Director Clinical

About the role

The Cedar Knolls House (Bronx) provides therapeutic and support services to adolescents ages 17-21 who are referred to us through ACS and the Juvenile Justice system. Our residents have experienced significant trauma, resulting in behavioral, emotional, and functional/development issues. Cedar Knolls House offers an extensive independent living skills program, including vocational preparation, and educational services that assists youth towards reaching independence.

The Clinical Director provides strategic leadership and oversight of all clinical services within a residential foster care program, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, trauma-informed, and youth-centered care. As a member of the program leadership team, the Clinical Director supervises the Behavioral Health Clinicians and Case Planning Supervisor, oversees clinical documentation and regulatory compliance, supports CFTSS service delivery and revenue integrity, and promotes best practices to achieve positive outcomes for youth and families. Working collaboratively with program leadership and community partners, the Clinical Director fosters a culture of clinical excellence, staff development, accountability, and continuous quality improvement while ensuring compliance with OCFS, ACS, Medicaid, and agency standards.

Responsibilities

• Provides strategic leadership and oversight of all clinical services within the residential foster care program, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, trauma-informed, and youth-centered care.
• Serves as a member of the program leadership team, partnering with the Program Director and Assistant Program Director to strengthen program operations, enhance service delivery, and achieve organizational goals.
• Directly supervises Behavioral Health Clinicians and the Case Planning Supervisor by providing regular supervision, coaching, performance evaluations, professional development, and ongoing clinical guidance.
• Promotes a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and clinical excellence while supporting staff engagement and retention.
• Ensures all clinical documentation is accurate, timely, and compliant with OCFS, ACS, Medicaid, CFTSS, and agency standards.
• Reviews and approves assessments, treatment plans, progress notes, risk assessments, and other required clinical documentation to support quality care, regulatory compliance, and revenue integrity.
• Provides oversight of CFTSS clinical services, documentation, and billing readiness by monitoring service delivery, documentation quality, and treatment plan completion.
• Directs clinical oversight of case planning, permanency planning, and placement coordination, including completion of required Connections placement modules for youth transitioning between placements or levels of care.
• Participates in referral reviews, admissions, interdisciplinary case conferences, treatment planning, and discharge planning to ensure coordinated, individualized care for youth and families.
• Monitors clinical performance, documentation quality, service outcomes, and compliance indicators, implementing quality improvement initiatives and corrective action plans as needed.
• Oversees implementation of the Integrated Treatment Model (ITM/DBT), providing leadership and support to Behavioral Health Clinicians facilitating ITM groups while promoting fidelity to the model.
• Represents the program during ACS, OCFS, Medicaid, and other regulatory reviews, audits, and external meetings, ensuring timely follow-up on recommendations and corrective actions.
• Serves as a clinical resource to staff, community partners, schools, hospitals, and external stakeholders to promote effective collaboration and continuity of care.
• Participates in the program leadership on-call rotation, provides leadership coverage in the absence of management staff, and may maintain a limited clinical caseload or facilitate specialized therapeutic groups based on program needs.
• Obtains and maintains required certifications, including F-01 Fire Guard, W-07 Fire Safety Coordinator, and S-95 Supervision of Fire Alarm Systems certifications, completes all required agency and regulatory trainings, and performs other duties as assigned to support program operations and organizational objectives.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Hires and provides clinical and administrative supervision to the Clinical Supervisor, Behavioral Health Clinicians, as well as other clinical staff.
• Manage risk regarding client safety by adhering to all risk management protocols.

Requirements

LCSW, LMSW or a master’s degree in social work. Behavioral Health or related field. Must have an active clinical license in NYS. A minimum of five (5) years of experience in child welfare, juvenile justice, behavioral health, or another residential treatment setting, including at least two (2) years of supervisory experience. Specialized experience with residential treatment may also be required.

Qualifications

Bilingual, Spanish, Creole, French, preferred

Skills

• Knowledge of electronic medical systems or CONNECTIONS preferred
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Outlook and Word
• Aptitude for learning new systems and application software
• Experience with telemental health platforms a plus
• Ability to read paper and electronic documents and perform significant data entry into various computer programs
• Ability to navigate stairs