Program Title
Substance Abuse Counselor
About
Description
Substance Abuse Counselor
Executive Summary
The San Joaquin Behavioral Health Workforce Partnership was developed by Behavioral Health Services in collaboration with HealthForce Partners to make funding available to the county’s behavioral health workforce that work at a network adequacy-facing organization working with the MEDI-CAL population. Through this program, the partnership seeks to address the deficit of direct service providing, Substance Abuse Counselors serving within San Joaquin County by offering retention bonuses for an agreed upon service obligation.
Individuals will be awarded $2,500 with a two year service obligation to BHS.
Bonuses for full time employees will be awarded as follows:
$1,500 at the end of the first year of service
$1,000 at the end of the second year of service or 12/31/2026, which ever comes first.
Eligibility Requirements
● Work Hours & Location – must be an employee, in satisfactory status, in a network adequacy-facing position at BHS. Must be a direct service provider.
Application to Program
Submit Application
Personal Statement
Applicant Employment Verification
Selection Process
Once the application period has closed, applications will be ranked and awarded by an independent committee based on areas of preference listed below.
● Seniority (Based on hire date)
Award Requirements
In addition to agreeing to the length of the service obligation, applicants must agree to bi-annual employment verifications throughout the length of their service obligation.
It will be the general policy of the program to defer to the allowable job site policies in relation to interruption in service and duties at the job site. Change of job site to another NACT-qualified organization including BHS is allowed and will still meet the terms of the service obligation.
Communication Requirements
Awardees must contact HealthForce Partners within these specified timeframes for the following reasons:
a. Immediately:
● If you are no longer employed by the approved job site.
b. 30 calendar days if you:
● Change to your name, mailing address, phone number, e-mail address or lending institution.
● Will be changing your position within your organization but remain within the bounds of the agreement
● Begin a leave of absence for medical or personal reasons.
c. 60 calendar days if you:
● Begin maternity/paternity/adoption leave.
● Are requesting to switch from full-time to half-time status.
Leaving an Approved Job Site/Provider Role Prior to Completion of Service
HealthForce Partners expect that awardees will fulfill their obligation at an approved job site in their specified role identified in their initial application. If an awardee feels they can no longer continue working at the approved job site or in their hard-to-fill/retain role, the awardee should discuss the situation and/or concerns with their approved job site management and must contact HFP via phone or email.
If the awardee leaves his/her approved job site without prior communication with and approval from HFP, awardee may be placed in default as of the date he/she stopped providing client care at the approved job site and become liable for any monetary damages specified in the awardee’s HFP contract. Awardees who are terminated for cause by job site will be placed in default and will no longer be in compliance with the obligations of their service period requirements.
Transfer Request to another Approved Job Site/Position
Because the Program is a retention tool, transfers from one job site or provider role into another job site or provider must be approved by HFP and could break the requirements of the service obligation. If an awardee requests a job site transfer due to extenuating circumstances, the awardee must contact both their job site management and HFP. This communication is not a guarantee of approval of the job transfer. Each potential transfer will be considered individually, and the approval of one transfer does not guarantee the approval of any additional transfer.
Unemployment During Service Obligation
Awardees who voluntarily resigned from their sites without prior communications and approval from HFP, were terminated for cause, or are deemed ineligible for site assistance will be in violation of the service obligation and will no longer be eligible for participation in this program. This cancel of service
obligation may have a future effect on the applicant’s eligibility for future funding opportunities.
Breach Policy
SJCMHWP reserves the right to recover monies for the awardee’s failure to perform the obligations set forth in the program agreement.
Cancellation of Loan Repayment Obligation
The program obligation will be canceled in its entirety in the event of an awardee death. No liability will be transferred to the awardee’s heirs.
