Sickle Cell Social Worker

Cayenne Wellness Center seeks a compassionate, enthusiastic, and competent team player to serve as our Sickle Cell Social Worker. Reporting directly to the Executive Director and our Social Worker Internship Director, this position is responsible for providing support to our families in the sickle cell community. This position requires strong macro-level skills (i.e. creating programs), a work ethic, and the ability to provide supportive counseling and work with families to address psychosocial needs.

Salary Range: $58,240 – $60,320 per annum

Position Summary:

The Sickle Cell Social Worker will play an important role on our team. The Sickle Cell Social Worker has expertise in understanding the impact of sickle cell disease on patients and their families and ensures the delivery of high-quality services to individuals living with Sickle Cell Disease and their families. Your work will include psychosocial assessments, supportive counseling, brief interventions for behavioral health, resource coordination and navigation, and advocacy support. There are additional opportunities for program development, research, and participation in a wide variety of activities.

As an inherited disease, the patients have complex psychosocial needs which stem from chronic medical conditions across their lifespan. In the United States, it is estimated that Sickle Cell Disease occurs among about 1 out of every 365 Black or African-American births and among about 1 out of every 16,300 Hispanic-American births. Many patients experience depression or anxiety living with sickle cell disease.

The clinician will serve as a member of the multidisciplinary team and collaborate to ensure the behavioral health needs of the patients and families are met. Clinical responsibilities for services include but are not limited to, conducting psychosocial assessments, individual therapy, crisis interventions, leading groups and development of programs for parents, formulating psychosocial diagnoses and treatment plans, and implementing effective, evidence-based treatments for patients and family members. The clinician will also provide education/teaching regarding behavioral health conditions and treatment to providers and staff. As an integral part of the multidisciplinary team, the sickle cell social worker will complete psychosocial assessments, provide supportive counseling, and work with families to address psychosocial needs. The sickle cell social worker will have the opportunity to build relationships with families over time and to work with families impacted by both acute and chronic illness. Primary focus: caregivers and their children.

Core Duties:

• Attendance at CWCs weekly multidisciplinary team meetings and education program offerings
• Attend continuing education training necessary to work toward licensure
• Establish and maintain effective working relations with patients/clients
• Evaluate case problems and provide leadership and consultation in the development and implementation of case plans
• Understand, interpret, and apply regulations and departmental policies and procedures
• Plan, schedule, and conduct individual and group meetings
• Provide clinical case management and therapeutic services
• Interviews patient/patient’s social support system to complete and initiate psychosocial evaluation
• Provides psychoeducational groups to support patients and the patient’s social support system
• Provides ongoing assistance to patients/patients’ social support systems in coping with stress related to hospitalization, disability, and chronic/terminal illness
• Works collaboratively with the patients and their social support system to establish and implement a plan of care with a multidisciplinary team that meets the patient’s identified psychosocial needs
• Conceptualize, develop, and implement a comprehensive system of care program to support patients and the patient’s social support system (a system of care ranging from medical, psychosocial, dental, educational, legal, housing, food, spiritual, and financial stability)
• Engage with community stakeholders and agencies to build capacity and collaboration
• Develop and conceptualize evaluation feedback to determine the effectiveness of services
• Conduct a 3-5 year strategic plan
• Conduct outreach to network with local, state, and national organizations that are providing services for patients and patients’ support systems

Responsibilities, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of ethical standards, principles, and practices of social work, counseling, and human behavior
• Knowledge of clinical assessment techniques
• Knowledge of interviewing and other information gathering techniques
• Knowledge of the principles, methods, and practices of effective supervision
• Knowledge of the theories of group interaction and therapeutic intervention
• Functions as a member of the interdisciplinary team and provides Clinical Medical Social Work services to patients and their families to improve or maintain social, emotional, functional and physical health (continuously)
• Ability to provide leadership in the development and administration of social work programs
• Ability to demonstrate the concepts of ethical social work practice
• Adhere to the NASW Code of Ethics
• Ability to maintain effective relationships with staff, other disciplines, and community agencies and to interpret programs to the public
• Ability to participate in recruitment, selection, and orientation of professional social work staff
• Ability to write meaningful, concise, and accurate reports and correspondence

Qualifications:

• Eligible to sit for licensure ad/or working towards licensure
• Education: Requires Master’s Degree from an accredited school of Social Work (MSW) or higher
• Requires a level of knowledge of the Social Work practice at the macro level
• Requires knowledge of community resources and agencies in relation to health, illness, disability, and social determinants of health at the local, state, and national levels
• Demonstrates cultural humility and comfort with a diverse patient population. Cultural humility is essential
• Bicultural/Bilingual competency is a plus
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary team
• Computer literacy with the ability to use standard word processing, spreadsheet programs, e-mail (i.e. MS Word, Excel, Outlook), and web browsers
• Ability to multitask in a dynamic work environment
• Demonstrates personable skill sets (reliability, dependability, predictability, and an appropriate sense of humor)
• Excellent organizational, administrative, and training skills
• Demonstrates related work experience with BIPOC communities
• Strong sense of discretion and professionalism
• Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills
• Familiar with the dynamics of chronic illness on patients and families across the lifespan
• Experience working with patients and families from disenfranchised communities
• Familiar with inequities in the healthcare system and their impact on the delivery of services to patients
• Strong advocacy skills

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations Required:

• Desire to obtain or working on obtaining your California license as a Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW)

Please send a resume and cover letter, preferably by email, to:

Yolanda Aumont – yolanda@cayennewellness.org
Subject line to read: Human Resources – Re: Sickle Cell Social Worker