Clinical Training Specialist V

Title: Clinical Training Specialist V

Location: Denver United States

Job Description:

This position is open to current Colorado residents only.

Please note: This recruitment may be used to fill multiple vacancies.

Most State of Colorado employees are eligible for a great benefit package! Please see the Supplemental Information section below for details!

Please Note: This position currently works 100% remotely from home address and will be required to use a personal vehicle for frequent travel to the CDHS office, assigned agencies/facilities, and other identified locations for the purpose of related primary job duties as assigned. This position may be required to complete overnight travel and infrequent extended travel within the State of Colorado. These arrangements are subject to change. 

About this Unit:

The position is located in the Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF),  Division of Child Welfare (DCW), Provider Services Unit (PSU), and Provider Performance Unit. The Division of Child Welfare Services provides a range of leadership, management, and supervision functions related to delivering public child welfare services to children, youth, and families. The Division is responsible for the ongoing implementation of child welfare services in Colorado and supervises county departments of human/social services in the administration of Child Welfare programs, as well as privately operated 24-hour care facilities licensed by the Division of Child Welfare. 

The Provider Services Unit (PSU) exists to license, monitor, supervise, develop, train, and provide statewide oversight for privately operated 24-hour childcare facilities and agencies, including residential child care facilities (RCCF), qualified residential treatment programs (QRTP), secure residential treatment centers (SRTC), psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTF), homeless youth shelters (HYS), shelter care, specialized group facilities, homes and centers (SGF), child placement agencies (CPA), therapeutic foster care (CPA-THRFC), treatment foster care (TX-FH),  adoption agencies (CPAAD), respite child care centers (RCCC), and day treatment facilities (DT) across the State of Colorado. The goals of the unit are to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of the children and youth served in those facilities. The work unit is responsible for comprehensive integrated (interagency) licensing and monitoring of the 24-hour childcare facilities, auditing and investigating reports/allegations involving licensing violations, determining facility or agency culpability, evaluating the integration of trauma-informed principles and practices, monitoring the quality of care, providing support and education, and ensuring the safety of children placed or receiving services with providers.

About this Position:

This position is a part of the Performance Management and Outcomes Unit (PMO), Colorado Provider Training Academy (CPTA) team, which focuses on designing, developing, and delivering a training curriculum for licensed providers. This position exists in a new program and is responsible for the development and creation of a clinical curriculum and maintaining relevant and required training modules on a learning management system (LMS), acting in an expert clinical training role for providers seeking training assistance, and assisting providers in fulfilling training requirements as prescribed by Volume 7 rules and regulations and applicable state and federal laws. This position is designated as remote and is 100% home-based. This position plays a critical role in the development and implementation of multiple goals and activities identified in the Division of Child Welfare's Clinical Strategic Plan.

Summary of Job Duties:

Clinical Strategic Plan Research, Development, and Implementation:

This position is responsible for the oversight of the goals and activities in the Division of Child Welfare's clinical strategic plan, specifically the activities assigned to the Colorado Provider Training Academy (CPTA). This includes conducting clinical research, design, development, and implementation of processes, procedures, practices, and curricula for licensed clinical providers and direct care staff, case managers, supervisors, managers, directors, and administrators of licensed agencies and facilities, ensuring the content meets the diverse learning needs of training participants that also aligns with the clinical strategic plan. This role involves identifying evidence-based and best-practice training that addresses various treatment modalities and effective approaches for working with children and youth who have experienced complex trauma. This position is to establish an evolving collection of clinical interventions and the evidence supporting them for use and provides reference and/or training for providers as to the interventions. This position leads to professional development efforts by working with approximately 80 licensed providers, addressing complex issues at the request of the providers or when there are concerns regarding compliance, performance, or practice. This position creates specific training for providers on creating treatment plans with youth input, asking and using youth's pronouns, and creating safe and affirming spaces. It involves the creation of clinical training materials such as presentations, manuals, videos, and other multimedia resources, facilitating effective training delivery. It also involves vetting free training resources from experts in the field to help providers learn cutting-edge treatments and uniform best practices. possess a unique level of knowledge and expertise in a professional field that is needed by the agency to support its overall mission. Agency management routinely relies on the essential consultation of this position before deciding on broad, critical program and policy direction. 

The position is embedded within a PSU Program Unit, where it engages with the unit both individually and collectively to address program-related concerns through training, ensuring the integration of new rules and policies. The position is tasked with establishing clinical program objectives and creating curricula for the Colorado Provider Training Academy (CPTA) that align with the Division of Child Welfare's mission and the clinical strategic plan. This includes knowledge and expertise in the following areas: Volume 7 regulations, the DSM-5, Colorado Mental Health Practice laws, evidence-based trauma-informed practices, case and treatment planning, attachment, milieu management, safety, professionalism, healthy boundaries, developmentally appropriate interventions, expectations and responses, behavior management and de-scalation strategies, family engagement, aftercare services, cultural responsiveness, human trafficking, substance use/misuse, and the use of Naloxone (Narcan).

This position collaborates with the Office of Children, Youth, and Families Medical Director and Performance Management and Outcomes Units regarding the DCW debriefing program with providers. As identified in the clinical strategic plan, the debriefing program is designed to support providers who experience egregious and highly traumatizing situations. This position will provide clinical expertise to the team regarding response, debriefing, and postvention services. This role also provides education on effective self-care techniques for the support of residential staff to address burnout, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma.

This position has clinical knowledge and expertise regarding cultural competence and how it is applied to treatment planning and programming. Cultural responsiveness is central to all PSU, CPTA, and provider interactions, with an emphasis on critically analyzing policies, practices, and learning experiences requiring cultural consideration. Collaborates with state partners such as Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) and Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) to assist providers in accessing consultation with various identity and language experts, providing equitable opportunities for providers to assist children, youth, and families to engage in culturally relevant clinical services. Provides training for providers to understand reasonable accommodations for children, youth, and families with disabilities and how to create safe and affirming spaces. 

Clinical Coaching and Specialized Staff Development Training:

This position serves as the senior authority for expertise in clinical curriculum development, clinical coaching, and specialized training development for licensed providers, including but not limited to administration, licensed clinicians, supervisors, and direct care staff. This position is a subject matter expert in residential care operations, clinical practices, training curriculum development and delivery, and trauma-informed, trauma-responsive care. This position focuses on the professional development of staff to enhance their skills and effectiveness and improve their childcare and clinical practices. This position focuses on teaching the fundamental principles of trauma-informed, trauma-responsive care, focusing on a strength-based approach, improving self-awareness and self-reflection, addressing compassion fatigue and burnout, increasing resilience, improving well-being, using client-centered approaches, and improving client outcomes. This position conducts live clinical coaching sessions for administration, direct care staff, supervisors, and clinicians enrolled in the Colorado Provider Training Academy. This position provides evening clinical coaching sessions for overnight staff in residential facilities. 

This position is well-versed in adult learning theory, developing multiple learning strategies aimed at increasing participant engagement and enhancing skills for working with children, youth, and families with complex trauma histories. This role also provides clinical coaching, direct practice consultation, training, and support for staff across licensed facilities and agencies, facilitating the application of skills while ensuring compliance with Volume 7 regulations and related statutes, policies, and practices that foster professional growth, organizational culture, and workforce resiliency. Training delivery includes both in-person and virtual formats, incorporating traditional classroom methods, web-based learning, and non-traditional interventions such as over-the-shoulder supervision, technical assistance, and coaching. The position continuously evaluates the effectiveness of training via evaluations, practice observations, and feedback, analyzing data to assess the relationship between training content, practice changes, and overall effectiveness, with recommendations for program and policy adjustments. 

This position is also responsible for the grading and assignment review submitted by participants and determining staff competence of the training material before receiving their certification of completion of the training modules. They provide constructive feedback and assess the application of trauma-informed principles in participants' work. They also work with participant supervisors if competence has not developed or concerns arise.

• Other duties as assigned

Important Note: Please review your application to ensure completion. For the most equitable applicant experience, CDHS' hiring teams consider only the contents of your application to determine meeting minimum qualifications and for the comparative analysis process. Experience is calculated on a full-time equivalency basis, therefore, it is important to accurately notate the hours you averaged per experience section entry. Volunteer work or related type of experience may be used to meet the qualifications, but must be clearly documented. It is paramount that in the experience portion of the application, the applicant describes the extent to which they possess the education, experience, competencies and background as they relate to the duties outlined in the job announcement.  

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: 

Option 1 - Experience:

• Nine (9) years of relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position
• Please note: This experience must be clearly documented on your application and the supplemental questions must be answered.

OR

Option 2 - Experience & Education:

• A combination of related education and/or relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned equal to nine (9) years.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of the adult learning theory
• Experience working directly in foster care and/or youth residential facility settings
• Experience directly supervising employees
• Experience training and teaching adults in various settings
• Experience managing large projects
• Experience with community outreach
• Well versed in National Standards working with children and youth with complex trauma histories

Conditions of Employment:

• This position currently works 100% remotely from home address and will be required to use a personal vehicle for frequent travel to the CDHS office, assigned agencies/facilities, and other identified locations for the purpose of related primary job duties as assigned. This position may be required to complete overnight travel and infrequent extended travel within the State of Colorado
• Full Background.  CDHS employees (all Direct contact with vulnerable persons): CBI name check and fingerprint check, ICON Colorado court database, Medicare fraud database, Reference Checks, Professional License verification (licensure requirements), Drug Screen, PREA (Division of Youth Services), Trails check (direct contact with children), CAPS (direct contact with adults - Mental Health Institutes, Regional Centers, Veterans Community Living Centers).
• Former State employees who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination must disclose the information on the application and provide an explanation why the prior termination or resignation should not disqualify the applicant from the current position.  Absent extraordinary circumstances, prior disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination will disqualify the applicant from future State employment with CDHS.

APPEAL RIGHTS:

If you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for this position, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director.

An appeal or review must be submitted on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative. This form must be delivered to the State Personnel Board by email (dpa_state.personnelboard@state.co.us), postmarked in US Mail or hand delivered (1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver CO 80203), or faxed (303.866.5038) within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of notice or acknowledgement of the department's action.

For more information about the appeals process, the official appeal form, and how to deliver it to the State Personnel Board; go to spb.colorado.gov; contact the State Personnel Board for assistance at (303) 866-3300; or refer to 4 Colorado Code of Regulations (CCR) 801-1, State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, Chapter 8, Resolution of Appeals and Disputes, at spb.colorado.gov under Rules.

A standard appeal form is available at: www.colorado.gov/spb. If you appeal, your appeal must be submitted in writing on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative, and received at the following address within 10 days of your receipt of notice or knowledge of the action: Colorado State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director, Attn: Appeals Processing, 1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver, CO 80203. Fax: 303-866-5038. Phone: 303-866-3300. The ten-day deadline and these appeal procedures also apply to all charges of discrimination.

How to Apply

 The Assessment Process

For additional recruiting questions, please contact amber.holcomb@state.co.us 

About Us: 

If your goal is to build a career that makes a difference, consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). Our professionals strive to design and deliver high quality human and health services that improve the safety, independence, and well-being of the people of Colorado. In addition to a great location and rewarding and meaningful work, we offer:

• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan www.copera.org plus 401(k) and 457 plans
• Medical and dental health plans
• Employer supplemented Health Savings Account
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• 11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave
• BenefitHub state employee discount program
• Employee Wellness program MotivateMe
• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training and more
• Remote work arrangements for eligible positions
• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For more

information, go to https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dhr/student-loan-forgiveness-programs.

Our Values:

We believe in a people-first approach: To serve the people of Colorado, we develop a culture and work environment that creates an energized, inspired, and healthy team capable of giving their best to Coloradans.

Balance creates quality of life: We want our team to be resilient through a supportive workplace that values flexibility, health and wellness, and employee engagement.

We hold ourselves accountable: We take responsibility through our actions, programs, and results for the state of health and human services in Colorado.

Transparency matters: We are open and honest with employees, our partners, the Coloradans we serve, and the public.

We are ethical: We abide by what is best for those we serve by doing what is right, not what is easy.

Collaboration helps us rise together: We work together with all partners, employees, and clients to achieve the best outcomes for Coloradans.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services. Therefore, we encourage responses from people of diverse backgrounds and abilities. 

ADAA Accommodations: CDHS is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADAAA Coordinator, Nancy Schmelzer, at  cdhs_ada@state.co.us or call 1-800-929-0791.

~THE STATE OF COLORADO IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER~