Case Worker II - Pediatric Infectious Diseases - 50591

Washington University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.

This position is full-time and works approximately 40 hours per week.  

This position is in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases.  The position is located at 620 S Taylor.  This position is for the Medical School Campus.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The position of Case Worker II is intended to provide youth-specific strengths based, linkage to care and medical case management to newly HIV diagnosed youth (ages 13-24) in the Illinois portion of the service region. This position will function as part of a regional IL Case Management System to provide intensive services within established HIV/AIDS systems to link individuals to medical care and support services. The Case Worker II position will link with youth as soon as possible after diagnosis and/or re-entry to care and will work as a member of the multidisciplinary care teams at St. Clair County Health Department (SCCHD) and Washington University (WU) Ryan White Part C/D Network. The position will create and implement multidisciplinary care plans to include identification of educational needs and community resource referral and coordination; provide crisis intervention and supportive counseling to assist the client/family in coping with illness, disclosure of diagnosis, confidentiality issues, familial grieving, and death/dying; and coordinate access to resources in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal guidelines and procedures. The Case Worker II will abide by the same strict standard of patient confidentiality that applies to all Washington University staff. The Case Worker II will work under the under the direction of senior staff. ) A more intensive level (often community-based) services which requires strong clinical skills and ability to work independently; 2) Project Coordination responsibilities (special projects, reporting, caseload assignments); or 3) Clinical mentorship and/or training of CW I positions.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Provide intensive Linkage to Care (LTC) services to youth newly diagnosed with HIV or re-entering care to facilitate engagement in HIV/AIDS medical care and support services. Specific LTC duties include:

• Initiate face-to-face contact with all referred clients within one hour if at possible (and no later than one business day of referral); maintain contact at least weekly by phone or in person. Support youth retention by use of text or other media used by youth.
• Communicate back to referring providers about outcome of referral within three business days.
• Work closely with WU/SCCHD and IL Medical Case management to ensure youth are retained in care and key outcomes reported.         
• Work with testing providers to increase awareness of and access to Case Management.
• Support case finding initiatives and encourage newly diagnosed youth to participate in partner elicitation services.
• Work as a member of the Project ARK youth case management team (HEY) and work closely with the Youth Peer Advisor to support the delivery of youth specific care and services.

2. Provide youth-specific Medical Case Management (MCM) services to enrolled youth consistent with Illinois MCM guidelines including the following basic expectations:

• Conduct a comprehensive biopsychosocial culturally sensitive assessment with the youth and their family/support network as appropriate, in order to develop a plan of care to meet identified needs.
• Arrange and coordinate service referrals for the youth/family as needed; provide ongoing monitoring of the activities implemented to carry out the plan of care. Refer clients/families to public benefits programs as eligible. Conduct home or community visits to support youth engagement as indicated.
• Provide regular contact with enrolled clients and document all contacts and service coordination activities in the electronic client record (Provide)in a timely manner as required by program guidelines.
• Educate clients/families about the basic medical and psychosocial aspects of HIV/AIDS in order to optimize adherence to care. 
• Participate in all scheduled IL/MO MCM meetings. Adhere to all applicable state laws and the department’s rules and regulations regarding HIV/AIDS programs.
• Maintain current knowledge of medical and psychosocial developments concerning HIV/AIDS and related conditions, and routinely interact and network with AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs), clinicians, and other involved in HIV/AIDS service delivery.
• Collaborate with medical case managers from other regions as needed when a patient resides outside of program service boundaries.

3. Provide crisis counseling, brief short-term counseling and mental health referrals for HIV-positive youth.  Approach service delivery within a trauma informed care framework.
4. Function within a youth-centered multidisciplinary HIV Specialty Health Care Team- at the Washington University Part C/D Network. Schedule and participate in case conferences to ensure coordinated delivery of care to patient and family.
5. Educate clients/families on HIV/AIDS, medication adherence and safer sex.

Lead/Coordination Duties:

In addition to the provision of direct client services, the Case Worker II provides at least two of the following lead/coordination roles/duties:

1. Provision of an intensive level (often community-based) case management services which includes the development and management of complex medical and behavioral health treatment plans. The position requires strong clinical skills and the ability to work independently to assess clients’ safety needs and address urgent health and psychosocial needs (e.g. housing stability, crisis intervention, and mental health stability). 
2. Project coordination responsibilities related to the provision of case management and other client services (e. g. special programs/services, ACA enrollment, completing progress reporting).
3. Clinical mentorship, training and education, which will include individual and team clinical mentorship/ clinical staffing, staff training and orientation, caseload assignment, and providing leadership on case management quality improvement activities.

Master’s degree in social work, counseling, psychology, or a related field.  An equivalent combination of experience and education may substitute for a master’s degree.

• Experience in locating, coordinating, and monitoring services.
• Provision of case management and/or prevention education services. 
• Knowledge of community resources, applicable state laws and the department’s rules and regulations, and medical and psychosocial developments concerning the client’s condition(s).
• Working knowledge of computers.
• Effective communication, and interpersonal and organizational skills.

The hiring range for this position is $48,131 - $72,196 annually.

All external candidates receiving an offer for employment will be required to submit to pre-employment screening for this position. Current employees applying for a new position within the university may be subject to this requirement. The screenings will include a criminal background check and, as applicable for the position, other background checks, drug screen, employment and education or licensure/certification verification, physical examination, certain vaccinations and/or governmental registry checks. All offers are contingent upon successful completion of required screening.

This position is eligible for full-time benefits.  Please click the following link to view a summary of benefits:  https://wustl.box.com/s/8wkhs25yssf0775x9d6nd6vqa7obpth7.

This position is grade C10.

Please attach a copy of your most current signed performance evaluation (completed within the last 18 months) to your online account.  If you have not received a performance evaluation, you may provide two current signed letters of recommendation (written within the last 18 months), preferably to include one letter from either a current or recent former supervisor.  To attach these documents, go to:  My Career Tools, Add Attachment, Attachment Type – Performance Reviews or Letters of Recommendation.