoring, feedback, training/retraining, performance evaluation, problem solving, and disciplinary action along with developing strengths of leaders.
2. Support and coach individual support coordinator and behavioral health technicians to support the homes to include development of work schedules, supervision of the home, and development of the team providing feedback and discipline, as needed.
3. Provide a culture where all staff feel safe, listened to, supported and are given the tools to be successful.
4. Provide supervision for all administrative details of leading the teams in the homes to include details of transportation, security, operating budgets, systems management, inspections and reviews, and compliance with all regulations.
5. Provide direction, support and coaching to your team to develop a culture of collaboration among and across departments, focus on empowerment and decision making at the lowest level, open transparent communication that focuses on team building and collaborative work.
6. Work collaboratively with the nursing department to develop systems in the home to ensure quality medical supports. This includes problem solving with the nurses, teaching and supporting nurses about residential systems along with being open minded and supportive about implementation of nursing practices in the home.
7. Rule out environmental/physical/medical issues that may be contributing to behavior
8. Oversee the homes profit and loss statements and work with the individual teams to most effectively and efficiently manage the budget.
9. Complete detailed job inspections (DJIs) on leadership team members in their job functions and support them to complete on their team members.

Crisis Response:

• Assess and intervene in emergency incidents and events, days, evenings, and weekends, as needed, to ensure an effective outcome during crises.
• Determine appropriate response or intervention strategy by following individualized behavior support strategies or facility procedures.
• Effectively diffuse explosive and/or potentially explosive behavioral situations.
• Ensure for individual safety of all parties.
• Participate in debriefing after interventions.
• Continually upgrade knowledge and skill in best practices for positive behavior support.

Black Hills Works is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.