Lines for Life Job Description
Position Title: Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist
Status: Full time/Non-Exempt
Reports To: Crisis Lines Shift Supervisor
Location: Telecommute
Compensation: $21.99 hr – $24.04 hr. The starting wage for the Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist position is $24.04/hr. for individuals with graduate degrees in a related field and $21.99/hr. for individuals with bachelor's degrees.
Start Date: January 13, 2024
About the Organization: Lines for Life is a regional non-profit that is dedicated to preventing substance abuse and suicide. We offer help and hope to individuals and communities and promote mental health for all. Our work addresses a spectrum of needs that include intervention, prevention, and advocacy. We educate, train, and advocate to prevent issues of substance abuse, mental illness, and thoughts of suicide from reaching crisis levels. But when a crisis arises or support is needed, we are available 24/7/365 to intervene with personalized help.
Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist Position Summary: Remote Crisis Intervention Specialists answer incoming crisis contacts to all Lines for Life crisis and referral helplines with care and compassion, and within the scope of each helpline program. We offer full-time and part-time arrangements for this position.
Remote Crisis Intervention Specialists receive extensive clinical skills training in alignment with current best practices in suicide prevention and intervention.
Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist Responsibilities:
- Demonstrate the culture of Lines for Life by modeling behavior that supports the organization’s goals and philosophies.
- Answer crisis helplines with compassion in accordance with the organization’s training expectations and scope. Remote Crisis Intervention Specialists receive crisis contacts on over 30 different crisis lines including but not limited to: the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, veterans and military crisis lines, its YouthLine, its Senior Loneliness Line, an alcohol and drug helpline, hospital mental health crisis lines and behavioral health scheduling calls, as well as county mental health crisis lines.
- Document crisis contacts in an accurate and timely manner with relevant clinical information in an electronic health record system.
- Place follow-up calls to crisis contacts as scheduled by the shift supervisor.
- Assist with placing rescue calls as needed when other crisis lines staff or volunteers are on acute crisis contacts requiring emergency assistance.
- Triage crisis contacts and collaborate with coworkers to manage crisis contact flow and ensure that the lines remain available for contacts in escalated crisis.
- Complete mandatory trainings and workshops to continue learning the latest policies and protocols and stay up to date on crisis intervention tools & techniques.
- Perform other duties, such as administrative and organizational tasks as needed.
Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist Required Qualifications:
- Able to meet Qualified Mental Health Associate requirements (https://mhacbo.org/media/QMHA.Worksheet_PDF.pdf)
- Crisis intervention knowledge
- Strong empathy, communication, teamwork and interpersonal skills
- Able to handle high levels of stress
- Proficient in web-based computer environment and multi-line phone system
- Understanding of and ability to apply mental health assessment, treatment and service terminology
- Able to implement skill development strategies and to identify, implement and coordinate the services and supports identified in Individual Service and Support Plan (ISSP)
- Able to independently triage crisis contacts so that lines remain available for crisis contacts in escalated crisis
- Strong attendance & punctuality - able to consistently show up on time, work the full scheduled shifts, and provide at least 2 weeks' notice for time off requests or as soon as possible in the event of an emergency
Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist Preferred Qualifications:
- Graduate degree in psychology; social work; or a behavioral science field OR CADC/Bachelor’s degree in psychology; social work; or a behavioral science field AND relevant crisis intervention experience
- Veterans preferred
- ASIST certification
- CADC certification strongly preferred
- Experience in a call center environment
Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist Training
- Lines for Life requires extensive Crisis Lines Onboarding training, which can be completed remotely. New hires must attend 5 weeks of paid crisis lines onboarding training. The next training begins January 13th and consists of 3 weeks between 8:30am - 5:00pm Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, plus 2 weeks of additional precepting training. Please note that there will not be training held on January 20th in observance of the MLK holiday, so that will be an unpaid day off. The schedule for precepting can vary as we are a 24/7, 365 day a year operation, so flexibility in your availability is needed to complete the precepting portion of the training. We want to make sure that all candidates understand that while you do get a scheduled lunch break, even missing half hour portions of these trainings can result in training expectations not being met. Due to the trainings being group trainings, there is generally no flexibility for each candidate to be able to take their breaks at different times. Training requires participation, full engagement without distractions, and being on camera over Zoom. Equipment is provided. You must have private high speed internet and a confidential place to take crisis contacts to meet security and technical requirements.
Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist Interview
- Interviews are conducted via Zoom with a Lines for Life supervisor and HR team members and are recorded so that members of the Hiring Committee who are unable to attend the live interview are able to watch the recording and give feedback afterwards.
Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist Location:
- Lines for Life is seeking to hire people who reside in rural Oregon communities who can bring their lived experience and community knowledge to serve and support our rural crisis contacts. Lines for Life is also open to hiring Remote Crisis intervention Specialists throughout the 50 United States. We currently cannot support outer territories. There is also an option to work directly in our Portland office.
Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist Work Schedule:
- Our crisis lines are operated 24/7. This position requires working some holidays and working weekends.
- The work schedule will be determined at the time of offer and is based upon Lines for Life’s crisis contact volume trends. All full time employees are required to work at least 1 weekend shift per week. We are currently hiring for these shifts which are all in Pacific time. (Please note due to overtime laws, we can only offer Alaska, California, and Nevada candidates shifts that are 8 hours or less)
- Sat - Tue 9pm-7am Pacific time (38 hrs)
- Wed-Sat 9pm-7am Pacific time (38 hrs)
- Tue-Sat 3:30pm-12am Pacific time (40 hrs)
- Sun -Thurs 3:30pm-12am Pacific time (40 hrs)
Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist Physical Requirements:
- Work is primarily conducted in a home office environment and requires the ability to sit or stand and work on a computer for long periods of time.
- This position requires high energy, patience and controlling one’s emotions, as well as the ability to think analytically.
Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist Remote Work:
- Telecommuting requires passing a clinical evaluation, having a HIPAA compliant workspace at home, and meeting technology requirements. Supervisors provide support to telecommuters by listening in on acute crisis contacts and using an internal messaging system (Microsoft Teams) to communicate.
Quality Assurance:
- We want to let you know that all crisis contacts are recorded – inbound and outbound. We review them regularly to ensure safety and quality assurance and for training and supervisory purposes. What this means is that you will have crisis contacts randomly picked for review and you will receive clinical feedback on how you are doing. This happens every few weeks and is one way that we ensure professional growth of our team. Another aspect of this technology is that while you are taking crisis contacts, supervisors can listen in to provide support if a crisis contact is particularly challenging or high risk. This supports our Crisis Intervention Specialists so they are not alone and ensures safety for our crisis contacts.
Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist Compensation Package:
The starting wage for the Remote Crisis Intervention Specialist position is $24.04/hr. for individuals with graduate degrees in a related field and $21.99/hr. for individuals with bachelor's degrees. There is a $1.75/hr. overnight shift differential when working between the hours of 10 pm – 5 am Pacific Time and time and a half holiday pay when required to work holidays. Lines for Life offers a great benefits package valued at over $9,500 per year, including coverage for employee health, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, and life insurance premiums; a matching 401K plan; a flexible spending plan; an employee assistance program; and a free Fitbit.
This job description is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities but, constitutes a general definition of the position's scope and function in the company.
EEO: Lines for Life strives to create a diverse, inclusive environment to better represent the communities that we serve. We are an equal opportunity employer.
All Lines for Life employees must be approved to work by the Oregon Department of Human Services’ Background Check Unit. Background checks are completed after a conditional offer of employment has been extended.
