Foster and CSEC Youth Mental Health Clinician

WestCoast Children’s Clinic, located in Oakland, California, is a non-profit community psychology clinic that provides mental health services to Bay Area children, youth and families. Working at WestCoast Children’s Clinic means being part of an organization that is client-centered, trauma-informed, collaborative, and committed to justice and equity. 

The STAT (Screening, Stabilization, and Transition) Program at WestCoast Children’s Clinic (WCC) provides innovative, trauma-informed mental health services to children entering Alameda County’s foster care system. We are looking for a Foster and CSEC Youth Clinician to join our team to support commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC) and high-risk youth. The clinician will  provide crisis intervention, assessment, stabilization, and psychoeducation services to youth experiencing placement transitions.

This is a Sunday-Thursday role, which includes a 10% weekend salary differential  to ensure weekend coverage for youth entering the system or experiencing crises.

This clinician will play a critical part in bridging short-term STAT services (30-180 days) with longer-term care through C-Change, ensuring seamless transitions, prevention, and harm reduction strategies. The role also involves community outreach and prevention work with youth at risk for exploitation and coordination with WCC C-Change program and other multidisciplinary teams.

Key Responsibilities:

Screening, Assessment & Prompt Intervention

• Conduct mental health screenings, risk assessments, and respond to CSE-IT findings to identify and intervene with youth at risk for sexual exploitation.
• Provide crisis intervention, safety planning, and collaborate with child welfare, probation, and caregivers to address mental health and exploitation risks.

Stabilization & Continued Support (30-180 Days)

• Provide short-term therapeutic interventions, case management, and psychoeducation to youth, caregivers, and providers.
• Support youth through placement instability, maintaining engagement and providing milieu-based stabilization services.
• Coordinate transitions from STAT to C-Change for longer-term care and advocate for youth’s needs in treatment planning.

Prevention, Harm Reduction & Outreach

• Conduct outreach, psychoeducation, and safety planning with youth to prevent exploitation and promote harm reduction.
• Provide training to STAT team members on recognizing CSEC cases and educate youth on healthy relationships, boundaries, and coping skills.

Care Coordination, Collaboration, & Long-Term Service Linkage:

• Act as a liaison between STAT and C-Change, ensuring continuity of care and communication for high-risk youth.
• Collaborate with C-Change Service Coordinators and external agencies to provide appropriate interventions and comprehensive support.
• Participate in multidisciplinary case consultations with child welfare, probation, and community organizations, and follow up with at-risk youth.
• Support youth in developing transition plans and coordinate referrals to long-term mental health services, case management, and survivor advocacy programs. Advocate for culturally responsive, trauma-informed care.

Position Requirements:

• Master’s or Doctoral degree in psychology, counseling, marriage and family therapy, or social work (required)
• Current and valid licensure/registration with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) or Board of Psychology (open to recent graduates in the process of registering).
• Experience working with high-risk, system-involved youth, including those in foster care, juvenile justice, or CSEC populations
• Direct experience working with CSEC youth or survivors of sexual exploitation.
• Strong knowledge of trauma-informed care and relational approaches, with demonstrated proficiency in clinical assessment, evaluation, and treatment, as well as crisis intervention and de-escalation in both individual and group settings.
• Ability to collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary teams, including child welfare workers, probation officers, caregivers, and community-based organizations.
• Familiar with community resources and systems of care within Alameda County, including housing, education, medical, and advocacy services, and skilled in advocating for youth’s mental health, housing, education, and overall well-being.
• Experience with Medi-Cal billing procedures and documentation requirements.

Other Requirements:

• Ability to travel by car to meet with clients, generally within a 90 mile radiu