Title: Mental Health Clinican

Division: Project 180 - RDP

Location: Antelope Valley Courthouse

The Organization

SSG-Project 180 turns lives around through innovative, wraparound services that keep people out of institutions and in their communities. Project 180 is a leader in the forensic treatment space, offering high-quality, specialized treatment programs that serve thousands of justice-involved individuals. Our programs span criminal justice intercepts and include pre-arrest interventions, court-based diversions, jail in-reach, and intensive post-release services. Project 180 operates in partnership with County agencies including the Department of Mental Health (DMH), the Department of Health Services (DHS), and the Justice, Care and Opportunities Department (JCOD).

The Program

The Rapid Diversion Program (RDP) is a County-operated program that diverts criminal defendants out of the criminal legal system at the early stages of the court process. The program provides in-court mental health evaluation, linkage to treatment services, and case management support to participants, whose criminal case is dismissed upon successful program completion.

The Position

The RDP Mental Health Clinician is based out of a LA County courthouse. This individual screens defendants for program suitability, formulates treatment plans, and provides ongoing clinical recommendations and expertise to the team. In addition, this role is responsible for linking new RDP clients to appropriate services and resources as recommended in their treatment plan. A successful candidate will demonstrate both strong clinical judgment and a robust understanding of mental health and substance abuse treatment programs within the system of care, adeptly forge partnerships with service providers, and work with urgency to facilitate program connections for defendants in LA County criminal courts in mental health diversion. This position reports to the RDP Program Supervisor and actively coordinates with external stakeholders and the case management team at their courthouse. Success in this role requires working collaboratively in a fast-paced environment with diverse stakeholders in pursuit of client diversion and success.

Essential Functions

Assess potential RDP participants and make diversion recommendations to the court

• Engage potential diversion participants in services. Provide brief motivational intervention and information related to services offered through the RDP program.
• Review collateral information (i.e. discovery provided by the client’s defense attorney, mental health treatment history) and conduct a clinical interview. Assessment to include but not be limited to mental health diagnosis, readiness for change and needed community linkages.
• Formulate a diagnosis, comprehensive treatment plan and recommendations to court for potential diversion.
• Engage and join with collaterals (family members, court) as appropriate. Provide education related to mental health recovery to better support clients. Engage in client advocacy.
• Conduct reassessments when requested and make recommendations regarding ongoing participation in RDP and modify treatment recommendations as needed.
• Service delivery is consistent with ethical standards and a harm reduction, strength based, trauma informed framework.

Link clients to appropriate treatment services

• Identify and enroll clients in appropriate treatment programs (e.g. residential substance treatment, mental health clinics, etc.), moving with particular urgency for clients in custody.
• Support clients to accept, participate in, and adhere to their treatment programs, using techniques such as motivational interviewing and facilitating problem solving.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of behavioral health treatment programs and community resources and how to navigate the LA County system of care. Establish and maintain relationships with community treatment providers and resources.

Coordinate participant treatment program with court-based needs

• Support new clients in understanding the court process, appropriate court conduct, and their specific responsibilities for diversion. Ensure clients are aware of and attend upcoming court dates as needed.
• Maintain a detailed log of client progress and status of pending linkages.
• Collaborate with defense attorney to understand any court-based requirements and coordinate efforts. Provide routine linkage updates.
• Engage and join with collaterals (family members, court)