The Office of School and Student Supports (O3S) at the Maine DOE is seeking a mental health professional for SY 2023-24. This opportunity is open to contracted school counselors, school social workers, or school mental health clinicians.
The Maine DOE is seeking a Distinguished Educator to be part of its Climate, Culture, and Resilience Team within the O3S to assist with the provision of technical assistance and professional learning for Maine’s school-based mental health providers. Under the Distinguished Educator program, the Maine DOE contracts with a public school system or community agency to borrow an educator for a designated period, in this case, the 2023-24 school year. Following service in the program, the Distinguished Educator returns to their sending school system/community agency.
Maine educators who meet the qualifications described below are strongly encouraged to consider applying for this opportunity. Distinguished educators share their expertise with the Maine DOE and other Maine educators while also growing as professionals through a range of new and exciting experiences. The application period for this position will remain open until September 8, 2023.
Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest and resume here. Candidates selected for interviews will be notified by September 13, 2023.
Here is an FAQ About the School Mental Health Distinguished Educator Position (PDF). Further questions may be directed to julie.a.smyth@maine.gov.
ARP funds received from the USDOE support the implementation of this project. The project has an award totaling $125,000.00 of which 100% is federally funded and directly attributed to project implementation. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by the USDOE or the U.S. Government.
Maine Department of Education Distinguished Educator Mental Health Specialist
POSITION DESCRIPTION
The Mental Health Specialist within the Climate, Culture, and Resilience Team engages in professional work related to planning and providing technical assistance and professional learning for Maine mental health providers in our schools. The position is responsible for ensuring the Department meets the statutory directive to provide model policies, and for assisting with certification and endorsement requirements of school counselors as well as duties for both school counselors and school social workers under the Ch 117 rule. The position provides non-regulatory guidance on, and interpretation of, state laws and rules on these issues. The position is providing technical assistance to practitioners and is charged, along with other stakeholders, in developing policies and strategies to address drop-out rates, juvenile justice, restraint and seclusion, and suicide prevention.
REPRESENTATIVE TASKS of this position include but are not limited to the following:
- Coordinates the acquisition, review, and dissemination of up-to-date information on laws, resources, research, and best practices of school-based mental health professional practice. This includes analyzing relevant resources from related domains in order to ensure optimal understanding and implementation of federal and state requirements related to these topics.
- Evaluates incoming requests for information, individual assistance, and technical assistance from families, schools, school districts, and community stakeholders pertaining to mental health, trauma -informed practices and school counseling in order to assess statewide needs in these areas and develop strategies to address them.
- Develops and coordinates training and the dissemination of materials and information in order to help schools, students, and parents establish local policies and practices that are mental-health responsive and student-first oriented.
- Examines statewide data collection, analysis, and reporting in order to identify trends, problems, and impact of various initiatives and assure compliance with state and federal law.
- Consults and develops collaborative initiatives with other offices within DOE, other state agencies, and non-profit leaders of organizations serving students in order to ensure that services to students and families are provided in the most comprehensive, efficient and effective manner possible.
- Represents the department on task forces and study committees related to issues of school-based mental health, trauma-informed practices and school counseling in order to ensure the most effective implementation and development of policies and practices related to these focus areas.
- Advises the Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner on issues pertaining to the position’s areas of focus in order to ensure that the department is able to provide consistent public leadership in these areas.
- Confers with team and department staff in order to exchange information, identify problems, and formulate possible solutions.
- Supports team’s long-range planning activities and facilitates attainment of goals and objectives consistent with the department’s strategic plan, in order to ensure that customer service needs are met; that department directives and state and federal laws and rules are implemented; and that education and related services delivery are integrated for maximum efficiency.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED to successfully perform the work assigned:
- Knowledge of state and federal laws, rules and regulations governing school counseling and school social work
- Knowledge and skills in trauma sensitive practices and mental health
- Knowledge of a wide range of public and private resources and efforts relating to these responsibilities, including public and private social services agencies, in-school resources, non-profit organizations, community partners, etc.
- Knowledge of standards of practices in school counseling and social work
- Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff in DOE, other state agencies and schools
- Ability to identify solutions to individual cases using a variety of tools and resources
- Ability to establish and maintain working relationships with staff at DOE and other stakeholder groups
- Ability to formulate and draft policies, rules and legislation relating to these issues
- Ability to plan and conduct technical assistance that is responsive to the needs of schools, students and parents
- Ability to produce reports to the Legislature and others, as may be required by law
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
At least 3 years employed as a school counselor, school social worker, school-based mental health clinician or commensurate position.