Job Description
Crisis Call Specialist (Washington State Residents Only)
Fully Remote • Washington State, WA • 988 Crisis Services
Job Type
Part-time
Type: Part-Time openings for Day Shift
Pay rate: $17.27 hour +$2.00 per hour graveyard differential
Crisis Call Specialist of 988 Crisis Services
Join the Crisis Connections team and be a vital part of our mission to connect people in physical, emotional, and financial crisis to helpful resources. Our passion is caring, listening, and empowering people to make positive life choices. Crisis Connections serves all people (in physical, emotional, and financial crisis) with an emphasis on servicing King County residents.
If you want to be part of our mission and have a passion for helping others, we invite you to apply for our Crisis Call Specialist position.
The 988 Crisis Call Specialist is responsible for providing high quality comprehensive services to callers on the 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
This is what you’ll be doing:
988 NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE PHONE SUPPORT
- Knowledgeable of organization and NSPL protocols and procedures.
- Responds with empathy in a nonjudgmental and objective manner to 988 callers in acute distress.
- Uses effective communication skills to assist in behavioral health and suicide risk assessment and de-escalation of 988 callers.
- Assists 988 callers with risk reduction and safety planning.
- Sets appropriate limits with difficult 988 callers.
- Exhibits patience and responds to difficult 988 callers with sensitivity.
- Smoothly integrates supervisory direction into 988 calls.
- Alerts supervisor immediately to call content involving possible danger to the identified client or to other people. (Including suicide, homicide, child/elderly abuse, and other violence threats or ideation.)
- Alerts supervisor when identified client presents indications of possible mental disorder.
- Make every effort to resolve cases in the least restrictive environment and without law enforcement involvement whenever possible.
- Triage 988 callers to appropriate response system partners for higher level of intervention as needed.
- Adheres to confidentiality policy.
We want to hear from you if you have these qualifications and skills:
- Bachelor’s Degree or substantial experience in related human services, OR experience as a volunteer phone worker at Crisis Connections.
- Knowledge of King County Public Mental Health System
- Excellent communication and problem-solving skills, including ability to respond to callers with patience, objectivity and nonjudgmental attitude.
- Demonstrated ability to problem solve.
- Evidence of ability to work effectively with a multi-disciplinary team of clinical staff and paraprofessionals
- Evidence of ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment
- Excellent verbal, written, and technical skills including the ability to work in multiple software platforms concurrently
Thriving employees means a thriving mission:
We work hard to embrace diversity and inclusion. We encourage everyone at Crisis Connections to bring their authentic selves to work every day. We are dedicated to supporting our employees by offering excellent benefits and career progression opportunities.
- 100% Employer paid Medical, Dental and Vision Coverage
- Employee Referral Bonus
- Generous Paid Time Off & 9 Paid Holidays
- Discount on ORCA transit pass
- Free Parking
Voluntary Benefits
- Short-term and long-term disability
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
- Retirement Plan
Crisis Connections is an equal opportunity employer. We value having employees whose skills, experience and background reflect the diverse populations we serve. We are dedicated to building a diverse workplace, where employees feel a sense of belonging and are valued for their contributions and the unique perspectives they bring.
Requirements
JOB COMPETENCIES
988 NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE PHONE SUPPORT
- Knowledgeable of organization and NSPL protocols and procedures.
- Responds with empathy in a nonjudgmental and objective manner to 988 callers in acute distress.
- Uses effective communication skills to assist in behavioral health and suicide risk assessment and de-escalation of 988 callers.
- Assists 988 callers with risk reduction and safety planning.
- Sets appropriate limits with difficult 988 callers.
- Exhibits patience and responds to difficult 988 callers with sensitivity.
- Smoothly integrates supervisory direction into 988 calls.
- Alerts supervisor immediately to call content involving possible danger to the identified client or to other people. (Including suicide, homicide, child/elderly abuse, and other violence threats or ideation.)
- Alerts supervisor when identified client presents indications of possible mental disorder.
- Make every effort to resolve cases in the least restrictive environment and without law enforcement involvement whenever possible.
- Triage 988 callers to appropriate response system partners for higher level of intervention as needed.
- Adheres to confidentiality policy.
SERVICE DELIVERY
- Skillfully uses technology and online directories to access resources.
- Assists callers, when necessary, providing, contacting and utilizing resources; uses language line effectively to communicate with callers; provides advocacy when appropriate
- Responsible for maintaining call volume response in accordance with 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline contractual metrics.
988 CALL DOCUMENTATION
- Performs thorough and accurate collection of 988 caller/client demographic information.
- Appropriately codes callers’ problems, summation of call, and disposition, including referral information, in the electronic health record.
- Properly uses all other forms.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Participates in program and organization staff meetings.
- Attends trainings and organization in-services as required by National Suicide Prevention Lifeline/Vibrant recommendations.
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
- 988/ National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Program Standards
- Call Abandonment rate 5% or less.
- Call Answer Rate within 30 seconds.
- All staff working within the 988 Service Line share the responsibility to meet these contract metrics.
- Crisis Call Specialists will maintain an available rate >85% during scheduled shift.
QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF WORK HABITS
- Arrives at work on time and maintains regular attendance; working assigned shifts and other shifts when needed.
- Follows personnel policies and procedures.
- Written and verbal communication is clear, concise, accurate and thorough.
- Demonstrates genuine relationships by cooperating with others, handling disagreements directly with the person(s) concerned in a truthful and open manner and accepting constructive feedback. Shows respect to co-workers, volunteers and customers/clients.
- Makes appropriate use of supervisor.
- Promotes a healthy work environment by demonstrating collaborative decision-making and team-building behaviors; provides peer support and motivates staff and volunteers to outstanding performance.
- Suggests solutions to identified problems.
- All other duties as assigned.
Salary Description
- $17.62/hour, Graveyard $2.00 additional/hr