Professional Counselor (40 Hour)

Introduction

Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs): Looking to further your career with the State of Connecticut? This is an excellent opportunity for you to join us!

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

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU:

• Visit our newState Employee Benefits Overview page!
• Professional growth and development opportunities
• A Hazardous Duty pension plan (State Employees Retirement System Tier IV).
• A healthy work/life balance!
• Work at a Forbes-recognized company! Connecticut is proud to be featured on both America's Best Employers by State and Best Employers for New Grads in 2024. With our dynamic job market and commitment to fostering a thriving workforce, Connecticut stands out as a top destination for both seasoned professionals and fresh graduates seeking to launch their careers!

Position Highlights

• Licensed Professional Counselors within the correctional setting provide a range of clinical and case management functions to those entering the custody of the Department of Correction.
• The incumbent in this position will discover the opportunity to:
  • Work within a clinically rich setting;
  • Provide intake assessments, individual psychotherapy and group therapy, crisis management, suicide risk assessment, case management services and other clinical activities;
  • Engage in collaborative discharge planning with external support services and research driven programming.
• The schedule for this position is Monday-Friday, 2:00pm-10:00pm with rotating weekends/holidays.

About Us

The Garner Correctional Institution incarcerates both pretrial and sentenced offenders. Through proven programmatic innovation and intervention, the Garner Correctional Institution provides positive alternatives for inmates to assist in their successful reintegration into the community as productive members of society. Based upon their mental health needs, offenders from throughout the system, both pretrial and sentenced, are assigned here. The facility's staff utilizes a highly progressive mental health treatment approach. Individualized treatment plans, based upon an offender's level of functionality include extensive programming and therapy, in a group and one on one setting. The staff at the facility, both custody and mental health, operate through an integrated team approach which ensures a continuity of custody, care, treatment and control.

Selection Plan

FOR ASSISTANCE IN APPLYING:

Check out our Applicant Tips on How to Apply! Need more resources? Visit our Applicant Reference Library for additional support throughout the recruitment process.

BEFORE YOU APPLY:

• Applicants for this position are required to have an active Professional Counselor License to be considered. To verify if your Professional Counselor License (LPC Only) is valid, please click here.
• Meet Minimum Qualifications: Ensure you meet the Minimum Qualifications listed on the job opening by the job closing date. You must specify your qualifications on your application. The minimum experience and training requirements listed must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified.
• Educational Credits: List your earned credits and degrees from accredited institutions accurately on your application. To receive educational credits towards qualification, the institution must be accredited. If the institution of higher learning is located outside of the U.S., you are responsible for providing documentation from a recognized USA accrediting service which specializes in determining foreign education equivalencies to the contact listed below by the closing date listed on the job posting.
• Resume Policy: Per Public Act 21-69, resumes are not accepted during the initial application process. As the recruitment process progresses, candidates may be required to submit additional documentation to support their qualification(s) for this position. This documentation may include: a cover letter, resume, transcripts, diplomas, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the request and discretion of the hiring agency.
• Preferred Shift/Location: Select all location(s) and shift(s) you are willing to work on your application. Failure to do so may result in not being considered for vacancies in that specific location or shift.
• Timely Submission: All application materials must be received by the job posting deadline. You will be unable to make revisions once you officially submit your application to the State. Late submissions are rarely accepted, with exceptions only for documented events that incapacitate individuals during the entire duration of the job posting. Request exceptions by emailing DAS.SHRM@ct.gov.
• Salary Calculations: For current state employees, salary calculations are not necessarily comparable from one of the three branches of state government (i.e., Executive, Legislative, Judicial) to the other.

• Note: The only way to apply to this posting is via the ‘Apply’ or ‘Apply Online’ buttons on the official State of Connecticut Online Employment Center job posting.

AFTER YOU APPLY:

• Referral Questions: This posting may require completion of additional Referral Questions (RQs), which must be completed by the questionnaire’s expiration date. If requested, RQs can be accessed via an email sent to you after the job close date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section).
• Prepare For An Interview: Interviews are limited to those whose experience and training are most aligned with the role. To prepare, review this helpful Interview Preparation Guide to make the best impression!
• Stay connected! Log in daily to your JobAps Personal Status Board to track your status and check email (including spam/junk folders) for updates and tasks.
• The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class.
• Note: This position will be filled in accordance with contractual language, reemployment, SEBAC, transfer, promotion and merit employment rules. Candidates who are offered and accept a position with the State of Connecticut are bound by the State Code of Ethics for Public Officials and State employees, available at www.ct.gov/ethics.

QUESTIONS? WE’RE HERE TO HELP:

Due to high volume, we are unable to confirm receipt or provide status updates directly. For recruitment updates, please check your Personal Status Board and review our Frequently Asked Questions. If you have additional questions about the recruitment process, reach out to Nicholas Naples at Nicholas.Naples@ct.gov.

Join the State of Connecticut and take your next career step with confidence!

PURPOSE OF JOB CLASS (NATURE OF WORK)

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.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

• 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, SKILL AND ABILITY

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

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - GENERAL EXPERIENCE

Licensure as a professional counselor in the State of Connecticut.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Correctional or Forensic Behavioral health treatment experience.
• Experience with crisis intervention.
• Experience with behavior management.
• Experience with individual and group psychotherapy.
• Experience with criminal justice involved adults.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• 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.
• 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.
• Incumbents in this class may be required to have ability in Spanish oral and written communication in certain designated positions.
• Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.

WORKING CONDITIONS

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

Conclusion

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.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes. As such, a job class is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.