Assistant Clinician

Job Description
Job Title: Assistant Clinician/Behavioral Intervention Specialist
Department: Community Services
Reports To: Resident Manager
FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
Travel: Variable
Schedule: Full- Time
 

Birch Family Services is a leading provider of education, employment, and community support
services for individuals with autism and developmental disabilities and their families in New
York City. Every year, the organization supports more than 2,000 people across 31 locations in
Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. From preschool to graduation, employment,
housing, and beyond, Birch Family Services provides fully integrated programs and services to
support individuals in achieving their goals across their lifetime.
 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
 

The Assistant Clinician is responsible for working directly with the residential or day
habilitation staff under the supervision and direction of the Behavior Intervention
Specialist (BIS), Manager and Coordinator.
 

The Assistant Clinician is responsible for working with the team to look at each person
supported in a wholistic manner. This includes looking at the person’s strengths,
preferences and needs to ensure these are identified and met.


 The Assistant Clinician will work with the BIS and the team to identify the behavioral,
psychiatric, social, vocational, health, nutritional and mobility needs etc. of each person
and bring these to the attention of the team.


 The Assistant Clinician will assist the BIS, RN or Manager/Coordinator to conduct
assessments and observations.
 

 The Assistant Clinician will develop goals/outcomes, identified in the Comprehensive
Functional Assessment (CFA) or Life Plan that meet the interests and needs of the person
supported. This includes reviewing data for accurate and consistent implementation,
ensuring accuracy of daily and monthly progress reports and making revisions, when
needed.
 

The Assistant Clinician will work with the interdisciplinary team to design effective data
collection systems that allow progress to be monitored and measured.
 

The Assistant Clinician supports the program in ensuring that all programming is
implemented consistently and in accordance with the agency policy.
 

The Assistant Clinician assists the IDT to monitor the completion of all habilitations related
paperwork required for the people we support and ensure reports are shared with
appropriate service providers.


 The Assistant Clinician works with the BIS and RN to ensure interventions receive the
proper approval prior to implementation prior to implementation (informed consent,
human rights), if required.
 

The Assistant Clinician helps develop group curricula and ensures the implementation of
individual and group programming.
 

The Assistant Clinician assists with staff training to ensure that all clinical interventions are
understood by staff, properly and consistently implemented, to communicate clinical
rationales to the staff, to provide staff with both formal and informal feedback, role model
appropriate interactions and provide guidance/leadership to staff when implementing
programming.
 

The Assistant Clinician is responsible for facilitating case conferences (CFA/life plan
meetings) and to function as a member of the interdisciplinary team. This includes
collecting and synthesizing all reports into the CFA or case conference minutes. The
Assistant Clinician in conjunction with the IDT reviews the CFA/ life plan, develops a staff
action plan and trains staff on goals/outcomes and supports.
 

The Assistant Clinician must participate in weekly IDT meetings.


 The Assistant Clinician is encouraged to function as a resource to other programs when
needed and to serve on various committees such as the Human Rights Committee,
Informed Consent Committee, Incident Review Committee, etc.)
 

In addition to facilitating team meetings within assigned programs, the Assistant Clinician is
responsible for attending the team meeting held on behalf of the people supported by
other service providers.
 

The Assistant Clinician supports the team when working with families, and members of the
community as well as all team meetings, and team building efforts.
 

The Assistant Clinician is responsible for providing useful clinical information to staff
working directly with individuals and to maintain accepted standards of confidentiality.
 The Assistant Clinician is responsible for assisting the IDT to initiate appropriate referrals
for necessary consultations and evaluations.
 

The Assistant Clinician supports the IDT to ensure that individuals receive appropriate
mental and physical health care and acts as a resource to the residential/day habilitative
team.
 

The Assistant Clinician is responsible for facilitating the coordination of individual
treatment between the residence and the day hab. The Assistant Clinician should visit
individuals at their day/vocational program and attend case conferences and other special
IDT meetings as dictated by each person’s needs.


 The Assistant Clinician is responsible for ensuring that all habilitation records are
maintained in accordance with OPWDD and BIRCH policy under the direction of the IDT,
QA staff, Psychology Coordinator and Nurse Administrator.
 

The Assistant Clinician should bring to the attention of the IDT both programmatic and
individual clinical issues and be solution-oriented in their resolution.


 It is the Assistant Clinician’s responsibility to meet with his/her supervisors on a regular
basis including the Residential Manager/Coordinator, BIS and RN. They are responsible to
come to supervision prepared with an agenda, approach clinical and programmatic issues
in a solution-oriented manner, and to follow up on tasks delegated during the supervision
process in a timely manner.
 

The Assistant Clinician is responsible to function in a direct service professional capacity.
 

Works under the direction of the Residential Manager, Operations Coordinator, BIS and
RN.
 

Education
 

Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Social Work, Education or related Human Services field.
Experience Required
 

Minimum of 3 years’ experience working in OPWDD related field and preferably experience in
treatment related setting preferred.
 

Demonstrated competency in written, verbal, and computational skills to document records.
 

Should have the ability to work flexible schedule if needed to accommodate working with the
residents and to attend team meetings.
 

EEO Statement

Birch Family Services provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and
applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age,
disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Birch Family Services complies
with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every
location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of
employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff,
recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. Birch Family Services expressly
prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual
orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability,
or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Birch Family Services’ employees to
perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.