Mental Health Counselor-Corrections Jobs

The Pennington County Jail is seeking a full-time Mental Health Counselor to provide comprehensive mental health services to the adult inmate population. Our facility houses over 600 inmates on a daily basis and provides mental health services, resources and programs for inmates. Our focus is to provide counseling to inmates with immediate needs such as a major loss, thoughts of self-harm or suicide, or severe mental health symptoms.
The Mental Health Counselor works as a part of the larger security team to provide suicide risk assessments, crisis counseling, assist with classification, involuntary holds and in coordinating other services.
The Pennington County Sheriff’s Offers competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package.

• Preparing and completing assessment reports and treatment plans
• Assessing inmate/detainee mental health conditions as directed and identifying appropriate services
• Adhering to policy and procedures
• Providing individual, group and crisis intervention counseling
• Performing other duties as assigned.
• Conducting new employee training on suicide prevention and mental health basics.
• Coordinating inmate services with medical staff and other in-house resources
• Identifying risk behavior requiring the placement involuntary mental holds.
• Assisting with appropriate inmate/detainee classification
• Identifying early mental health risks
• Attending meetings and completing trainings as required.
• Providing inmate/detainee behavior management resources and recommendations for staff

Education: Masters Degree in Counseling or Psychology.
Experience: Preference is given to those with experience in a correctional setting.
Licensure: Valid South Dakota Driver's License within 90 days of state residency. Licensure in Counseling (LPC) or the applicant must be willing to obtain licensure in the state of South Dakota. Supervision of license can be provided on the job.