Community Referrals Specialist - Intake Dept. (AOD Registration Required)

HealthRIGHT 360 gives hope, builds health, and changes lives for people in need by providing comprehensive, integrated, compassionate care that includes primary medical care, mental health services, and substance use disorder treatment.
Benefits and perks: • HR360 offers a robust benefits package, including PTO, 15 paid holidays, commuter benefits, retirement plans, and more! • Employees qualify for public loan forgiveness programs • Training and professional development opportunities • Work with mission driven, compassionate colleagues and make a difference every day in the work that you do.
Job Overview This is a union position.
The Community Referrals Specialist works as part of a collaborative team within HealthRIGHT360’s Central Behavioral Health Intake Department in San Francisco, CA.
Located near San Francisco’s Civic Center, our Central Behavioral Health Intake Department is the initial point of contact for many individuals seeking outpatient, inpatient residential substance use disorder treatment, dental, medical, and mental health treatment services.
The team in our Intake Department provides a welcoming, safe, and non-judgmental environment that encourages connection to needed services.
Under the direction of the Admissions Director, the Community Referrals Specialist is responsible for managing and supporting HealthRIGHT 360’s relationships with our partners in the community and legal system.
The responsibilities of this role encompass both internal and external relationship development and maintenance with stakeholders within the state parole, county probation, federal probation, legal, and judicial systems, including the local jails, CPS, hospitals, and other community substance use disorder treatment agencies, as well as direct interaction with clients, potential clients, and those overseeing their care coordination.
Working as an integral team member, the Community Referrals Specialist accurately numerates individuals entering our agency - tracks the type of services they seek and receive, provides administrative support for the intake department with hospitals, the justice related systems and other community services agencies, as well as individual client case management - pulling together the care team to ensure the best possible services for the clients under our care.
Key Responsibilities Criminal Justice Relations and Case Management Responsibilities: • Serves as the liaison and central point of contact for criminal justice related stakeholders including funders, judicial courts, law enforcement, legal counsel, and other related parties.
• Provides timely communication, ad hoc and scheduled reporting, and facilitates regular collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
• Receives and responds to written inquiries from incarcerated individuals, and the involved agencies, interested in treatment options upon release.
• Communicates court mandates to program staff and involved clients.
• Ensures client adherence to court/legal mandates.
• Submits written reports to appropriate agencies, courts, probation regarding involved clients.
• Pulls together Care Teams as necessary to ensure the best possible treatment outcome for clients.
• Identifies and maintains relationships with community partners to support clients with legal matters and collateral needs.
• Maintains and promotes relationships with criminal justice related stakeholders including funders, judicial courts, law enforcement, legal counsel, and other related parties inclusive of drug court, pretrial, ACM, county probation departments, federal probation departments, state parole departments, local and out of county sheriff’s offices.
• Facilitates stakeholder discussions regarding client eligibility, placement, and coordination of care.
• Represents HR360 at meetings with partners and stakeholders within and related to the criminal justice community.
Referral Coordination and Management: • Serves as central point of contact for referral coordination related to outreach, hospitals, jails, city, SF county agencies, out-of-cunty agencies, mental health services, homeless shelters, navigation centers, primary care, social services, and residential treatment facilities.
• Processes and schedules internal referrals internally.
• Tracks number of referrals, direct placement, and timely access.
• Monitors and keeps detailed records of placement outcomes and length of referral process.
• Utilizes agency vehicle for client transportation from referring agencies.
• Ensures client adherence to out of county contract mandates.
• Submits written reports to appropriate out of county agencies for contracted clients.
• Supports detox and residential facilities in the placement of individuals within the facilities and with the coordination of client care within the facilities.
• Provides after-hour on-call services for client transportation and client medication pickup/deliveries as well as on call services for client property transportation and to ensure client and staff safety within speific facilities.
Intakes and Placement: • Conducts level of care assessments to assist in placement eligibility for withdrawal management and residential substance-use disorder treatment services.
• Conducts client intake process for Residential Treatment care facilities and direct program placements based on client needs and bed availability.
• Supports in the coordination for medication pick up for these referrals.
• Utilizes agency vehicle to pick up client medications at local pharmacies and transport clients to the appropriate agency facility sites.
• Conducts client UDS.
• Ensures client medications are secured and delivered to appropriate facilities.
• Supports 815/890 facilities with client intake/bed placement processes/client transfers.
Administrative Responsibilities: • Monitors and updates active client episodes with appropriate hospital, documentation.
• Tracks and reports client activities to appropriate agencies involved in HR360 client care.
• Provides reports and documentation as needed for courts, agencies, probation.
• Creates and shares reports to maintain communication between treatment programs, funders and stakeholders.
• Designs, implements, and troubleshoots communication processes as necessary and appropriate.
• Provides administrative and process design support to the Intake department as needed.
• As required for program reporting, aggregate monthly or quarterly counts of targeted metrics, such as number of patients received into detox/residential programs via intake.
• San Francisco AVATAR system documentation.
Training Responsibilities: • Trains and supports clinical staff with building and sustaining collaborative relationships with partners and stakeholders.
And perform other duties as assigned.
Education and Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Education, Certification, and Experience Required: • Bachelor’s Degree in related field and at least three years of relevant work experience or minimum of five years of relevant work experience.
• AOD registration and/or certification.
Desired: • Experience in San Francisco AVATAR system.
• Experience writing and implementing policies and procedures.
• Experience connecting individuals to community resources.
Background Clearance: • Must not be on active parole or probation, clear with OIG database.
• Ability to obtain and maintain satisfactory background check.
• Ability to obtain and maintain live scan clearance.
Knowledge Required: • Knowledge of legal and criminal justice systems.
• Ability to work cooperatively and effectively as part of interdisciplinary team and independently assume responsibility.
• Culturally competent and able to work with a diverse population.
• Integrity to handle sensitive and non-routine information in a confidential manner.
• Understanding of how substance use disorders, mental health conditions, criminal histories, socio-economic, cultural, and other potential barriers may affect economic self-efficacy and sufficiency.
Desired: • Knowledge of Clinical documentation (treatment plans, progress notes etc.
Skills and Abilities Required: • Strong initiative and enthusiasm and willingness to pitch in whenever needed.
• Excellent organization skills and ability to multitask and juggle multiple priorities with experience managing projects independently.
• Ability to enter data into various electronic systems while maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the data.
• Action oriented with strong problem-solving skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Skilled in de-escalation techniques.
• Working knowledge of harm reduction concepts and de-escalation techniques.
• Excellent computer skills in Microsoft Office and internet applications.
Desired: • Bilingual.
In compliance with the California Department of Public Health's mandate, all employees must be able to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
Medical and religious exemptions are available.
We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.