Substance Use Specialist

Title: Substance Use Specialist

Location Address: 424 East 147th Street, Bronx, NY, 10455. Our office is easily accessible by public transportation.

Job Description: Hourly Full-Time [Ben Elig]

Job Summary:  

CASES is seeking a Substance Use Specialist that is CASAC certified to play an integral role in the recovery process, and the services they provide have shown to promote positive health and recovery outcomes. The Substance Use Specialist is part of a multidisciplinary team working collaboratively with therapists, psychiatrists/PNPs, and nurses. The Substance Use Specialist will perform initial substance use assessments, complete SBIRTS, provide individual and group counseling, contribute to person-centered, trauma informed treatment planning, provide crisis intervention, and assist participants in developing relapse prevention plans.

CASES is a New York City agency at the forefront of the intersection between behavioral health and involvement in the criminal justice system. Our mission is to increase public safety through innovative services that reduce crime and incarceration, improve behavioral health, promote recovery and rehabilitation, and create community success opportunities. The Behavioral Health division consists of a continuum of services for justice-involved individuals with serious mental illness. The Nathaniel Clinic located in the Bronx provides outpatient mental health and substance use services to adolescents and adults, focusing on providing care to those involved in the criminal legal system.

Salary: The salary for this role is $55,000 per year.

Shift Hours: This position is full-time Monday – Friday from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.

Workplace Flexibility: Hybrid - for roles that have one day remote.

What You Will Be Doing:

• Provide substance use treatment including individual, family and group counseling
• Perform Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)
• Provide services that are person/family-centered, strengths-based, recovery-oriented, trauma-informed, and culturally competent
• Identify the treatment needs of and with participants, based on severity of substance use, stage of change, and immediate needs as well as recommended treatment objectives
• Engage participants with urgent and crisis substance use needs to offer support and resolve crisis
• Assess treatment needs, and provide substance use expertise for person-centered evaluation and treatment planning
• Establish the degree of risk for substance use and harmful behaviors and provide interventions and supports to promote progress towards recovery
• Provide relapse prevention, psychoeducation, and harm reduction using motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Run evidence-based substance use treatment and Relapse Prevention groups
• Act as an advocate and liaison for participants in securing access to MAT, emergency detox, rehabilitation care, and other community supports that promote integrated substance use or dual disorder treatment
• Dispense Naloxone response kits as an approved NYS dispenser
• Outreach and network with DCO partners providing crisis stabilization, inpatient/residential detox and rehabilitative treatment centers
• Contribute to ongoing organizational commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracist practices in delivery of services and work
• Provide culturally competent services in accordance with CASES policies and practice
• Any other duties as required by senior clinical leadership

What We Are Looking For:  

• High school diploma or equivalent
• Must have active CASAC certification status in good standing
• At least 18 months of work experience providing substance use services to individuals with serious mental illness and/or substance use disorder and criminal justice involvement
• Individuals with previous criminal justice experience are encouraged to apply
• Individuals with lived experience are encouraged to apply

Preferred Skills: 

• Fluency in Spanish preferred

Employee Benefits: 

CASES cares about employee wellbeing, and we offer a comprehensive benefits package to support you and your family, including: 

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Vacation and Paid Time Off – starting at 25 days
• 12 Paid Holidays per year
• Retirement 403(b) Competitive matching up to 6%
• Employee Referral Program