Licensed Clinical Social Worker I

Position Summary

MaDorCARE is seeking a compassionate and clinically skilled Licensed Clinical Social Worker I to provide assessment, diagnosis, treatment, care coordination, crisis intervention, and therapeutic support to children, adolescents, adults, and families experiencing mental health, emotional, behavioral, psychosocial, or co-occurring challenges.

The Licensed Clinical Social Worker I is an independently licensed clinician who provides person-centered, trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and recovery-oriented services within the clinician’s education, training, professional competence, and authorized scope of practice.

This position represents the first level within MaDorCARE’s Licensed Clinical Social Worker career structure. The clinician will manage an assigned caseload, provide individual, family, and group services, collaborate with interdisciplinary professionals, maintain compliant clinical documentation, and participate in quality-improvement and program-development activities.

Essential Duties and ResponsibilitiesClinical Assessment and Treatment

• Conduct comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments, mental-status examinations, risk assessments, diagnostic evaluations, and clinical interviews.
• Evaluate clients’ emotional, behavioral, social, environmental, developmental, and functional needs.
• Formulate clinical diagnoses using current diagnostic criteria and accepted professional standards.
• Develop individualized, measurable, person-centered treatment plans in collaboration with clients, families, legally authorized representatives, and treatment-team members.
• Review and update treatment plans based on client progress, clinical needs, level-of-care changes, and applicable authorization requirements.
• Provide evidence-informed individual, family, and group psychotherapy.
• Deliver interventions addressing anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, family conflict, behavioral concerns, adjustment difficulties, serious mental illness, and co-occurring conditions.
• Use therapeutic approaches appropriate to the client’s age, diagnosis, needs, preferences, culture, and treatment goals.
• Monitor treatment effectiveness and modify interventions when clinically indicated.
• Coordinate referrals for psychiatric, psychological, medical, substance-use, developmental, educational, and community-based services.
• Develop discharge, transition, aftercare, and relapse-prevention plans.

Crisis Intervention and Client Safety

• Conduct suicide, self-harm, violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation, and other clinical risk assessments.
• Develop safety plans with clients, families, and other authorized individuals.
• Provide crisis intervention, stabilization, de-escalation, and appropriate referrals during behavioral health emergencies.
• Determine when a client requires a higher level of care or emergency evaluation.
• Follow MaDorCARE procedures for reporting and responding to suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, abuse, neglect, exploitation, and other safety concerns.
• Consult with clinical leadership and emergency professionals when immediate safety risks are identified.
• Complete incident reports and crisis documentation accurately and within required timeframes.

Care Coordination and Advocacy

• Collaborate with physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, counselors, case managers, schools, hospitals, child-welfare agencies, probation departments, community organizations, and other authorized providers.
• Participate in multidisciplinary treatment-team meetings, case conferences, discharge-planning meetings, and care-coordination activities.
• Assist clients and families in accessing healthcare, housing, education, employment, financial, transportation, legal, and community-support resources.
• Advocate for clients’ needs while supporting informed choice, self-determination, dignity, recovery, and independence.
• Obtain appropriate authorizations and releases before coordinating protected client information.
• Maintain continuity of care during hospitalization, placement changes, provider transitions, or discharge.

Documentation and Compliance

• Complete assessments, progress notes, treatment plans, treatment-plan reviews, discharge summaries, incident reports, and other clinical records accurately and promptly.
• Document the clinical service provided, interventions used, client response, progress toward goals, risk status, and plans for continued treatment.
• Ensure that documentation supports medical necessity, service authorization, billing, and continuity of care.
• Maintain complete, accurate, and organized electronic health records.
• Follow MaDorCARE policies, professional ethical standards, payer requirements, and applicable federal and Texas regulations.
• Protect client privacy and confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA and other applicable requirements.
• Participate in internal audits, utilization reviews, documentation reviews, and corrective-action activities.
• Correct documentation deficiencies within established deadlines.
• Maintain all required licenses, credentials, training, continuing education, and professional certifications.

Professional Collaboration and Development

• Participate in clinical consultations, staff meetings, case reviews, training, and professional-development activities.
• Seek consultation when cases exceed the clinician’s experience, competence, or authorized scope.
• Maintain professional boundaries and ethical relationships with clients, families, colleagues, and community partners.
• Contribute to a respectful, collaborative, and client-centered workplace.
• Support MaDorCARE’s quality-improvement, client-satisfaction, and program-development initiatives.
• Assist with the development of clinical resources, treatment protocols, educational materials, and group curricula.
• Provide clinical guidance to nonlicensed staff when assigned and permitted.
• Report ethical, safety, compliance, or quality concerns promptly.
• Perform other clinically appropriate duties consistent with the position’s qualifications and scope of practice.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s or doctoral degree in social work from a qualifying accredited social-work program.
• Current and unrestricted Texas Licensed Clinical Social Worker license.
• License must be active and in good standing at the time of employment and throughout the employee’s tenure with maDorCARE.
• Knowledge of clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, psychotherapy, crisis intervention, and care coordination.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed, person-centered, recovery-oriented, and culturally responsive practices.
• Ability to recognize and respond appropriately to clinical and safety risks.
• Strong verbal, written, interpersonal, clinical-reasoning, and documentation skills.
• Ability to manage an assigned caseload and complete documentation within required deadlines.
• Ability to use electronic health records, telehealth systems, email, and standard office software.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with an interdisciplinary team.
• Ability to maintain client confidentiality and professional boundaries.
• Successful completion of all required criminal-history, registry, credentialing, and employment-background checks.

Preferred Qualifications

• One or more years of post-licensure clinical social-work experience.
• Experience providing therapy to children, adolescents, adults, couples, or families.
• Experience working with serious mental illness, severe emotional disturbance, trauma, substance-use disorders, or co-occurring conditions.
• Experience in community mental health, outpatient behavioral health, crisis services, healthcare, schools, residential programs, or social-service settings.
• Experience providing Medicaid-funded or managed-care behavioral health services.
• Experience completing diagnostic assessments and medical-necessity documentation.
• Training in one or more evidence-informed approaches, including:
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy
• Motivational Interviewing
• Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Family-systems interventions
• Crisis de-escalation and suicide prevention
• Bilingual or multilingual communication skills.
• Texas-approved clinical supervisor status, where applicable and desired by MaDorCARE.

Core Competencies

The successful candidate must demonstrate competency in:

• Biopsychosocial assessment
• Clinical diagnosis
• Mental-status examination
• Risk and safety assessment
• Treatment planning
• Individual, family, and group therapy
• Crisis intervention and de-escalation
• Trauma-informed care
• Cultural responsiveness
• Care coordination and advocacy
• Clinical documentation
• Medical-necessity determination
• Ethical decision-making
• Professional boundaries
• Confidentiality and privacy
• Caseload and time management
• Interdisciplinary collaboration
• Client engagement and therapeutic rapport

Caseload and Productivity Expectations

The Licensed Clinical Social Worker I is expected to:

• Maintain an assigned caseload based on program needs and client acuity.
• Meet established clinical-service and productivity expectations without compromising service quality or client safety.
• Complete required documentation within maDorCARE’s established timeframes.
• Maintain consistent client engagement and follow up on missed or canceled appointments.
• Monitor service authorizations and communicate anticipated service gaps promptly.
• Participate in caseload reviews and address identified barriers to treatment.
• Maintain professional attendance, dependability, and availability.

Specific caseload and productivity expectations will be communicated by program leadership and may vary according to service setting, client population, payer requirements, and clinical acuity.

Scheduling and Transportation Requirements

• Ability to work the schedule established for the assigned program.
• Some evening, weekend, holiday, or on-call availability may be required based on program needs.
• Ability to provide services in office, community, home, school, or approved telehealth settings.
• Valid driver’s license and acceptable driving record when community travel is required.
• Reliable transportation and current automobile insurance when using a personal vehicle for work-related travel.
• Ability to travel throughout the assigned service area.

Physical and Environmental Requirements

The employee must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

The position may require:

• Prolonged sitting and computer use.
• Standing, walking, bending, and carrying clinical materials.
• Driving between service locations.
• Entering client homes, schools, healthcare facilities, and community environments.
• Responding calmly and professionally during emotionally intense or crisis situations.
• Operating in environments with varying noise levels, accessibility conditions, and safety considerations.

Clinical Authority and Scope of Practice

The Licensed Clinical Social Worker I must practice within the limits of the clinician’s license, education, training, experience, demonstrated competence, professional ethics, MaDorCARE policies, and applicable law.

The clinician must:

• Refer clients to other professionals when services exceed the clinician’s competence or scope.
• Obtain consultation regarding complex, high-risk, or unfamiliar clinical situations.
• Avoid dual relationships, conflicts of interest, exploitation, and other boundary violations.
• Maintain accurate professional credentials and disclose any restriction, investigation, disciplinary action, or change in licensure status immediately.
• Refrain from providing services while impaired or otherwise unable to practice safely.

Performance Evaluation

Performance will be evaluated based on:

• Quality and appropriateness of clinical services
• Client safety and risk-management practices
• Client engagement and progress toward treatment goals
• Accuracy and timeliness of clinical documentation
• Compliance with treatment plans and service authorizations
• Caseload and productivity performance
• Ethical and professional conduct
• Clinical judgment and decision-making
• Collaboration with clients, families, and treatment-team members
• Attendance, dependability, and communication
• Participation in training and professional development
• Compliance with MaDorCARE policies and regulatory requirements
• Contribution to quality-improvement and client-satisfaction goals

Equal Employment Opportunity

MaDorCARE is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, organizational needs, and applicable law. MaDorCARE provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities.

Work Location: In person