Group Care Therapist - Partnership For Children

Group Home Therapist

General Objective: The Therapist works within the Therapeutic Group Home to direct clinical treatment of
children who have experienced significant trauma and have been identified as seriously emotionally disturbed.
As part of the Leadership Team, the Therapist works closely with the Treatment and Program Coordinator to
guide and support staff in their work and to involve children’s family members in their treatment. The Group
Home Therapist is supervised by the Chief Executive Officer of Youth Homes and given clinical support
through Clinical Supervision.

Supervisory Responsibilities:
• Targeted Case Manager

Nature and Scope of Position:
• Attends, conducts, directs and participates in individual, family and group psychotherapy sessions and
crisis interventions;
• Assists in the planning, implementation and evaluation of care delivered;
• Provides clinical assessments and participates in the development of and revisions to treatment and
discharge plans;
• Works closely with the child’s family, other agency personnel, and community representatives to meet
treatment goals and to ensure the overall well-being of children;
• Attends and participates in a weekly staff meeting and a leadership meeting;
• The Therapist is responsible for meeting standards of professional performance and developing and
assessing ongoing indicators of quality improvement;
• As an active participant and leader of a self-directed team, the Therapist will seek responsibility, and
model initiative, cooperation and group problem-solving.

Examples of Tasks:
• Supervision
• Therapists receive general direction through program philosophies and individual treatment objectives.
• Leadership Team Responsibilities
o Assesses and designs treatment interventions.
o Provide leadership in integrating psychotherapy with other treatment needs based upon each
child's needs.
o Responsible for the design and implementation of treatment and case management coordination
with other agency staff, community agencies and professionals to ensure a cohesive treatment
approach.
o Works closely with Treatment Team, providing support, feedback and guidance in the
implementation of treatment.
o Establishes and maintains good communication and working relationships with all staff.
o Maintains all records in accordance with the agency standards.
(Revised January 2025)
o Participates in budget planning and revising policy, procedures or practices to improve
efficiency and effectiveness of treatment services.
• Training
o Participates in and provides in-service training determined by discipline, home, or community
need, or as requested
o Assumes personal responsibility to stay abreast of current trends and enhance professional
expertise by reading professional publications and attending continuing education courses
applicable to professional licensure.
o Receives clinical supervision and direction from a clinical supervisor.
• Child and Adolescent Services
o Participates in assessing the appropriateness of referrals and gathering data for a preliminary
treatment plan, including psychosocial history.
o Prepares authorization requests.
o Provides a complete Clinical Assessment, including clinical consideration of the child's needs
o Documents and communicates sensitive and confidential information in a professional manner to
all necessary parties.
o Serves as clinical resource person for the management of the milieu and assists personnel in
determining the therapeutic needs of children.
o Actively participates in Treatment Team meetings, clinical staffing, and Leadership Team
meetings and assumes responsibility in assessing, planning, evaluating, and revising treatment
and discharge plans.
o Participates in designing a written, comprehensive individualized treatment plan that is based on
the child's clinical needs as outlined in the Clinical Assessment.
o Participates in treatment planning which:
- Reflects the organization's philosophy of treatment and the participation of staff
- Reflects the child's clinical needs and condition, identifies strengths and limitations, and
specifies the services necessary to meet the child's needs
- Contains specific goals that the child must achieve to attain, maintain, and/or reestablish
emotional and/or physical health as well as maximum growth and adaptive capabilities,
- Delineates the specific criteria to be met for termination of treatment.
- Designs and updates a Family Interaction Plan (FIP)
o Assists the team in discharge planning which may include planning follow-up therapy and
assisting the Case Manager in overseeing arrangements for referrals to local, state and out-of
state human service agencies.
o Provides outpatient therapy to small caseload (3-5), prioritizing children who have left the care
of the group home and are in foster care, kinship or biological placements.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:
• Master’s Degree in Social Work, Psychology or Counseling, moving toward licensure.
• Experience working with children who have experienced significant trauma and loss, and an
understanding of the needs of these children and families.
• Possess solid moral character.
• Demonstrate competent, positive interpersonal skills.
• Effective communication skills
• Possesses knowledge of Attachment Theory.
• Has a working knowledge of social services in the communities within which the employee shall be
working.
• Possesses cultural awareness and understanding of the diverse populations in those communities.
• Has a working knowledge of best practices when working with families and Native American families.
(Revised January 2025)
• Basic computer skills (Word, Excel, Access)

Working Conditions:
• General schedule is Monday through Friday, forty hours per week, with some evening and weekend
hours. Occasional out of town travel for longer than one day. Flexibility of schedule is important.
• Occasionally, children become physically aggressive and encounters may become physical.

Employee Classification, Compensation and Benefits:
• This is a full-time, professional, exempt position that includes a small outpatient caseload to enhance the
diversity of responsibilities.
• Compensation is based on the Partnership for Children Salary Schedule and will be negotiated
according to qualifications and experience.
• Partnership for Children provides a generous benefit package inclusive of:
o Annual Leave, Exceptional Leave, Educational Leave
o Health, Dental, Vision, Long-term Disability and Life insurance.
o Health Savings Account and 401(k) options with agency match.