Community Prevention Specialist

Position: Community Prevention Specialist FLSA Status: Exempt Non-exempt

Prepared/Revised Date: 2/1/2024

Department: Outpatient/ Forensic Services

Education: Bachelor’s degree in a Human Services Field, Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist Assistant, Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist, or Registered Applicant with the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board.

Experience: 1-3 years work experience in a behavioral healthcare setting with a focus on prevention/ addiction. Has received training for or education in either mental health or substance use disorder competencies or who has demonstrated minimum competencies.

Qualifications: General understanding of behavioral health programming that targets community based prevention activities. Competencies include an understanding of mental health and addiction disorder treatment and recovery, an understanding of the community behavioral health system and other healthcare systems, psychiatric and substance use disorder symptoms and their impact on functioning and behavior, how to engage with persons with a substance use disorder, other addiction, and/ or mental illness, crisis response procedures, and de-escalation techniques. Able to provide interactive prevention strategies to reduce risk or promote health that require personal contact one on one or in groups. Contact may be in person or virtual. Shall possess skills in client and community engagement, education/ intervention, resource management. Knowledge and skills for managing social media platforms required. Strong verbal and written communication skills needed. Adaptable, flexible, dependable and personable. Ability to work with a wide range of professionals in the community. Requires strong organizational skills with ability to prioritize, plan and execute effectively and efficiently. Must be able to work as part of a multidisciplinary team of professionals to develop and implement prevention interventions. Able to interact professionally with other community agencies and provide education/ information about agency resources and services. Proficient in Microsoft Office products, and general computer skills.

Immediate Supervisor: Prevention Services Supervisor

Subordinates: None

Position Summary: The Community Prevention Specialist will be responsible for developing and carrying out culturally appropriate, evidence based strategies intended to facilitate attitude and behavior change for individuals and the community. Target populations or impact areas will be substance use disorders, mental illness, suicide, problem gambling, and crisis intervention. The Community Prevention Specialist will work to educate on risk factors, warning signs, risk groups, use of local resources, and community collaborations. Early intervention, recovery support, and health promotion will be three areas of focus. The over-reaching goal of the prevention activities will be to reduce the underlying risk factors that increase the likelihood of mental, emotional, and behavioral health disorders and promote protective factors to decrease health disorders. The Community Prevention Specialist will work in the community in an array of settings which target priority populations. The role includes oversight of Suicide Prevention Coalition activities, meetings, and planning efforts.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Assist the agency administration in developing education, intervention, and prevention programming for substance use, suicide prevention, mental illness, crisis intervention and problem gambling.

2. Develop appropriate prevention strategies targeted at early intervention, recovery supports, and health promotion.

3. Assess needs in the community and work with collaborative partners to develop priorities for intervention.

4. Provide education on current community resources and collaborations.

5. Deliver prevention services through in-person and online/ virtual modalities.

6. Manage social media platforms to share agency service and prevention information.

7. Provide administrative structure for the suicide prevention coalition in areas of conducting meetings, strategic planning, researching funding opportunities, increasing community awareness/ education, event/ activity planning and implementation.

8. Provide linkage and referral to treatment.

9. Engage in crisis de-escalation if needed.

10. Utilize crisis response procedures if need to assure safety.

11. Demonstrate model fidelity when implementing evidence based practices.

12. Complete all required documentation in a timely manner and maintain all protected health information according to state and federal rules.

13. Compile and track any data needed to measure outcomes. Provide narrative summaries of program progress as requested by agency administration. Conform with all administrative rules that apply to OhioDBH Prevention Certification held by the agency.

14. From information gained during community outreach, assist the agency administration in identifying increased programming needs for substance use, suicide prevention, mental illness, crisis intervention and problem gambling.

15. Follow the ethical code of professional conduct.

16. Seek supervision as needed for issues of concern.

1. Attend agency staff, department, and supervision meetings.

2. Attend professional development in-services and continuing education as required by agency policy as well as professional licensure standards if applicable.

3. Abide by agency policy and procedures.

The above listed responsibilities are not intended to be all inclusive and do not exclude any other functions customarily performed by a Community Prevention Specialist which may from time to time be requested by the immediate supervisor or the CEO. Work schedules may vary according to the need of the agency.

Work Environment: Community and general office.

Physical Demands: While performing the essential duties of this job, an employee is regularly required to move about; communicate, convey and engage in conversation/discussion; and operate standard office equipment; write /create documentation; detect, recognize, perceive, and observe.

Employee must be able to perform these essential functions with or without a requested reasonable accommodation.

I have read the above job description and understand the requirements, essential functions and duties to perform this job. My responsibilities have been clarified to my satisfaction by my immediate supervisor and I understand that management retains the right to add or change the duties at any time.

Alternative Paths, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer that prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion. Alternative Paths, Inc. does not discriminate based on ethnicity, race, gender or sexual orientation, and encourages all qualified individuals to apply.

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Referral program
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Medina, OH 44256