Mental Health Professional - Hope High

FORT ZUMWALT SCHOOL DISTRICT SS719

JOB TITLE: Mental Health Professional

REPORTS TO: Coordinator of Social Emotional Support Services/Assistant Superintendent of Student Personnel

FLSA: Exempt Note: Critical features of this job are described under the headings below. They may be subject to change at any time due to reasonable accommodation or other reasons.

POSITION PURPOSE/SUMMARY The Mental Health Professional promotes and enhances the overall academic mission by providing services that strengthen the relationship with home, school, and community partnerships and address barriers to learning and academic achievement. The Mental Health Professional will work with students in a timely manner when crisis situation arises and will use constructive supportive and non-judgmental mannerism and language. The Mental Health Professional will work one-on one or in group setting to help support the social-emotional needs in school programs in regard to truancy, non-attendance, behavioral patterns indicating potential substance use/abuse, and/or emotional, family, or social struggles.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS The Mental Health Professional shall have a Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling, Psychology, or Social Work. Preferred licensed in the State of Missouri with LPC, LMSW, or LCSW. Related Degrees with counseling or social work experience and state licensure may be considered.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Consults and cooperates with administrators, school resource officers, classroom teachers, counselors, and nurses in assessing the mental and emotional state of the individual students.
• Consults with and counsels parents in working to improve home situations whereby more favorable conditions will be attained regarding school work, behavior, and attendance.
• Serves as liaison between the school and outside agencies such as the Children’s Division, Juvenile Court and other agencies responsible for child welfare.
• Maintains an office on school premises with a telephone equipped with automatic answering equipment on a twenty-four-hour-a-day basis.
• Makes home visits for the purpose of gathering helpful information on the student’s background and for developing cooperative home-school relationships.
• Consult and collaborates with stakeholders on behalf of students and their families and help families make appropriate connections to community resources.
• Collaborate with both administrators and school counselors about attendance information and follows up on cases of chronic absenteeism that have proven unresponsive to supports provided by the school.
• Serves as liaison between home and school as needed and advocates for appropriate services for students and their families.
• Participates with other members of the student personnel team on concerns and regular staff meetings.
• Provides support to students and parents in matters of attendance, social-emotional needs, and will work together with families to create a supportive working relationship with students and their families.
• Facilitates communication and connection between school personnel and parent/guardian to improve outcomes for the student(s).
• Participates in the collection of outcome data on mental health interventions and student progress to be used for monitoring overall effectiveness and of services provided.
• Maintains an appropriate directory of referral services yearly to be utilized in crisis situations affecting students such as suicide, alcohol and/or drug problems.
  
  

Additional Duties

• Other duties as assigned by the superintendent or his/her designee.
• Effectively communicate, verbally and in written form, with administrators, staff, and the community as needed.
  
  

MENTAL DEMANDS Ability to maintain highly confidential information; communicate clearly both orally and in writing, and/or ability to reason and make appropriate decisions. Solve a variety of problems in many different situations and have strong attention to detail.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS While performing the duties of this position an employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, talk, and present. This employee may occasionally be required to lift up to 20 lbs. This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee.

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT Employment will be on an at-will basis concurrent with the teacher work calendar plus 20 days as assigned with the Assistant Superintendent of Special Services or at the time of employment for the duration of the school year with prorated personal leave. The work calendar may be modified by the Board of Education at any time, as needs dictate. Seven and one-half hours (Including a non-paid 30-minute lunch period) will constitute a workday for Mental Health Professional. A definite daily schedule we be established by the building principal and approved by the Assistant Superintendent of Special Services.

EVALUATION Performance of this job will be evaluated annually in accordance with the provisions of the Board’s policy on the evaluation of support personnel.

Approved: May 15, 2023