Title: Forensic Coordinator
State Role Title: 49213
Hiring Range: starting at $119,734 (commensurate based on experience)
Pay Band: 6
Agency: Dept Behavioral Health/Develop
Location: Western State Hospital
Agency Website: https://dbhds.virginia.gov/facilities/wsh/
Recruitment Type: General Public - G
Job DutiesWestern State Hospital is seeking a talented, experienced clinical psychologist to serve in the role of Forensic Coordinator. This role assists the Clinical/Psychology Director and Co-Forensic Coordinator by assuming responsibility for the management of pretrial patients with forensic needs (e.g., those in need of Competency to Stand Trial Evaluations, CST restoration, etc.). The selected candidate will also provide direct supervision to 2-3 forensic post-doctoral fellows (via collaboration with the University of Virginia Institute for Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy), assist in the completion of court-ordered forensic evaluations (e.g., CST, MSO [sanity], NGRI risk management evaluations), provide expert guidance and consultation to teams and administration regarding justice-involved patients, collaborate with interdisciplinary treatment teams and community stakeholders regarding justice-involved patients, use expert knowledge of relevant policies, procedures, court orders, and legal standards to assure that forensic services are in accordance with standards, and serve as an expert resource to licensed clinical psychologists and other mental health professionals.
Western State Hospital is a 302-bed public psychiatric hospital for adults located in beautiful Staunton, Virginia. We serve an array of vulnerable patient populations with severe mental illness, including those who are justice-involved and those admitted involuntarily for emergency psychiatric care. We are a Joint Commission accredited facility. Our state-of-the-art facility opened in November 2013, and we have recently completed an expansion of the hospital to include two new patient care units. The successful candidate for this position will join 17 experienced and highly skilled licensed clinical psychologists. As a training site for many disciplines, opportunities are available to supervise clinical psychology graduate students, undergraduate psychology student, and other trainees. There are plentiful opportunities for continuing education in forensics and other areas relevant to the delivery of psychological services. Staunton is a vibrant town in the Shenandoah Valley within 45 minutes of multiple major universities. We hope that the high quality of life, collegial multidisciplinary professional staff, quality reputation, and working relationships with academic institutions will attract the psychologist we seek.
This Position Is Eligible For

• retirement with cash match
• health, vision, and dental insurance
• life insurance
• paid time off

Minimum Qualifications

• Ph.D. or Psy.D. in Clinical or Counseling Psychology from an APA accredited program.
• Licensed (or license eligible) as a Clinical Psychologist in Virginia.
• Demonstrated experience providing forensic assessments (e.g., Competency to Stand Trial, Mental Status at the Time of the Offense [Sanity], risk assessments).
• Demonstrated experience applying psychological assessment to individuals with severe and persistent mental disorders who have involvement with the justice system.

Additional Considerations

• Completion of a Forensic Post-Doctoral Fellowship
• bilingual
• veteran

Special InstructionsYou will be provided a confirmation of receipt when your application and/or résumé is submitted successfully. Please refer to “Your Application” in your account to check the status of your application for this position.
*In addition to the online application, a curriculum vitae/resume and one deidentified forensic evaluation report are required.*
The successful applicant must pass a criminal background investigation, drug screening test and employment reference check. The applicant must have the ability to perform at the level of physical demands noted on the Employee Work Profile and the verified ability to perform the essential functions of the position.
Commonwealth’s Alternate Hiring Process: In support of the Commonwealth’s commitment to inclusion, we are encouraging individuals with disabilities to apply through the Commonwealth Alternative Hiring Process. To be considered for this opportunity, applicants will need to provide their Certificate of Disability (COD) provided by a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor within the Department for Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS), or the Department for the Blind & Vision Impaired (DBVI). Veterans are encouraged to answer Veteran status questions and submit their disability documentation, if applicable, to DARS/DBVI to get their Certificate of Disability. If you need to get a Certificate of Disability, use this link: https://www.vadars.org/drs/cpid/PWContact.aspx, or call DARS at 800- 552-5019, or DBVI at 800-622-2155.
DBHDS is a healthcare organization and must comply with the federal CMS Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care staff Vaccination Regulation which requires all employees to be vaccinated or receive an exemption. Upon acceptance of a job offer, new recruits will be asked to disclose their vaccination status (and for those fully vaccinated, proof of vaccination) during the pre-employment process. New staff who are not vaccinated for any reason or choose not to disclose their vaccination status, will need to request a medical or religious accommodation. If you have questions, please contact the Office of Human Resources.
Contact InformationName: Samnatha Leep
Phone: 540-332-8306
Email: samantha.leep@dbhds.virginia.gov
In support of the Commonwealth’s commitment to inclusion, we are encouraging individuals with disabilities to apply through the Commonwealth Alternative Hiring Process. To be considered for this opportunity, applicants will need to provide their AHP Letter (formerly COD) provided by the Department for Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS), or the Department for the Blind & Vision Impaired (DBVI). Service-Connected Veterans are encouraged to answer Veteran status questions and submit their disability documentation, if applicable, to DARS/DBVI to get their AHP Letter. Requesting an AHP Letter can be found at AHP Letter or by calling DARS at 800-552-5019.
Note: Applicants who received a Certificate of Disability from DARS or DBVI dated between April 1, 2022- February 29, 2024, can still use that COD as applicable documentation for the Alternative Hiring Process.