Crisis Response Specialist

DESCRIPTION:
Under the general supervision of the Crisis Response Supervisor, this position is responsible
for the professional crisis intervention counseling work provided by the 988/mobile response
team services, and support of the Crisis Center's mobile response program in the crisis
response center and onsite throughout the community. Reviews the daily processing of crisis
calls, mobile response calls, care plans, follow-up contacts, and warm hand-offs to community
providers.
This is an emergency essential classification. Upon declaration of a disaster and/or
emergency, all employees in this classification are required to work.
Per Act 8688 Sec.

1021 in the VI code:
(a) The Department's Behavioral Health division shall
establish and operate a community-based crisis intervention team to provide crisis
intervention on a 24-hour, 7-days a week basis to persons who suffer from behavioral health
challenges or mental health disorders and to provide crisis intervention training. (b) The team
must be composed of qualified behavioral health professionals with training and experience in
assessment and intervention with persons who suffer from behavioral health challenges,
mental health disorders, and substance use disorder in a crisis.
This position requires a confidential relationship to a policymaker.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Reviews the daily processing of crisis calls, mobile response calls, care plans, follow-up
contacts, and warm hand-offs to community providers.
Provides support in answering 988 calls, texts, and chats that come into local crisis call
centers, and advocate for mental health awareness whenever possible, and assistance in
mobile crisis response services.
Advocates building organizational culture through aligning decisions with core values,
including integrity, honesty, respect, diversity, innovation, accountability, and communication.
Provides trauma-sensitive and strength-based mobile response crisis intervention services to
the community with a specific focus on youth and families.
Provides direct service through mobile response, crisis phone line, face-to-face counseling,
and/or telehealth services as needed, both on a planned basis and in emergencies.
Provides clients and families with prompt screening, assessment, crisis intervention support,
and linkage to community services.
Develops care plans for mobile response clients and their families focused on strategies to
reduce individual and family stressors and for maintaining stabilization. Provides care
coordination by enlisting the consultation of psychiatric providers and other mental
health/social service organizations and transitioning care via a warm hand-off when possible
and appropriate.
Provides assistance through individual and group conferences to all staff and volunteers in
analyzing mobile response cases, client concerns, and the ongoing coordination of care, case
problems to improve diagnostic and helping skills.
Through individual and group conferences, all staff and volunteers are assisted in analyzing
mobile response cases, client concerns, and the ongoing coordination of care, case
problems, and in improving their diagnostic and helping skills.
Informs citizens and community organizations about the Crisis Center's mobile response
team, crisis intervention services, and suicide prevention programs available to the
community.
Collaborates with local agencies to coordinate client care as well as to develop and
implement community-wide strategies to address mental health issues.
Collects and organizes feedback from each individual and family regarding the service
delivery to improve outcomes of care that inform, individualize, and improve provider service
delivery.
Represents the department in the community or interagency activities.
Counsels and refers clients to appropriate agencies or services in the community as
appropriate.
Ensures the proper tracking of data and statistical information related to the mobile response
team program. Provides after-hours on-call as needed.
Collaborates with local agencies to develop and implement community-wide strategies to
address mental health issues.
Responds to crisis calls 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week; drives to offsite locations to conduct
training and/or participate in outreach events.
Performs other related duties as required.

POSITION FACTORS:
FACTOR 1 – KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED BY THE POSITION
Knowledge of the laws, rules and regulations relating to the operation of community crisis
intervention programs.
Knowledge of intake, case management, behavioral and mental health systems, and local
resources.
Knowledge of current techniques, principles and practices of mobile response, crisis
intervention and suicide prevention programs.
Skill in the use of personal computers including word processing programs.
Skill in professional customer care.
Ability to work with diverse populations and demonstrate cultural and linguistic competency.
Ability to work with and counsel suicidal/distraught clients and work within a family driven and
youth guided collaborative model.
Ability to function in a team setting. Ability to react calmly and quickly in emergencies.
Ability to coordinate and supervise volunteers and students in emergency situations.
Ability to drive regularly to respond urgently to crisis calls.
Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
Ability to make public presentations before community organizations about the program.
Ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with assisting agencies, other
departments, employees, and the public.
Ability to maintain highly sensitive data and confidential information.
FACTOR 2- SUPERVISORY CONTROLS
Supervision is received from the Crisis Response Supervisor or designee who gives a general
outline for work. Incumbent is expected to function independently within the scope of
established policies. Work is periodically checked for progress and conformance to
established policies and procedures.
FACTOR 3- GUIDELINES
Guidelines consist of federal, local, and departmental policies and procedures.
FACTOR 4- COMPLEXITY
Work entails planning, collaborating, and care coordination. The employee uses clinically
sound independent judgment to carry out the work, set priorities and objectives, and meet
deadlines. Work also involves assisting in the application process, information about eligibility,
case consultation, and referrals to the elderly concerning entailment, appealing denials, and
terminations; assessing and evaluating in identifying available services; seeking and offering
extension services to prospective clients; coordinating client services, intervention to
minimally complex cases involving complicated social, physical, and emotional problems.
FACTOR 5- SCOPE AND EFFECT
The purpose of work is to perform assessments, evaluations, and service plans to provide
support services management and coordination to clients.
FACTOR 6- PERSONAL CONTACTS
Contacts are clientele, co-workers, supervisors, volunteers, other agencies, private
organizations, and the public community.
FACTOR 7- PURPOSE OF CONTACTS
Contacts are made to provide services, obtain information, and provide extended services to
targeted client populations, networking, and collaborate with community resources to facilitate
case management.
FACTOR 8- PHYSICAL DEMANDS
Work is essentially sedentary to talk and listen, but occasionally requires reaching, lifting,
moving, and to be mobile. Specific vision abilities required for this job include close vision and
distance vision. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with
disabilities to perform essential functions.
FACTOR 9- WORK ENVIRONMENT
Work is performed in the Crisis Center that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and
requires shift work at various hours and days of the week. The noise level in the work
environment is usually moderate.

NECESSARY SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS:
Possession of a valid V.I. driver's license
Non-Violent Crisis Prevention Intervention CPI certification 2 day's training is required within
90 days of hire

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor's degree in counseling, psychology, social work, or a related behavioral or mental
health field supplemented by two (2) years of related experience.

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