Case Manager

At Bethesda House, our goal is to end the cycle of poverty and homelessness - not just manage the symptoms.

Our teams work to address each individual on a holistic level so they feel heard, respected, and safe in our care.

We offer hands-on help to address chronic homelessness, mental health, substance abuse, disability, and systematic poverty by offering innovative solutions and proactive services to the most vulnerable in Schenectady County.

The Case Manager is responsible for three case management programs: Custodial Accounts / Representative Payee Program, the Homeless Housing and Eviction Prevention (HHEP), and the Rental Supplement Program (RSP).

Custodial Accounts/Rep Payee: Manage the program participant’s benefits, ensuring food, shelter, clothing, and medical bills are paid while educating and assisting the client in financial management, banking, and budgeting, moving them towards financial independence.
Case Management: Provide triage and crisis case management to single adults needing housing or eviction prevention.
RSP: Responsibilities include all components of the RSP subsidy program, including intake/assessment, crisis intervention, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing, outreach and referral, and information services. This case manager manages the subsidy tracking grid, which shows the available funds' running balance.

Primary Responsibilities:
Manage SSI/SSD benefits for Custodial Accounts program participants

• Meet with program participants monthly and/or in crisis situations
• Budget management
• Food security
• Shelter & housing
• Medical, utilities, and critical bills are paid
• HMIS data entry
• Scheduled program check distribution
• Increase community client participation to 100 clients and maintain the census.
• Work with new clients to complete paperwork, which identifies Bethesda House as the rep payee.
• Attend SSA meeting to complete paperwork and approval.

Shelter & Housing Case Management (HHEP)

• Facilitate smooth transition from crisis assistance/initial intake and assessment to long-term Case Management services within the agency and/or other agencies.
• Utilize rental subsidy programs as appropriate.
• Develop positive, constructive relationships with area landlords to foster placement of clients into permanent affordable housing as quickly as possible.

Rental Supplement Program (RSP)

• Enters clients tracking data in an excel spreadsheet to ensure data tracking: client name, subsidy funding, months of funding, total funding.
• Manage the subsidy tracking grid:
  • Grid shows allocation to homeless housing and housing eviction,
  • Every approval must be entered on the grid before submitting paperwork to finance,
  • Meet with the Finance office on the last business day of each month to reconcile the running balance and to ensure case management and finance have the same balance.
  • Review Excel worksheet with Supervisor each month.
• Conducts intake/assessments and assists in completing the RSP application.
• Ensure all paperwork is in hand before the application is submitted to DSS for approval
• Submit all required paperwork to the Finance Office for invoicing
• Contact program participants throughout the funding year to see if any significant changes were made to their economic situation, household composition, or other factors that would affect their ongoing subsidy.
• Tracking funding allotment for each RSP category: Housing and Eviction Prevention
• Perform community apartment/room inspections.

General

• Lead Case Manager for Unite Us case management and housing referrals.
• Process in-house referrals to Agency services.
• Provide face-to-face and telephone client counseling.
• Maintain confidentiality; maintain appropriate boundaries; utilize required reporting formats (including HMIS) and turn in reports as required.
• Attend meetings as assigned and represent the agency in various community meetings.
• Maintain interactions/relationships with guests within the confines of appropriate professional boundaries and follow confidentiality policies.
• Adhere to the agency’s policies and procedures as well as the personnel manual.
• All other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in human services or related field with five years of full-time, paid experience or combination of education and experience.
• Five years of experience providing services to the homeless or related human services.
• Solid organizational skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Must be a self-starter and able to successfully work independently.
• Computer literacy needed.
• Knowledge of agencies, programs, and services in the community.
• Knowledge of eligibility criteria and application processes for mainstream/entitlement programs helpful.
• Valid NYS driver’s license and ability to be covered by the Agency’s insurance
• NYS driver’s license for one + years
• Clean and approved Motor Vehicle Report - no DWI, DWAI, within the last three years
• Pass the Agency’s road test
• Must successfully complete a background investigation.

Bethesda House is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In all employment and hiring decisions, the Agency complies with applicable anti-discrimination laws. This policy applies to all employment practices, including hiring, advertising, recruitment, promotion, demotion/transfer, layoff/termination of employment, rates of pay or other forms of compensation, and selection for training and development.