Mental Health Unit Chief, Correctional Health Services

Summary of position: Approximately 25% of new admissions per year to the NYC jail system will receive care on the mental health service. The service strives to provide safe, holistic and evidence-based therapeutic interventions for the diverse range of mental health issues that face the population, from serious mental illness to the natural struggles that accompany incarceration. The service provides some of the most comprehensive and unique treatment modalities in the country, including specialty housing units for individuals with serious mental illness, a 24-hour on-call psychiatric service, robust creative arts programming, a strong DBT training program, clinics in each of the facilities, substance use treatment, integrated re-entry services, and relationships with multiple training institutions throughout the city. The Unit Chief is the mental health administrative lead in each facility or designated area, including general population and therapeutic housing units. Under the direction of the Director of Mental Health Administration, this full-time position coordinates, and helps manage, mental healthcare delivery in one or several of the jail facilities in New York City. This includes ensuring provision of services within the timeframes and quality benchmarks outlines by CHS MH policies, providing administrative support to staff who are assigned to their clinical area, maintenance of patient records and compliance with monitoring requirements. S/he will act as the principle administrative liaison between mental health disciplines, as well as pharmacy, medical and nursing. As a member of the facility management team, the Unit Chief will collaborate closely with the Department of Correction (DOC) leadership and CHS Operations in order to ensure service delivery and meet patient needs. A major component of this position will be providing effective, inspiring, and clinically-informed administrative leadership and organization.Department Preferences: Responsibilities Include:Manage the daily operations of the program and site; ensure that patient and program goals are met in accordance with established H+H policies and proceduresEnsure adequate multi-disciplinary mental health staffing in the facilityCoordinate therapeutic services; oversee the referral, intake and assignment of casesParticipate in relevant quality improvement initiatives; assure completion and accuracy of all data completion, report progress and plan of action in monthly QI meetingProvide orientation and training to all new hiresProvide administrative and clinical support to mental health staff; proactively identify and resolve performance issues and manage personnel issues with discipline supervisorsSupport staff development; teach and ensure completion of departmental trainings designed to enhance the skills of staff relevant to their position10% of time must be devoted to direct clinical care, some of which may include intake evaluation, suicide watch assessment, and clinical follow up's as needed.Organize and facilitate monthly mental health staff meetings with other MH discipline leadershipAttend and actively participate in multiple interdisciplinary meetings per week, both within the mental health department and with other services, including DOCSupervise the collection and appropriate dissemination of statistical reports, staffing patterns, bed utilization, timesheets, payroll activities and HR paperwork.Maintain on-call availability for urgent or emergent administrative issues that arise off- hoursOther duties as assigned by the Director of Mental Health Administration or her/his designeeDepartment Preferences:Excellent interpersonal communication skills and ability to work collaboratively with other disciplinesExperience with quality improvement practices in health care settingsStrong leadership skills with ability to identify staff needs and provide mentorship and education to suit those needsExcellent organizational skills, including working knowledge of database and spreadsheet design and maintenanceStrong clinical skills working with individuals with mental illnessEducationLMHC, LMSW, LCSW, Ph.D or Psy.D in PsychologyNew York State license in good standingExperienceThree years clinical experience working with individuals with mental illnessAt least 2 years of managerial experienceAn equivalent and satisfactory combination of education and experience may be consideredQualification Requirements: 1. Master's Degree in Public Administration, Public Health, Health Care Specialization, Social Work, Psychology or related field; and 2. Three (3) years of increasingly responsible experience in hospital or regulatory agency administration, with particular emphasis on development and evaluation of mental health delivery services; or3. Possession of a valid license and current registration to practice in a mental health field issued by the New York State Education Department (NYSED).

Created: 2025-01-09