Come work as a Youth Care Worker at Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)!

Vancouver Coastal Health is looking for a Youth Care Worker to join the Richmond Mental Health and Substance Use Step Up / Step Down team in Richmond, BC. Apply today to join our team!

About the Step-Up/Step-Down (SUSD) Program:

A Step-Up/Step-Down (SUSD) team is a mobile, outreach program that acts as a bridge between acute and community services and optimizes treatment access for children and youth under 19. Step up/Step down services are designed for children and youth with serious mental health and/or substance use conditions who require intensive services.

The term “step up” refers to providing treatment options at a higher intensity than regular community services as an alternative to hospitalization. The term “step down” refers to providing intensive treatment for children and youth transitioning out of hospital care before returning to community services. Our goal is to help young people receive support at home whenever safe and practical, and support transitions from hospital to home/community.

As a Youth Care Worker with Vancouver Coastal Health you will:

• Provide treatment services to youth with serious mental health and substance use issues.
• Collaborate with the interdisciplinary team to assist in managing client behavior and contributes to the development of behavioral care plans.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary team to develop, implement, maintain and adjust treatment plans and assist clients to develop and achieve the goals outlined within their individualized treatment plan.
• Provide care within the interdisciplinary model, through trauma informed practice, harm reduction and a recovery oriented care approach.
• Co-facilitate psycho-educational groups and provide education according to theoretical models.
• Participate in the team care planning of youth mental health, substance use and concurrent disorders prevention / early intervention strategies.
• Participate in case conferences / meetings with members of the interdisciplinary team for identification and management of youth mental health and substance use issues.

Education & Experience

• Baccalaureate Degree in Child and Youth Care or a Baccalaureate Degree in an equivalent appropriate health related discipline.
• Two (2) years recent related experience working with youth experiencing significant mental health, substance use and/or concurrent disorder challenges in a multidisciplinary health care setting.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Demonstrated knowledge of the principles of recovery in mental health and substance use.
• Demonstrated knowledge of behavioural, social emotional and mental health/psychiatric problems in youth.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in Trauma Informed Practice, Harm Reduction and Recovery Oriented Care.
• Demonstrated knowledge of mental health/substance use diagnosis and treatment.
• Demonstrated ability to recognize signs and indicators of clients at risk of harm to self or others and knowledge of appropriate standards / processes as it relates to the rights and obligations of clients and staff.
• Demonstrated knowledge of other facilities and community resources.
• Demonstrated knowledge of other health care disciplines and their role in client care.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the normal growth and development of children/youth.
• Demonstrated ability to work with youth with behavioural, social, emotional and mental health/substance use issues.
• Demonstrated ability to apply knowledge of theory and practice to a care coordination process.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with youth and their families, educational personnel, resource workers, service providers, colleagues, physician, and other health care staff, both one-on-one and in groups.
• Demonstrated listening and information seeking skills that promotes communication and lead to a co-operative approach to problem solving within a multidisciplinary setting.
• Demonstrated ability to establish workload priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively as a member of a multidisciplinary team.
• Demonstrated ability to provide culturally safe care to diverse populations.
• Demonstrated ability to adjust to new or unexpected events.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a high volume/high stress environment with strong conflict resolution and problem solving skills.
• Ability to operate related equipment.
• Physical ability to perform the duties of the position.
• Basic computer literacy to operate computerized client care information system and word processing, spreadsheet, Internet and e-mail software.

The hours of work including days off and work area may be subject to change consistent with operational requirements and the provision of the Collective Agreement and applicable statutes. Successful applicants may be required to complete a Criminal Records Review Check.

As per Ministry of Health policy, all health care workers working in publicly-funded health care facilities are required to report their past receipt of certain vaccines or history of certain infections. Collecting these records will allow for offering of any missing vaccines, and for appropriate actions to be taken in the event of any future exposure to a communicable disease or during outbreaks. For all new hires and appointments to Vancouver Coastal Health, you will be asked to provide this information as part of the onboarding process.

WHY JOIN VANCOUVER COASTAL HEALTH?

VCH is a world class innovator in medical care, research and teaching, delivering service to more than one million BC residents. At VCH, we embrace thinking boldly, taking smart risks, and "going first" when we believe it will lead to the best possible outcomes for patients and their families. We invite you to join us in creating healthy lives in healthy communities by showcasing our passion for care, connection to the communities we serve and our culture of teamwork that makes VCH a great place to work.

• Comprehensive health benefits package, including MSP, extended health and dental and municipal pension plan
• Grow your career with employer-paid training and leadership development opportunities
• Wellness supports, including counselling, critical incident and innovative wellness services are available to employees and their immediate families
• Award-winning recognition programs to honour staff, medical staff and volunteers

At Vancouver Coastal Health, our vision of healthy lives in healthy communities inspires us and our values and pillars guide us. We support equitable practices, diverse teams and inclusive environments, which are vital to creating welcoming spaces where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and feel supported. We encourage applications from equity-deserving communities, including Indigenous Peoples and members of racialized groups, people with disabilities and people of all gender identities and expressions and sexual orientation.

Vancouver Coastal Health is proud to be recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers in 2024.

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for this posting.


***Employees of VCH must apply online via the Internal Career Portal on CareerHub, you are currently viewing the External Career Portal. Refer to the https://my.vch.ca/working-here/job-postings site for instructions on how to view internal job postings and how to apply as an employee. Current VCH employees who apply to this posting using this external site will be considered as an external candidate. Seniority will not apply.***

Thank you for your interest in Vancouver Coastal Health.