Psychologist 2 (NY HELPS)

About the role

The Office of Children & Family Services (OCFS), Division for Juvenile Justice and Opportunities for Youth (DJJOY) is seeking a Psychologist 2 to work as a member of a multidisciplinary treatment team in a Juvenile Justice residential setting/facility.

Responsibilities

• Admission screening, including mental status exam and suicide assessment
• 30 day assessment, including administration of various mental health and substance use screens, youth and collateral interviews, and record review to develop a psychosocial assessment and subsequent mental health treatment plan
• Collaboration and treatment planning with youths assigned psychiatrist as indicated
• Individual and group counseling and psychotherapy
• Treatment reviews
• Cognitive and other psychological testing as indicated
• Serve as a member of the facility Committee on Special Education
• Discharge planning
• Work with youth case managers, direct care staff, education and medical staff to develop and enact comprehensive treatment plans aimed at increasing youths' skills in the areas of emotional intelligence, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance
• Report to the Facility Assistant Director for Treatment (ADT) who provides individual and group clinical supervision

Qualifications

Transfer: One year of permanent competitive or 55b/c service in this title or in a title eligible for 70.1 transfer.

Open to the Public (NY HELPS): A Master of Psychology degree from a regionally accredited college or university psychology degree program which prepares graduates for clinical positions in the field of psychology in a clinical, forensic, community mental health, or school setting. Qualifying degree programs must have included coursework in psychological and behavioral assessment, and treatment modalities for psychological and behavioral disorders; AND three years of supervised post-master's degree experience in a clinical, forensic, community mental health, or school setting, where primary duties were providing psychological services as described below.

Substitutions:

• A doctoral degree in a clinical field of psychology and one year of qualifying experience may be substituted for both the education and experience requirements above
• A clinical psychology practicum, externship, or fieldwork assignment completed as part of a qualifying Master of Psychology degree program may be substituted for one year of the required experience
• A certificate of advanced study in a clinical field of psychology or school psychology may be substituted for one year of the required experience

Qualifying degree programs

Qualifying degree programs/majors include but are not limited to: clinical psychology, clinical forensic psychology, community psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, and child psychology.

Non-qualifying degree programs/majors include but are not limited to: education, counseling, clinical counseling, clinical hypnosis, community counseling, educational counseling, forensic counseling, guidance counseling, human relations, marriage and family counseling, professional counseling, rehabilitative counseling, school counseling, student and personnel services, mental health counseling, psychological counseling, pastoral psychology, transpersonal psychology, neuroscience, experimental psychology, industrial psychology, and organizational psychology.

Qualifying experience

Qualifying experience is direct experience with individuals, families, or groups in a hospital, psychiatric hospital, psychiatric clinic, community mental health clinic, correctional facility, intermediate care facility, institutional or school setting, or community based residential and/or day program, under the supervision of a doctoral level psychologist, licensed psychologist, licensed physician, licensed psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, or licensed clinical social worker (or in the case of school psychologists with permanent certification from the New York State Education Department, working under the supervision of a school principal or similar administrator). Primary duties must have included activities such as administering assessments and tests for diagnostic psychological evaluations or completing functional behavior assessments; developing behavior support plans or writing psychological treatment plans; and/or providing psychological counseling and treatment in one or more of the following areas: mental and/or emotional disorders, cognitive disorders, behavioral disorders, intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, alcoholism, addictions, substance abuse disorders, sex offender assessment and treatment, or forensic mental health.

Non-qualifying experience includes but is not limited to experience in experimental psychology, research psychology, industrial psychology, organizational psychology, health psychology, utilization review, guidance counseling, pastoral counseling, or as a habilitation specialist, or instructor of psychology.

Additional information

For the duration of the NY HELPS Program, this title may be filled via a non-competitive appointment, which means no examination is required but all candidates must meet the minimum qualifications of the title for which they apply. At a future date (within one year of permanent appointment), it is expected employees hired under NY HELPS will have their non-competitive employment status converted to competitive status, without having to compete in an examination. Employees will then be afforded with all of the same rights and privileges of competitive class employees of New York State. While serving permanently in a NY HELPS title, employees may take part in any promotion examination for which they are qualified.

A monthly state-wide psychology supervision provides practitioners the opportunity to discuss cases and systems considerations with other psychologists working in DJJOY facilities (of which there are 9). DJJOY provides numerous clinical trainings with accompanying NYS Department of Education approved Continuing Education Units (CEU's).

Background investigation requirements

All prospective employees will be investigated through a Criminal Background Check (CBC), which includes State and federal Criminal History Record Checks. All convictions must be reported; conviction of a felony or misdemeanor, or any falsified or omitted information on the prospective appointee's employment application, may bar appointment or result in removal after appointment. Each case will be determined on its own merits, consistent with the applicable provisions of State and federal laws, rules, and regulations. Prospective employees will be fingerprinted in order to obtain a record of their criminal history information, and may be required to pay any necessary fees. All prospective employees will be screened against the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR). Prospective employees will be required to pay any necessary fees. For DJJOY prospective appointees will be checked against the Staff Exclusion List (SEL) maintained by the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs. Prospective employees whose names appear on the SEL as having been found responsible for serious or repeated acts of abuse or neglect will be barred from appointment and may have their names removed from the eligible list(s) for the title(s) if applicable.

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