About Us: Volunteers of America (VOA) is a national, faith-based nonprofit organization founded over 125 years ago. VOA Illinois is one of the oldest affiliates of the VOA family delivering strength-based, trauma-informed, gender-responsive and culturally sensitive programs and services at the highest standards of excellence to our clients. We have never stopped reinventing our services and we continue to innovate based on our communities’ evolving needs. VOA Illinois, a certified “Great Place to Work,” fosters an organizational culture focused on faith, innovation and collaboration. Year after year VOA Illinois expands and promotes from within, holding a workforce with over 50% having experienced promotion. Check out our careers page to find more opportunities at PAYCOMONLINE.NET.
Program Overview: The Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) Program serves to directly address the impact of economic disinvestment, violence, and the historical overuse of criminal justice-responses. We will support local design and control of community based responses to these impacts and substantially reduce both the total amount of gun violence and concentrated poverty in Illinois. We will aim to protect communities from gun violence through targeted investments and intervention programs.
Services will reduce gun violence through intervention and prevention, improve re-entry and diversion services for people involved with the criminal justice system, provide access to legal representation and advice, encourage investment and economic growth, enhance youth development, and support programs that improve the social determinants of health.
Position Type: This is a full-time, in-person position with occasional work from home opportunity (based on NLCP academic schedule) and requires a 40-hour week on average. May include occasional weekend and/or evening hours as assigned.
Environment: Physical demands include sedentary work, operating a computer and other office productivity machinery with frequent communication with clients and colleagues of VOA Illinois and others involved in the care and custody of clients. The individual hired must be able to move, traverse and travel in the community in a vehicle, assist clients in and out of a vehicle if necessary and transport clients in the community.
Core Competencies: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to meet or exceed the following;
- Drive engagement and communication with clients that embodies empathy, patience and emotional intelligence.
- Advocate for clients using active listening to determine resources and meet various needs.
- Collaborate with VOA colleagues, outside organizations or vendors, etc. to connect clients and obtain necessary resources.
- Display discipline in managing time and attention to assigned caseload, tasks or projects.
- Exercise prudent stewardship of agency resources.
- Exhibit cultural competence while serving clients of diverse backgrounds and commit to expanding knowledge and understanding of different communities and people groups.
- Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior at all times.
- Engage with trauma-informed care approach and practice principles.
- Recognize and display ability to de-escalate and resolve conflict as necessary.
Essential Functions: Under the immediate supervision of the Vice President of Behavioral Health, the Therapist is responsible for providing intensive counseling and/or psychotherapy to clients and/or families.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The duties list below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations are made to individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions, upon request.
- Provide individual, family, and group counseling or psychotherapy to clients within the school setting or virtually. Clients must be actively enrolled at NLCP to receive services as the primary client.
- Create individualized treatment plans based on client needs and appropriate interventions.
- Develop, implement and modify the program curriculum.
- Respond to crises involving clients, providing immediate assistance and support to the client and staff.
- Provide clinical support/education to the VOA Illinois staff as well as NLCP staff to improve Behavioral Health understanding and develop effective interventions.
- Utilize de-escalation techniques to manage and resolve conflicts effectively.
- Collect and report data for Quality Assurance and Clinical Documentation.
- Establish a positive, trusting, and accepting rapport with the client.
- Act upon own analysis of client situations under clinical supervision.
- Participate in regular group and clinical supervision meetings for consultation on the use of clinical interventions with clients.
- Report progress on caseload to supervisor; make written evaluation reports on the progress of each client and perform record keeping functions required by the agency. This may include reports to Court or outside agencies.
- Complete the applicable VOA Illinois documentation/reports required for consents and ROI purposes.
- Participate in agency studies of particular problems or casework practices.
- Deliver services with sensitivity to the clients cultural and socioeconomic characteristics
- Uphold and actively demonstrate investment in the mission and values of VOA Illinois.
- Foster positive relationships with community members and stakeholders to enhance support for the program and its clients.
- Advocate for the needs of clients within the community and promote awareness of available services.
- Work with data and performance teams to plan and oversee annual program audits.
- Ensure programmatic compliance by evaluating progress toward outcomes and conducting site visits, and maintaining relationships with partner agencies and other stakeholders.
Other Duties: As assigned by supervisor.
