Professional Counselor

Introduction

Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs): Looking to further your career with the State of Connecticut? This is an excellent opportunity for you to join us The , is seeking to fill a position for a highly motivated and experienced licensed at the in Newtown, CT. What We Can Offer You The chance to work for a Forbes top company: - State of CT Receives National Recognition for Offering Job Growth, Competitive Benefits, and Flexible Schedule; Generous paid time off (vacation, sick and personal) plus 13 paid holidays; A Platinum Healthcare Plan, the nation’s best for state employees and dependents, according to a report by , along with ; State of Connecticut is an eligible Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer, meaning you may be eligible to have qualifying student loans forgiven after 10 years of service. Click for more information; A (State Employees Retirement System Tier IV). In addition, the State puts an emphasis on: Providing limitless opportunities; Hiring for diversity and fresh perspectives; Performing meaningful work and; Encouraging a  Position Highlights Licensed Professional Counselors within the correctional setting provide a range of clinical and case management functions to those entering the custody of the Department of Correction. The incumbent in this position will have the opportunity to work within a clinically rich setting, with opportunities to provide intake assessments, individual psychotherapy, crisis management, suicide risk assessment, case management services and other clinical activities.  The schedule for this position is second shift, 2:00pm - 10:00pm, Monday -Friday with weekend and holiday rotation. About Us The Garner Correctional Institution incarcerates both pretrial and sentenced offenders. Through proven programmatic innovation and intervention, the Garner Correctional Institution provides positive alternatives for inmates to assist in their successful reintegration into the community as productive members of society. Based upon their mental health needs, offenders from throughout the system, both pretrial and sentenced, are assigned here. The facility's staff utilizes a highly progressive mental health treatment approach. Individualized treatment plans, based upon an offender's level of functionality include extensive programming and therapy, in a group and one on one setting. The staff at the facility, both custody and mental health, operate through an integrated team approach which ensures a continuity of custody, care, treatment and control. The program is designed to return as many of these offenders as is possible to the ability to function in either a general population prison setting or ultimately to life in the community. The State of Connecticut, Department of Correction (DOC) shall strive to be a global leader in progressive correctional practices and partnered re-entry initiatives to support responsive evidence-based practices aligned to law abiding and accountable behaviors. Safety and security shall be a priority component of this responsibility as it pertains to staff, victims, citizens and offenders.

Selection Plan

IMPORTANT NOTE  Applicants for this position are required to have an active Professional Counselor License to be considered. To verify if your Professional Counselor License (LPC Only) is valid, please click .

For current state employees, salary calculations are not necessarily comparable from one of the three branches of state government (i.e., Executive, Legislative, Judicial) to the other.

FOR ASSISTANCE IN APPLYING: Please or our Applicant Tips on How to Apply To Apply In order to be considered for this job opening, you must meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on this job opening. You must specify your qualifications on your application. The minimum experience and training requirements must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified. Ensure that your application is complete and detailed before submitting it. In order to comply with Public Act 21-69, the State of Connecticut is no longer asking for resumes during the initial application process. You will not be able to make revisions once your application is submitted into the JobAps system. All application materials must be received by the recruiting agency by the time specified on the job opening for the position for which you are applying. Late applications may not be submitted and will not be considered. Exceptions are rare and limited to documented events that incapacitate a candidate during the entire duration of the job posting time period. It is the candidate’s obligation and responsibility to request an exception and provide a legally recognized justification to accommodate such exception. Requests should be made to . Important Information After You Apply This posting may require completion of additional referral questions (RQs). You can access these RQs via an email that will be sent to you after the posting's closing date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section). Your responses to these RQs must be submitted by the questionnaire's expiration date. Please regularly check your email and JobAps Personal Status Board for notifications. Please check your SPAM and/or Junk folders on a daily basis in the event an email provider places auto-notification emails in a user's spam. Although applicants will receive correspondence via email, as a backup they are also encouraged to sign on to their Personal Status Board on a daily basis to monitor their status, view all emailed notices and complete tasks required in the recruitment process. Note: At any point during the recruitment process, applicants may be required to submit additional documentation which support their qualification(s) for this position. These documents may include: a cover letter, resume, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the discretion of the hiring agency. The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class. For questions regarding this recruitment, please contact Nicholas Naples at .

PURPOSE OF JOB CLASS (NATURE OF WORK)

In a state agency behavioral health program as part of a multi-disciplinary team at one or more locations this class is accountable for independently providing clinical counseling services.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

As a member of a multi-disciplinary clinical team or within a network of community based behavioral health services, provides case management, needs assessment and supportive counseling in addressing client strengths, weaknesses and needs;  Develops, implements and maintains individualized treatment and rehabilitation plans for clients;  Works with treatment teams to assist individual patients in achieving social and emotional stability;  Develops psychosocial assessments through clinical interviews;  Provides clinical treatment services such as: triage, crisis intervention, individual and/or group counseling, screening and planning;  Makes use of available community services and facilities to assist clients in meeting identified needs;  Interprets and synthesizes client information, professional observations and evaluation reports in order to form professional judgments about services;  Monitors and evaluates effectiveness of treatment plans, documents treatment in clinical records;  Completes reports in accordance with agency and accrediting bodies;  Consults and collaborates with other behavioral health providers to improve delivery of services to clients;  Maintains counseling treatment and standards as required;  Performs related duties as required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY

Knowledge of principles, methodology, casework and techniques of counseling, interviewing and psychosocial assessment; family and interpersonal relationship dynamics; values, sanctions, purposes and ethics of professional counseling work; community resources; Considerable interpersonal skills; oral and written communication skills; Ability to devise and implement a treatment plan with measurable goals that address client needs.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - GENERAL EXPERIENCE

Licensure as a professional counselor in the State of Connecticut.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Correctional or Forensic Behavioral health treatment experience. Experience with crisis intervention.  Experience with behavior management. Experience with individual and group psychotherapy. Experience with criminal justice involved adults.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

Incumbents in this class must possess and retain a license to practice professional counselor work pursuant to Sec. 20-195 (a-f) of the Connecticut General Statutes. Incumbents in this class may be required to have knowledge of sign language and communication ability with the deaf and hearing impaired in certain designated positions. Incumbents in this class may be required to have ability in Spanish oral and written communication in certain designated positions. Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Incumbents in this class may be exposed to some risk of injury from assaultive and/or abusive clients.

Conclusion

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes. As such, a job class is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.

Overview

Employee Benefits As a State of Connecticut employee you may be entitled to a host of benefits that are not only attractive, but also may be portable should your career bring you to other avenues of state service. From 13 paid holidays to accruing vacation time, being a State of Connecticut employee not only gives you the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, but the time to enjoy your own. Listed below are just some of the benefits the State of Connecticut offers depending on the position you hold: Health & Dental Insurance Accrued Vacation, Personal and Sick Leave (Subject to the appropriate bargaining union contract or state statute and regulations.) Retirement Plan Group Life Insurance Supplemental Benefits Voluntary Defined Contribution Plans Flexible Spending Accounts (Dependent Care Program, Medical Flexible Spending, and Qualified Transportation) Supplemental Benefits Programs (Auto and Home Insurance, plus Short and Long Term Disability) Life Insurance State of CT Tuition Reimbursement Program Holidays

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