Program Assistant II/Forensic Services Department.

About the role

This position is open to current Colorado residents only. Located within the Colorado Department of Human Services, Civil and Forensic Mental Health (CFMH) is responsible for policy development, service provision and coordination, program monitoring and evaluation, and administrative oversight for the public behavioral health system. CFMH funds, supports and monitors numerous mental health and substance abuse community programs and providers. CFMH also operates the Colorado Mental Health Hospitals at Fort Logan and Pueblo and the Forensic Services Division. CFMH executes the States’ federal responsibilities as the State Mental Health Authority and State Substance Abuse Authority for the purposes of administering federal mental health and substance abuse block grant funds. The Forensic Services Division is responsible for six departments including Forensic Community Based Services (FCBS), Jail Based Evaluation and Restoration (JBR), Outpatient Restoration (OPR), the Forensic Support Team (FST), the Court Services Department, and the Operations Department. The Operations Department provides operational oversight of the Forensic Services Division (FSDV) programs, including contract management, data reconciliation, quality assurance, program evaluation, records management, and training & development. It is the Operations Department’s mission to enhance performance, drive efficiency, and align the workforce with the overarching objectives of the division. Our teams work within various settings including community agencies, jails, courts, and hospitals. The locations can include locked units and secure facilities and our clients may at times be unpredictable due to their mental health needs. Our team is required to make critical decisions in dynamic and fast-paced environments in order to ensure a high level of accountability for patient care. Our staff are required to maintain updated skills, knowledge, abilities, and competencies necessary to the position through continuing education, clinical supervision, literature review, and discipline and team development.

Responsibilities

• Supports, monitors, and manages orders for individuals ordered to the care and/or custody of CDHS, including inpatient services, outpatient services, civil evaluations, forensic evaluations, among other judicial orders.
• Serves as a centralized source of information across our OCFMH teams, supporting, monitoring, and managing judicial-related hearings, outcomes, outreach, and billing, invoicing, and other procedural tasks.
• Provides high-level professional, technical, and analytical support directly to the Operations Director, optimizing daily work processes, analyzing data to inform strategic planning, and identifying internal and external information needs.
• Rigorously tracks court orders, managing the mechanism and ability for FSDV teams to assign evaluations or restoration services, and ensuring all strict court and Consent Decree deadlines are met.
• Initiates and maintains data collection devices such as spreadsheets, tables, databases, and electronic files, using critical thinking skills to identify improvements to processes.
• Maintains systems to monitor the warrant process, ensuring teams close invalid orders promptly, and tracking court hearing occurrences via the judicial database.
• Communicates directly with departmental leadership and courts to resolve discrepancies, clarify instructions, and correct court orders.
• Manages daily workflows within the Forensic Services Division (FSDV) by independently delegating court orders to administrative staff and monitoring high-priority warrant caseloads to ensure strict compliance and data accuracy.
• Serves as the primary problem solver and escalation point for the team, analyzing and resolving complex errors, statutory violations, and system limitations.
• Monitors and tracks court orders, warrants, and critical legal dates in close conjunction with internal FSDV teams, while managing ongoing warrant cases utilizing the Legacy Cube and Anticipate Behr tracking systems to ensure total data accuracy.
• Coordinates information from various agencies as necessary and demonstrates the confidence, skill, training, and etiquette required to find solutions to questions posed by psychologists, attorneys, management, and other stakeholders.
• Uses discretion, effective communication, and creativity in managing the complex factors related to all court orders.
• Supervises direct field of influence and accountability for duty assignments, supervision, consultation, education, and completing staff performance plans, reviews, and evaluations for all assigned subordinate staff.
• Facilitates staff development such as mentoring and coaching of direct reports, and reinforcement of education and training.
• Develops and maintains a system to manage personnel records, files, and logs for subordinate staff.
• In coordination with the Operations Director, authorizes leave requests for personal and sick leave for subordinate staff.
• Assures compliance with competency requirements of PMP. Checks for timely and correct completion of records and timekeeping responsibilities. Resolves personnel issues and problems in accordance with Personnel Rules and Regulations.
• Affirms staff competency and proficiency in conjunction with Staff Education direction and records.
• Maintains productivity and efficiency, and compliance with CDHS/FSDV policies, rules, and regulations.
• Warrants, Court Hearings, and Communication: Involves maintaining systems to monitor the warrant process, ensuring teams close invalid orders promptly, and tracking court hearing occurrences via the judicial database. In doing so, this position must ensure all departmental needs are met, timeframes are adhered to, and information is disseminated in a timely manner to departmental leadership. This process includes official communications to the courts, strong writing skills, and effective problem-solving.

Qualifications

• Five (5) years of relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position.
• A combination of related education and/or relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned equal to five (5) years.
• Preferred qualifications include experience handling and managing time-sensitive, confidential and/or sensitive information, business management, records, criminal justice, human services, or closely related degree.
• Relevant experience as a current or previous State of Colorado employee, relevant experience in the public sector or interacting with government organizations, experience leading a team or supervising others, experience making time-sensitive decisions in a multidisciplinary environment, experience managing time-sensitive, confidential information, experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, experience in a legal, court, or behavioral health-focused environment, knowledge or understanding of court proceedings, excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills, excellent attention to detail, demonstrated ability to juggle competing demands, advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft Office applications.