Behavioral Health Specialist Trainee Job Description

Stipend Information (Board Approved 5/10/2023):

Year 1 - Volunteer

Year 2 - $100/Day for 180-day work calendar (36 weeks)

          - Which equals $3,600 per one work weekday worked for 36 weeks.  

What we offer:  Large suburban public district with approximately 29,000 students ranging from 3 to 21 years of age and a wide range of races/ethnicities, languages and socio-economic statuses.  As its own SELPA, our district completes its own Educationally Related Mental Health Services (ERMHS) evaluations and offers a range of counseling and social-emotional/behavioral supports (e.g., school-based Outpatient Medi-Cal therapy services, DIS counseling, ERMHS counseling, Social Emotional Educational Collaborative/Counseling Enriched Program classrooms, and separate schools with in-classroom supports provided). 

Job Duties

First year trainee students:

• Typically work 2 to 3 days a week with 1 to 2 hours of weekly direct supervision
• Complete supervised tasks related to individual counseling, case management, group counseling.

Second year trainee students:

• Typically work 3-4 days a week with 1 to 3 hours of weekly direct supervision (Per Board of Behavioral Sciences - 2 units of supervision to collect pre-masters MFT hours).
• Complete tasks related to individual/group counseling with increasing independence in managing caseload over the school year including increasing capacity for billing on eligible students with open Medi-Cal cases.
• Build and strengthen professional skills (e.g., caseload management, crisis support, meeting facilitation, teamwork, consultation, assessment and treatment planning, documentation).

Placement is available in elementary, middle and high schools and is based on supervisor assignment. Traineeship experiences will be based on university program requirements, but students will generally have the opportunity to observe and practice the daily tasks credentialed BHS perform. Experiences include, but are not limited to, shadowing/observing daily Behavior Health Therapist (BHS) activities; IEP meetings; consulting with teachers/staff/parents; individual/group counseling; Medi-cal billing/clinical documentation; observing/completing assessments; and attending school and department staff meetings/trainings. It is likely that students would be able to shadow other school personnel but this would be set up on an individual basis. Staff and classroom presentations, SEL curriculum development, and other programmatic activity design is also available based on site needs and intern interest.

Behavioral Health Specialist Trainee (Board Approved 5/10/2023) 

Board Approval May 10, 2023