Job Title: 988 VP Crisis Counselor

Organization: DeafLEAD

Job Type: Part time, hourly 

Location: Remote

Reports To: 988 Videophone Program Manager

Start Date: March 3, 2025

Hourly range: $17.00-$19.00

Position Summary
DeafLEAD is a non-profit organization that provides crisis intervention services to Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late-Deafened and DeafBlind individuals, and their families within the state of Missouri and nationwide.  Our mission is to promote the emotional and physical well-being of consumers in a safe and respectful environment utilizing a consumer-centered, trauma-informed approach.

We are committed to providing a variety of services to effectively meet the changing needs within the Deaf community. These services include (but are not limited to): crisis intervention, safety planning, legal/medical/personal advocacy, case management, crisis videophone/text/chat/hotline services, mental health services, training, and interpreting.

American Sign Language Fluency is required for this position. 

DeafLEAD is looking to hire part-time (8-28 hours a week) crisis counselors to join an exciting, supportive, and engaging team that provides crisis intervention services to our Deaf/Hard of hearing community and ASL users. The crisis lines are the Deaf Crisis Line (DCL) and the 988 Videophone (988 VP). DCL provides emotional support to callers who are in distress as victims of crimes. The 988 Videophone provides emotional support to callers who are in distress from experiencing suicidal thoughts, ideation, desire, capability, intent, and other crisis. All lines also provides support to callers who struggle with their mental health, suicide, and more.

Crisis Counselors for the videophone lines work 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, Central Standard Time. This position would be worked remotely. DeafLEAD provides videophone services every day of the year. 

Primary responsibilities and duties: 

• Follow DeafLEAD’s policies and procedures
• Believe in DeafLEAD’s philosophy and goals as stated in Summary of Organization
• Provide emotional support and crisis management services via the 988 Videophone (988 VP)
• Develop action plans and safety plans with everyone who calls in the videophone lines 
• Notify child abuse services when appropriate  
• Notify emergency services for intervention when appropriate 
• Ensure documentation of all videophone calls is completed accurately and thoroughly 
• Attend quarterly evaluations with the Videophone Quality Assurance and Best Practice Team, and additional evaluations as needed 
• Attend all monthly team meetings
• Attend all monthly agency in-service meetings 
• Attend on Zoom while on shift(s)
• Successfully complete all Lifeline required training annually, as well as other training and certifications as assigned. 
• Consult with Shift Supervisors, Managers, and Director as needed regarding questionable cases
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Must complete DeafLEAD’s 100+ hour crisis intervention training 
• Minimum age of 18
• Caring and empathetic person
• Fluent in American Sign Language
• Good English writing and reading comprehension skills 
• Ability to remain calm in crisis situations
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in psychology, social work, or related field preferred, but not required
• Previous experience working in crisis management or mental health preferred, but not required 
• An ability to work with people of various race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion or religious creed, disability or handicap, sex or gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law. 
• Ability to attend all training dates for two of the training weeks with no conflicts (see Training section below).
• Access to reliable internet and a desktop or laptop computer that can both utilize Zoom and a web browser simultaneously (Google Chrome recommended). Phones and tablets are not appropriate devices to conduct videophone crisis counselor responsibilities at DeafLEAD.
• Applicants must have access to a private workspace ensuring confidentiality and freedom from external distractions, where others cannot see or overhear the content of their work.
• Must be able to pass a background check 

Immediate Supervisor:

• 988 Videophone Program Manager (988 VP)

Compensation: 

• $17-$19/hour depending on experience, for hours worked from 7:00am-11:00pm CST, and a $4.00 differential for hours worked from 11:00pm-7:00am.
• Part-time crisis counselors are not eligible for health insurance benefits. 
• Part-time counselors are eligible for Paid Time Off.

Training

• Hired applicants will be required to attend and complete DeafLEAD's crisis line training. 
• Crisis Counselor training will take place March 3-19 (excluding weekends) - full time hours.
  • Training is Monday - Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM CST during the time period outlined. Training is both synchronous and asynchronous (Remote- through Zoom). Requires zero conflict for all training dates. Upon hiring, a more detailed training agenda will be provided prior to the start of the training period. 

Job Type: Part-Time 

Required availability to work:
Select the schedule(s) in the application that work for you - select all that apply. Times are based in CST.

Schedule 2 (20 hours):

Sunday: 7a-11a

Monday: 7a-11a

Tuesday: OFF

Wednesday: 7a-11a

Thursday: OFF

Friday: 7a-11a

Saturday: 7a-11a

Schedule 3 (24 hours):

Sunday: 7p-11p

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: 3p-7p

Wednesday: OFF

Thursday: 3p-7p

Friday: 3p-7p

Saturday: 3p-7p, 7p-11p

Schedule 4 (12 hours):

Sunday: 3a-7a

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: OFF

Wednesday: OFF

Thursday: OFF

Friday: 11a-3p

Saturday: 3p-7p

Schedule 5 (24 hours):

Sunday: 11a-3p

Monday: 11a-3p

Tuesday: 3p-7p

Wednesday: OFF

Thursday: OFF

Friday: 11a-3p

Saturday: 3p-7p, 7p-11p

Schedule 7 (12 hours):

Sunday: 11p-3a

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: OFF

Wednesday: OFF

Thursday: OFF

Friday: 11p-3a

Saturday: 11p-3a

Schedule 8 (16 hours):

Sunday: 11p-3a

Monday: 11p-3a

Tuesday: 11p-3a

Wednesday: OFF

Thursday: OFF

Friday: OFF

Saturday: 11p-3a

What you select in your application, you will be held accountable for.

DeafLEAD hires remote candidates in the following states:

AL, AZ, CO, DC, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NM, NV, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, and WI.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONDISCLOSURE OF TRADE SECRETS

As a condition of employment, DeafLEAD employees are required to protect the confidentiality of DeafLEAD trade secrets, proprietary information, and confidential commercially sensitive information (i.e. financial or sales records/reports, marketing or business strategies/plans, product development, customer lists, patents, trademarks, etc.) related to DeafLEAD. Access to this information should be limited to a “need to know” basis and should not be used for personal benefit, disclosed, or released without prior authorization from management. 

If you have information that leads you to suspect that employees are sharing such information in violation of this policy and/or competitors are obtaining such information, you are required to inform the Director of Videophone Crisis Line Services or SynchronyHR.

Violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination and may subject the violator to civil liability.

INVENTIONS

Any invention created, in whole or in part, during your work hours, or from the use of equipment or facilities belonging to Cornerstone Employer Solutions dba SynchronyHR, is a “work for hire” and is the property of DeafLEAD.

If you intend to develop and maintain property rights to any invention that relates in any way to products or services of DeafLEAD, you are required to obtain a written waiver of this policy, signed by both you and Dr. Stephanie Logan, CEO of DeafLEAD.

DeafLEAD is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.