Professional Counselor (35 Hour)

The State of Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) is seeking to fill a position for a motivated and experienced licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) at the Osborne Correctional Institution in Somers, CT.

This position is second shift, Monday through Friday (35 hour) 3:00 PM-10:00 PM with rotating weekends and holidays. With this position, employees are eligible for fantastic benefits, generous time off and will experience work-life balance.

Agency Mission

The Department of Correction shall strive to be a global leader in progressive correctional practices and partnered re-entry initiatives to support responsive evidence-based practices aligned to law-abiding and accountable behaviors. Safety and security shall be a priority component of this responsibility as it pertains to staff, victims, citizens and offenders.

Our Team Dynamics

Professional Counselors at the Osborn work within a dynamic, multidisciplinary team comprised of social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and APRNs, as well as medical personnel and custody staff, all sharing the common goal of providing high quality, service oriented care to incarcerated population.

Your Role

Professional Counselors within the correctional setting provide a range of clinical and case management functions to citizens entering the custody of the DOC. We provide:

• intake assessments;
• individual psychotherapy;
• crisis management;
• suicide risk assessment;
• case management services. 

Additional opportunities to engage in collaborative discharge planning with external support services and research driven programming, are also encouraged. More details about this role can be found in the class specification.

What We Can Offer You

We believe there are many benefits to working for the State including:

• Personal and career growth opportunities;
• Work/life balance including flexible scheduling and paid time off;
• Health coverage and wellness program incentives;
• Retirement savings plans;
• This is a Hazardous Duty Position that offers a pension plan and additional supplemental benefits.

Learn more from our team at the Department of Correction: 

This role is non-examined and open to the public.

The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class.

To be considered for this position, applicants must meet the minimum qualifications listed within the job classification and hold a valid Professional Counselor license in the State of Connecticut at the time of application.

All State employees shall follow the guidelines as listed in Executive Orders 13F (3a) and 13G (3a).

To Apply:

• Complete a Master Application and directly apply to this recruitment.
• Please ensure that your application is complete. You will be unable to make revisions once it is submitted.

What to Expect After You Apply:

Although applicants will receive correspondence via email, as a backup they are also encouraged to sign on to their Personal Status Board on a daily basis to monitor their status, view all emailed notices and complete tasks required in the recruitment process.

This posting may require completion of additional referral questions (RQs). You can access these RQs via an email that will be sent to you after the posting's closing date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section). Your responses to these RQs must be submitted by the question's expiration date. Please regularly check your email and JobAps Personal Status Board for notifications. Please check your SPAM and/or Junk folders on a daily basis in the event an email provider places auto-notification emails in a user's spam.

Note: At any point during the recruitment process, applicants may be required to submit additional documentation which support their qualification(s) for this position. These documents may include: a cover letter, resume, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the discretion of the hiring agency.

Should you have any questions about this recruitment, please contact Samantha Wasef, HR Associate – Talent Solutions at Samantha.Wasef@CT.Gov, (860) 937-6357

In a state agency behavioral health program as part of a multi-disciplinary team at one or more locations this class is accountable for independently providing clinical counseling services.

As a member of a multi-disciplinary clinical team or within a network of community based behavioral health services provides case management, needs assessment and supportive counseling in addressing client strengths, weaknesses and needs; develops, implements and maintains individualized treatment and rehabilitation plans for clients; works with treatment teams to assist individual patients in achieving social and emotional stability; develops psychosocial assessments through clinical interviews; provides clinical treatment services such as: triage, crisis intervention, individual and/or group counseling, screening and planning; makes use of available community services and facilities to assist clients in meeting identified needs; interprets and synthesizes client information, professional observations and evaluation reports in order to form professional judgments about services; monitors and evaluates effectiveness of treatment plans, documents treatment in clinical records; completes reports in accordance with agency and accrediting bodies; consults and collaborates with other behavioral health providers to improve delivery of services to clients; maintains counseling treatment and standards as required; performs related duties as required.

Knowledge of principles, methodology, casework and techniques of counseling, interviewing and psychosocial assessment; knowledge of family and interpersonal relationship dynamics; knowledge of values, sanctions, purposes and ethics of professional counseling work; knowledge of community resources; considerable interpersonal skills; considerable oral and written communication skills; ability to devise and implement a treatment plan with measurable goals that address client needs.

Licensure as a professional counselor in the State of Connecticut with some experience working in a behavioral health facility or in a juvenile justice setting.

• Experience managing a caseload in a clinical setting including crisis intervention and behavior management;
• Experience working with Correctional or Forensic Behavioral health treatments;
• Experience with individual and group Psychotherapy;
• Experience with criminal justice involved adults.

1. Incumbents in this class must possess and retain a license to practice professional counselor work pursuant to Sec. 20-195 (a-f) of the Connecticut General Statutes.
2. Incumbents in this class may be required to have knowledge of sign language and communication ability with the deaf and hearing impaired in certain designated positions.
3. Incumbents in this class may be required to have ability in Spanish oral and written communication in certain designated positions.
4. Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.

Incumbents in this class may be exposed to some risk of injury from assaultive and/or abusive clients.

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.