JOB
This position has a residency waiver and will be accepting applications from residents and non-residents of Colorado. This announcement is open to potential candidates who are legal residents of the United States. All legal residents of the United States are eligible to apply and compete. If appointed to a position, applicants from outside of Colorado will be required to relocate to Colorado prior to their start date, at their own expense.
Please note: This posting will be used to fill multiple positions
Most State of Colorado employees are eligible for a great benefit package! Please see the Supplemental Information section below for details!
Located within the Colorado Department of Human Services, the Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health (OCFMH) is responsible for policy development, service provision and coordination, program monitoring and evaluation, and administrative oversight of the public behavioral health system. OCFMH funds, supports, and monitors numerous mental health and substance abuse community programs and providers. OCFMH also operates the Colorado Mental Health Hospitals at Fort Logan and Pueblo and the Forensic Services
Division.
OCFMH executes the States’ federal responsibilities as the State Mental Health Authority and State Substance Abuse Authority for the purposes of administering federal mental health and substance abuse block grant funds.
The Forensic Services Division is responsible for six departments including Forensic Community Based Services (FCBS), Jail Based Evaluation and Restoration (JBR), Outpatient Restoration (OPR), the Forensic Support Team (FST), Forensic Community Based Services (FCBS), and the Court Services Department. The Court Services Department responds to court-ordered referrals for the evaluation of competency, restoration, sanity, and mental condition. Court Services has offices located in both Denver and Pueblo on the Mental Health Hospital campuses. Court Services manages and monitors the completion and deadlines for orders issued by the courts and assigns the evaluations to be performed by psychologists and psychiatrists in accordance with Colorado Revised Statute C.R.S 16-8.5. The work unit is responsible for compliance with the Barnes v. DLC Consent Decree.
Our teams work within various settings including community agencies, jails, courts, and hospitals. The locations can include locked units and secure facilities and our clients may at times be unpredictable due to their mental health needs. Our team is required to make critical decisions in dynamic and fast-paced environments in order to ensure a high level of accountability for patient care. Our staff are required to maintain updated skills, knowledge, abilities, and competencies necessary to the position through continuing education, clinical supervision, literature review, and discipline and team development. This position may be required to travel throughout Colorado to meet the needs of the department.
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EXAMPLE OF DUTIES
The current schedule will be a hybrid work arrangement (remote work and report on-site 2 days per week) but may change without prior notification based on business demands.
The candidate selected for this position will have the option of being located at either The Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Fort Logan or Pueblo.
About this Position:
This position exists to perform and ensure the quality and timely completion of court-ordered evaluations and restoration reports required by Colorado courts. The evaluator is authorized to represent the Department in communication with Judges and Courts directly. A forensic evaluator must be a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist by Colorado Statute. This position performs competency evaluations, restoration to legal competency evaluations, and provides a written report containing their opinion to the courts and both attorneys assigned to a defendant's case.
Job Duties:
Completes the equivalent of 12 court-ordered evaluations for competency or restoration of competency per month
Completes a written report detailing their opinion regarding competency, and if their opinion is incompetent an explanation of barriers to competency, clearly detailed in their report. Written reports also include information and opinions specified in C.R.S 19-2.5.
May be subpoenaed to testify to provide the court with information regarding their opinion.
Evaluations may occur in various settings including hospitals, jails, or in the community and this position responds to the location specified in the court order.
Requests collateral information as needed to inform their opinion and seeks consultation from their supervisor or colleagues on difficult, complex, or ambiguous cases.
Develop and deliver to courts, via expert testimony, a professional opinion regarding the legal question of competency and restoration.
Details information utilized to inform their opinion, remain objective and neutral provide testimony regarding opinion to a legal question in the court order, and explain the basis for any clinical (i.e. diagnosis, prognosis) and forensic opinions.
Able to testify regarding the assessment process, including instruments utilized during evaluation and collateral sources requested to inform opinion.
Attends annual and ongoing competency training as mandated by statute and Forensic Services to ensure evaluators stay informed of current trends and research in the field of forensic psychology.
Evaluators present and provide feedback to peers during case presentations for continued growth and development, and will have their work periodically reviewed for quality assurance.
May be called upon to perform tasks or undertake special assignments or projects deemed necessary by OCFMH, but not specifically referenced in the above duties.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
About Us & Benefits
If your goal is to build a career that makes a difference, join the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). Our professionals strive to design and deliver high quality human and health services that improve the safety, independence, and well-being of the people of Colorado. Each of us is committed to contributing to a safe and accessible CDHS. In addition to a great location and rewarding and meaningful work, we offer:
Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan plus 401(k) and 457 plans
Medical and dental health plans
Employer supplemented Health Savings Account
Paid life insurance
Short- and long-term disability coverage
11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave
State of Colorado Employee BenefitHub Resource Center
Employee Wellness program
Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training and more
Remote work arrangements for eligible positions
- Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
Our Values
We believe in a people-first approach: We prioritize the needs, well-being, and dignity of the individuals, families and communities we serve. We commit to respect, fairness and access in every decision, policy and interaction. We engage client voices and experiences in the development and implementation of the services we provide.
Balance creates quality of life: We want our team to be resilient through a supportive workplace that values flexibility, health and wellness, and employee engagement.
We hold ourselves accountable: We take responsibility through our actions, programs, and results for the state of health and human services in Colorado.
Transparency matters: We are open and honest with employees, our partners, the Coloradans we serve, and the public.
We are ethical: We abide by what is best for those we serve by doing what is right, not what is easy.
Collaboration helps us rise together: We work together with all partners, employees, and clients to achieve the best outcomes for Coloradans.
ADA Accommodations
CDHS is committed to a Colorado for ALL qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment.
This includes completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or performing essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to
[email protected].
EEO Statement
The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer
We are committed to increasing a “Colorado for ALL" of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services. Therefore, we encourage responses from people of all backgrounds and abilities. The State of Colorado believes that a “Colorado for ALL” drives our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them. Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.
Additional Support For Your Application
Toll Free Applicant Technical Support
If you experience technical difficulty with the NEOGOV system (e.g. uploading or attaching documents to your online application) call NEOGOV technical support at 855-524-5627 Mon-Fri between 6 am and 6 pm (Pacific Time). Helpful hints: if you are having difficulty uploading or attaching documents to your application 1) ensure your documents are PDF or Microsoft Word files and 2) close the document before you attempt to upload (attach) it.
Toll Free Applicant Technical Support