Before You Apply: Understanding the Role
Working in a short-term residential shelter care facility can be deeply meaningful—but it is also demanding. Youth entering the Welcome Home program may be experiencing significant stress, trauma, placement disruption, or emotional crisis.
Staff are responsible for maintaining a calm, structured, and supportive environment while working with youth who may at times express strong emotions, challenge limits, or struggle with regulation.
Successful Lead Counselors are individuals who can remain steady and patient during difficult moments, avoid power struggles, support their team, and maintain professionalism even when situations become stressful.
This work requires emotional resilience, strong teamwork, and a genuine commitment to supporting youth through challenging circumstances. If you are someone who believes in consistent support and expectations, relationships heal over punishment, values teamwork, and finds purpose in helping young people stabilize and move forward, this role can be extremely rewarding.
FosterHope Sacramento is opening our second Welcome Home, a healing-centered residential program for system-impacted youth!
Lead Mental Health Counselor
Welcome Home – Therapeutic Short-Term Residential Facility (TSCF)
FosterHope Sacramento
FosterHope Sacramento is seeking a mission-driven Lead Mental Health Counselor to provide clinical and operational leadership within our 24/7 therapeutic residential program serving system-impacted youth.
This role sets the tone of the therapeutic milieu — ensuring trauma-informed, restorative, and harm-reduction–aligned care in a structured, healing-centered environment. The Lead Mental Health Counselor supervises staff, supports shift operations, ensures regulatory compliance, and maintains high-quality service delivery consistent with Community Care Licensing and Medi-Cal standards.
This position is ideal for a leader who remains calm under pressure, can coach staff in real time, and believes that accountability and compassion can coexist.
What You Will Do
- Provide clinical and operational leadership during assigned shifts
- Supervise, coach, and support Mental Health Counselors
- Ensure youth safety, structure, and therapeutic engagement
- Model restorative, trauma-informed, and harm-reduction practices
- Lead shift briefings and debriefings
- Ensure accurate and timely documentation in compliance with Medi-Cal and licensing requirements
- Monitor staffing ratios and respond to crisis situations appropriately
- Participate in on-call rotation to support 24/7 program continuity
- Collaborate with county partners and multidisciplinary teams
Leads are expected to be actively present on the floor with youth and staff for the majority of their shift.
Qualifications
Education & Experience (One of the following required):
Option A:
Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science, Social Science, or related field AND
- 3+ years experience in child welfare or behavioral health
- 2+ years working with high-risk youth in residential care
- 1+ year supervisory or management experience
OR
Option B:
Associate degree or related coursework AND
- 5+ years child welfare or behavioral health experience
- 2+ years residential experience with high-risk youth
- 1+ year supervisory experience
Equivalent combinations of relevant experience may be considered.
Additional Requirements:
- Valid California Driver’s License
- Ability to meet DOJ, FBI, CACI, TB, and health clearance requirements
- CPR/First Aid certified (or ability to obtain)
- Ability to safely implement approved CPI interventions when necessary
- Flexible availability, including participation in on-call rotation
Who You Are
- Grounded and emotionally regulated in high-stress environments
- Committed to trauma-informed and restorative approaches
- Skilled at leading teams and addressing performance concerns professionally
- Comfortable balancing compliance, documentation, and relational care
- Clear communicator who can uphold structure without being punitive
If you are looking for a compliance-only environment, this may not be the right fit. If you believe in healing through relationship, structure, and professional accountability, we invite you to apply.
FosterHope Sacramento is an equal opportunity employer. Employment is at-will and contingent upon successful completion of background and licensing requirements.
Physical and Environmental Requirements (Essential Functions)
This position requires the ability to perform the following essential job functions, with or without reasonable accommodation:
- Move throughout the residential facility and surrounding areas and remain standing or walking for extended periods of time.
- Safely intervene in crisis situations using approved Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) techniques when necessary to ensure the safety of youth and staff.
- Lift, carry, and move items consistent with youth supervision and residential program responsibilities.
- Maintain situational awareness and respond appropriately in a residential environment that may involve emotionally intense, stressful, or unpredictable situations.
- Work in an environment where exposure may occur to secondhand smoke, elevated noise levels, and other conditions common to residential youth care settings.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $69,000.00 - $73,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible schedule
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Please describe your understanding of Trauma Informed Care in work with complex trauma youth.
Education:
Experience:
- Supervising: 1 year (Required)
- Child welfare: 2 years (Required)
- Working with youth with substance use and MH diagnosis: 2 years (Required)
Shift availability:
- Day Shift (Preferred)
- Night Shift (Preferred)
- Overnight Shift (Preferred)
Ability to Relocate:
- Citrus Heights, CA 95621: Relocate before starting work (Required)
Work Location: In person
