Mental Health and Developmental Clinician (Licensed)

The Opportunity

Children’s Home Society of North Carolina is a compassionate advocate for families, specializing in education and prevention programs, family preservation and adoption and foster care. The Child First program is an innovative education program for families to help parents feel confident that they are doing their absolute best for their children. The Child First team is seeking a Mental Health and Developmental Clinician to work with young children (prenatal through age five) and their families in the home and via telehealth. The Mental Health and Developmental Clinician partners with a Family Resource Partner to engage families who are referred to the Child First home-based intervention and reports to the Child First Clinical Director. Child First is an evidence-based, intensive, early childhood model that works with the most challenged young children and their families, helping them heal from the damaging effects of stress and trauma. The two-generation approach builds strong, nurturing, caregiver-child relationships, promotes adult capacity, and connects families with needed services. This home-based intervention increases emotional health and learning success and prevents child abuse and neglect. The Child First model uses a team-based approach to support families, with a master’s degree level Mental Health and Developmental Clinician and a Care Coordinator providing these key components: (1) a psychotherapeutic, dyadic intervention to strengthen the parent-child relationship, and (2) care coordination to connect the family to needed services and supports. Child First has been recognized as an evidence-based home visiting model by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program and rated "Effective" by the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  

The Ideal Candidate Profile 

The primary goal of Child First is to strengthen the caregiver-child relationship. Strong Clinician candidates will have experience working psychotherapeutically with culturally diverse children and families, including parent-child therapeutic work and play therapy with very young children (0-5 years). The Clinician will be licensed (or provisionally licensed) Master’s or Doctoral level mental health provider (i.e., LCSW (A), LMFT, clinical psychologist, other). The ideal candidate will have the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics: Experience Providing Therapeutic Intervention as a Licensed Clinician  The Clinician will be a licensed (or provisionally licensed) mental health provider with experience providing trauma-informed child-parent psychotherapy (CPP). The clinician will engage with both the caregiver and child in a supportive, reflective, and exploratory manner which fosters a protective, nurturing, and responsive parent-child relationship. The Clinician will provide Child First home-based psychotherapeutic intervention with young children and their caregivers using relational, dyadic psychotherapy (CPP) and other modalities. The Clinician will demonstrate knowledge of relationship-based, psychodynamic intervention and early child development; parent-child relationships and attachment theory; effects of trauma and environmental risks on early childhood brain development, especially violence exposure, maternal depression, and substance abuse; and community-level risk factors (i.e., poverty, homelessness). Experience Working in a Team-Based Approach to Support Families  The Clinician will engage with the family and the Family Resource Partner in the collaborative family assessment process (i.e., gather information from interviews, observations of interactions and play, reviewed records, collateral sources, and standardized measures). In partnership with the Family Resource Partner and family, the Clinician will develop a thoughtful, well-integrated clinical formulation and Child and Family Plan of Care. The Clinician will engage in weekly individual, team, and group reflective clinical supervision with Clinical Director. Commitment to the CHS Mission and Values  CHS is focused on its mission to promote the right of every child to a permanent, safe, and loving family. The team of passionate child advocates helps advance this mission and the vision that every family is supported by trusted resources that lead to equitable opportunities for enduring family success. The Mental Health and Development Clinician’s personal and professional values will align with CHS’s mission, vision and core values of compassion, integrity, excellence and innovation and the foundational belief that strong families have the power to transform communities. The Clinician will actively engage in all aspects of the Child First Learning Collaborative and express an Openness to learning, capacity for self-reflection, and eagerness to participate in reflective clinical supervision.  

About the Organization 

Children’s Home Society of North Carolina (CHS) is a nationally recognized organization whose mission is to promote the right of every child to a permanent, safe, and loving family. As North Carolina’s leader in transforming families and communities, Children’s Home Society has evolved over the past 120 years to an organization with a $28M budget that employs 300 individuals. CHS serves 22,000+ families annually and continues to expand rapidly as we work to meet the changing needs of children and families across our state. With offices in 10 cities across North Carolina, CHS is a growing workforce, offering home and hybrid work opportunities, and an equitable, diverse, and inclusive working environment. Being a member of the CHS family means you join a team committed to championing family well-being and sharing a belief in the power of family to transform lives and communities. CHS was selected as a 2021 Best-in-Class employer by Gallagher. Gallagher’s Best-in-Class awards recognize employers that excel in supporting their employees’ physical, emotional, career and financial well-being for better organizational outcomes. Our people put heart and discipline into helping families grow healthy and strong, and connecting them to tools, skills, and resources critical for their well-being. Want to know more? Visit Children’s Home Society of North Carolina’s website at chsnc.org.

Additional Preferred Attributes 

• Licensed (or provisionally licensed) Master’s or Doctoral level mental health provider (I.e., LCSW (A), LMFT, clinical psychologist, other).
• Strong commitment to the vision, mission, and goals of Children's Home Society of North Carolina.
• Highly organized, self-motivated, reliable, and flexible.
• Willingness to work non-traditional hours, including at least one evening. Note: this position is based in family homes, not a remote/virtual position.
• Able to keep all appropriate documentation for clinical accountability and reimbursement.
• Able to communicate well verbally and in writing.
• Comfortable with computers and experience with Word and Excel.
• Maintain a valid North Carolina driver's license, adequate auto insurance, and have access to an operating vehicle to attend to CHS business.
• Bilingual skills (English/Spanish) preferred.

Think you are the next Mental Health and Development Clinician? 

Please provide all requested information to be considered. In case of any technical problems, contact TVconsulting704@gmail.com. No phone calls, please, and no applications will be accepted by email. Review of candidates will begin in October and continue until the position is filled. The salary range is 48K – 58K and is commensurate with the requirements of the position. Comprehensive benefits include medical, dental, vision plans, flexible spending accounts, company-paid life insurance, 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan with Company Match and 12 paid holidays, time off, and sick leave. The Children’s Home Society of North Carolina is an equal opportunity employer. Children’s Home Society of North Carolina prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and provides equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to ancestry, race, color, religion, sex/gender, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, military or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. The Children’s Home Society of North Carolina actively seeks a diverse pool of candidates.