Mid-Columbia Center for Living

Mental Health Specialist- Bilingual

Onsite, Hood River, OR
Full Time
Children and Family Outpaitent
Entry Level

Working Title: Mental Health Specialist- Bilingual
Program: Children and Family Services Outpaitent
Report to: Clinical Supervisor

Base Pay Range: This position will have a 5% increase from the base pay below due to the Spanish Differential.

  • Mental Health Specialist I      $5,125.83 – 6,230.48 /month 
  • Mental Health Specialist II     $5,433.38 – 6,604.30 /month 
  • Mental Health Specialist III    $5,759.38 – 7,000.56 /month 
Sign-on bonus:
  • Mental Health Specialist QMHP, Not Licensed: $5,000.00
  • Mental Health Specialist LPC/LMFT/ LCSW Licensed: $7,500.00    
Location: On-site, Hood River and The Dalles(E 19th St), Oregon (Subject to work in Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman County) 
Hours/FTE: M-F, 8.30 am–5 pm, 1 FTE (37.5 hours)
FSLA Status: Exempt

The Mental Health Specialist – Bilingual will support the Children and Family Outpatient program within the CFS department. Services will be provided in both English and Spanish as required to meet the individual needs of each client and their family. With the high prevalence of trauma among individuals receiving mental health services, the Mental Health Specialist - Bilingual must possess demonstrated understanding of the effects of trauma on health, relationships, coping and other aspects of the lives of those we serve.

The Mental Health Specialist provides culturally competent, appropriate, and trauma-informed crisis and behavioral health treatment for assigned clients.  This position provides counseling and education for individuals, couples, families, and groups. Clients may present with a variety of issues including trauma histories, dysregulated behavior and/or emotions, suicidality, and difficult relationship dynamics. Interventions by the Mental Health Specialist may include Collaborative Problem Solving, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and a variety of other modalities. This role provides behavioral health services to other community agencies, coordinates behavioral health services with other community and State resources, and performs related work as required. Incumbents must demonstrate cultural sensitivity and understanding of how culture influences and impacts behavioral health services while incorporating this understanding into trauma-informed care.

The Mental Health Specialist within the Children and Family Services (CFS) department provides behavioral health services to clients aged 2-17 and their families. This department provides support to our clients who may need the most intensive levels of services with a focus on children and youth that are at risk of loss of placement from their homes, schools, or community.

Mid-Columbia Center for Living (MCCFL) is a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) that specializes in providing services that are both trauma-informed and recovery-oriented to persons / consumers with mental illness and addictions. Trauma-informed care includes safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness, cultural responsivity, and empowerment for both clients and staff. MCCFL serves Hood River, Wasco and Sherman Counties and utilizes a consumer-involved, consumer-engaged and consumer-driven model. MCCFL provides a whole-person care approach to adults and children to address both physical and mental health needs. MCCFL offers a variety of programs including a mobile crisis unit, intensive case management, ongoing counseling, community support, supported employment, jail diversion, hospital discharges, hearings and more.


What you'll need:
Any qualifying combination of education, licensure and experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the duties of the position.  This includes:

For Mental Health Specialist – Bilingual Levels I, II, and III:
  • Master's degree in a Mental Health and Addiction Certification Board of Oregon (MHACBO) qualifying field.
  • Bilingual fluency in Spanish/English is required.
  • Incumbent must obtain certification from the Department of Human Services as a Mental Health Investigator and Mental Health Examiner. Incumbent must keep certification current and in good standing.
  • Must possess a valid Oregon or Washington Driver's License, maintain an acceptable driving record and be insurable for client service purposes and for travel between business office for meetings and/or trainings.
  • Must pass all criminal history check requirements as required by ORS 181.536 to 181.537, and in accordance with OAR 407-007-0220 to 407-007-0370
  • For CFS department applicants:
    • Knowledge of parenting skills/techniques and child development required.
    • Experience with Parent Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT), Collaborative Problem Solving, and/or Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is preferred.
    • Experience working with children and youth and with disadvantaged populations is preferred.
Additional Specifications for Level I:
  • Must be certified as a Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP) or register as QMHP-R within 14 days of hire OR
  • Must have an equivalent certification that meets OAR 309-019-0125 at time of hire. This may be a Professional Counseling Associate (PCA), Clinical Social Work Associate (CSWA), and/or Marriage and Family Therapist Associate (MFTA).
Additional Specifications for Level II:
  • Professional licensure in the State of Oregon as an LCSW, LMFT, or LPC.
Additional Specifications for Level III:
  • Licensure as required for Level II AND
  • Licensing Board approval to supervise licensure candidates.
What you’ll do:
  • Provide psychotherapy, counseling, and case management services to individuals, couples, families and groups.  Conduct interviews to accumulate pertinent data; assess presenting issues; develop service plans. Counseling and psychotherapy may include working with assigned clients in developing communication skills, providing assertiveness training, providing behavior modification programs, and monitoring the effects of prescribed medication.
  • Depending on position, may provide substance abuse disorder assessment and provide integrated dual-diagnosis services to assigned clients.
  • Utilize agency clinical software system to make internal referrals, manage work schedule, and prepare current client records of treatment and reports as necessary and required.  Maintain timely and cogent progress notes and service plans to required standards.  Ensure that client records and other documentation are up-to-date and justify the services provided.
  • Serve as investigator and/or examiner in involuntary commitment procedures.
  • Assist and/or provide back-up support with screening, referral, and crisis services as needed and directed by supervisor. May provide after-hours emergency services on a 24-hour, rotating basis, such as telephone consultation, crisis intervention, and pre-hospital screening examinations. 
  • Actively participate in joint case planning and coordination with internal multi-disciplinary team and agency psychiatrists.  Collaborate in case planning and service coordination as needed with other community agencies such as law enforcement, community detention facility, schools, group homes, community medical hospital and other DHS programs.
  • Participate in all team and agency meetings as scheduled.
  • Regular and reliable attendance, professional communication, and confidentiality.
  • Use agency vehicles to travel within the community, provide transportation for clients, and drive between business offices in order to complete essential responsibilities and attend required meetings and/or trainings.

Position-Specific Essential Responsibilities of the Mental Health Specialist – Bilingual in the CFS Department (This position may include any of the above-mentioned general responsibilities plus the following):
  • Triage and implement strategies for crisis and crisis stabilization with the ACCESS team and Family Care Coordinator(s).
  • Collaborate with the Intensive In-Home Behavioral Health Treatment (IIBHT) staff within the CFS department.
  • Make referrals to higher level of care or the Intensive Care Team team for psychiatric assessments/medication management as clinically indicated.
  • Use both English and Spanish as needed to perform all essential responsibilities.

What we’ll do:
We recognize your value and will strive to keep you engaged and appreciated. The selected candidate will receive:
  • Competitive salary, dependent on experience.
  • 95% employer-paid comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees only. Low deductible plans for family coverage through PEBB
  • PERS Retirement Contribution
  • 11 Holidays including 1 floating holiday
  • 15 vacation days a year
  • 12 sick days a year
  • Education reimbursement and loan forgiveness- HRSA!

The hiring process:
  1. Application review
  2. Questionnaire (if additional information is needed)
    • ​​​​​​​Includes passing a Spanish test with a proficient score.
  3. Panel Interview
  4. Possible second-round panel interview
  5. Conditional Offer
    1. DMV Record Review, if the position requires driving
    2. 10 Panel Drug Screen (Although recreational marijuana use is legal in the state of Oregon, you will not be considered for this position if you’re unable to pass a pre-employment drug screening due to federal regulations.)
    3. Criminal History check through Orchards BCU
    4. Reference check
    5. Licensure Primary Source Verification

MCCFL provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. To request accommodation in the recruitment or selection process, please contact human resources at 541-288-4359 or email hr@mccfl.org.

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