Social Worker / Case Manager

MIRCI is a non-profit organization that assists homeless individuals, both adults and youth, with clinical needs and permanent housing.

About the role

The Social Worker / Case Manager provides intensive, person-centered case management to individuals referred through the Richland County Sheriff's Department's Law Enforcement Assisted Deflection (LEAD) Program. This position engages participants facing substance use, mental health, housing, healthcare, legal, or other significant barriers and connects them with treatment, recovery supports, and community resources. Working closely with participants, RCSD personnel, courts, service providers, and community partners, the Social Worker/Case Manager promotes stability, recovery, harm reduction, and successful community participation.

Responsibilities

• Maintain consistent contact with participants—generally at least weekly—through office and community visits, telephone calls, text messages, email, or home visits to provide ongoing case management, engagement, and support.
• Complete initial and ongoing screenings and assessments to identify strengths, risks, and needs related to substance use, mental health, housing, healthcare, employment, education, transportation, legal matters, and other areas affecting stability.
• Partner with participants to develop and regularly update individualized service plans, establish achievable treatment and recovery goals, strengthen independent-living skills, and support successful community reintegration.
• Coordinate and follow up on referrals to substance-use treatment, counseling, withdrawal management, residential and outpatient care, medical and behavioral healthcare, housing, benefits, employment, education, transportation, and other community resources.
• Monitor participant engagement and progress, including attendance, treatment participation, recovery plans, drug-screening requirements, program expectations, and applicable court orders; identify barriers and adjust services as needed.
• Provide crisis intervention, de-escalation, relapse support, safety planning, and connection to emergency services using trauma-informed, culturally responsive, person-centered, and harm-reduction approaches.
• Educate participants about recovery resources, coping and relapse-prevention strategies, harm reduction, personal accountability, participant rights and responsibilities, and LEAD program expectations.
• Advocate and collaborate on behalf of participants with RCSD staff, courts, probation officers, attorneys, treatment providers, healthcare professionals, housing partners, and other community agencies, with appropriate authorization.
• Maintain timely, accurate, and confidential records of assessments, participant contacts, service plans, referrals, progress, expenditures, discharge planning, and aftercare; prepare required data and reports for MIRCI and the RCSD LEAD Program Coordinator.
• Participate in multidisciplinary meetings, case staffing, training, supervision, outreach, quality-improvement activities, and program evaluation efforts, including authorized collaboration with RCSD, Clemson University, and other partners.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Social Work.

Preferred Qualifications

• LMSW preferred, but not required.
• At least two years of related experience providing behavioral-health, substance-use, homeless-services, reentry, crisis, or community-based case management.

Skills

• Knowledge of case-management practices, motivational interviewing, trauma-informed care, harm reduction, recovery-oriented services, crisis intervention, and community resources.
• Ability to build rapport with individuals from diverse backgrounds and engage participants who may be ambivalent about services or difficult to reach.
• Ability to respond calmly and professionally to crises, maintain appropriate boundaries, and exercise sound judgment in community settings.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively with law enforcement, courts, healthcare providers, treatment programs, and community partners.
• Ability to maintain accurate electronic records, meet documentation deadlines, track program data and expenditures, and use standard office and case-management technology.
• Ability to work independently, manage a community-based caseload, and contribute effectively to a multidisciplinary team.
• Strong assessment, service-planning, problem-solving, advocacy, organization, and time-management skills.

Benefits

• 3 weeks of accrued vacation per year
• 3 weeks of accrued sick time per year
• 13 paid holidays
• Generous benefits package including Health Insurance, Vision Insurance, Dental Insurance, Short-Term Disability Coverage, Critical Illness Coverage, Company-Paid Life Insurance, and Long-Term Disability
• 401K with employer match up to 6%
• Paid Parental Leave
• Paid Bereavement Leave

Employee Classification: Professional, exempt, regular full-time position.