Substance Abuse Clinician

Overview Join our team as a Substance Abuse Clinician Residential Behavioral Health Services, where your clinical expertise and leadership will directly impact the lives of individuals seeking recovery, stability, and long-term transformation. This role is essential in supporting our 24-hour residential behavioral health and sober living programs by ensuring proper clinical assessments, prior authorizations, admissions coordination, treatment planning, and level-of-care placement. We are open to experienced Substance Abuse Clinicians in Training who have strong hands-on experience in residential behavioral health, addiction treatment, and substance abuse services. This is not an entry-level role. Even if the candidate is still under supervision or working toward full licensure, they must already understand ASAM criteria, levels of care 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3, prior authorizations, admissions coordination, and residential program operations. The ideal candidate must be capable of writing strong clinical justifications, supporting census growth by helping fill vacant beds, maintaining compliance, and working closely with leadership to ensure continuity of care across the program. This role requires someone who can step in confidently and contribute from day one. Pay Range $20.00 - $25.00 per hour based on experience, qualifications, and licensure status. Schedule Full-time position supporting a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week residential behavioral health program.

Standard shifts may include:

6:00 AM - 2:00 PM 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM Flexibility is required for admissions support, urgent prior authorizations, and clinical oversight as needed. Responsibilities Conduct comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments, substance abuse evaluations, and clinical screenings to determine treatment needs and appropriate residential placement. Apply ASAM criteria to determine and support levels of care including 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 residential treatment services. Complete prior authorizations, utilization reviews, clinical justifications, and payer documentation required for admissions and continued stay approvals. Develop individualized treatment plans using evidence-based approaches including behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, relapse prevention, and recovery support planning. Facilitate individual counseling, group sessions, and psycho educational services focused on addiction recovery, mental health stabilization, and behavioral health support. Coordinate admissions, discharges, referrals, and transitions of care while supporting efforts to maintain and fill vacant residential beds. Collaborate with case managers, providers, hospitals, probation officers, referral sources, and community partners to ensure continuity of care and successful patient outcomes. Maintain accurate clinical documentation, progress notes, treatment updates, and discharge planning while adhering to Medicaid, HIPAA, and compliance standards. Assist leadership with audits, compliance reviews, census reporting, and program improvement initiatives across residential services. Provide crisis intervention, behavior management, and immediate clinical support when residents experience relapse risk, mental health episodes, or emergency situations. Support residential staff and leadership with clinical guidance related to patient care planning, resident behaviors, and program stability. Qualifications Bachelor's or Master's degree in social work, counseling, psychology, behavioral health, or a related field required. Clinical licensure, provisional licensure, or active supervision toward licensure is preferred based on state requirements. We welcome Substance Abuse Clinicians in Training with strong relevant experience in addiction treatment and residential behavioral health settings. Minimum of 2-3 years of direct experience in substance abuse treatment, addiction counseling, residential behavioral health, sober living, or related behavioral health services is strongly preferred. Strong working knowledge of ASAM criteria and levels of care 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 is required. Must have experience completing prior authorizations, utilization reviews, admissions documentation, and payer coordination for behavioral health services. Experience working with Medicaid, managed care organizations, and behavioral health compliance standards is strongly preferred. Candidates without prior ASAM experience, prior authorization experience, or residential substance abuse experience will not be considered. Strong clinical assessment skills, crisis intervention abilities, and treatment planning experience in substance abuse recovery settings are required. Excellent communication, documentation, leadership, and problem-solving skills with the ability to work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams. Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and maintain professionalism in a fast-paced residential environment. This is a leadership-support role requiring someone who brings both experience and strong clinical judgment. Training status is acceptable—lack of experience is not. Join us in transforming lives through recovery-focused care, strong clinical leadership, and compassionate service. At Vital Community Care, we believe healing happens through structure, support, and the right people leading the way.

Job Types:

Full-time, Contract Pay:

$19.00 - $22.00 per hour

Work Location:

In person