Child Military and Family Life Counselor

Leidos is hiring licensed behavioral health professionals to join our Child and Youth Behavioral, Military and Family Life Counselor (MFLC) team to support Fort Polk near Leesville, Louisiana. 

Join the mission to support U.S. military service members and their families as they work through important military life adjustments while serving their country. The Child and Youth Behavioral Military and Family Life Counselor (CYB-MFLC) positionoffers a unique opportunity to serve a vital role, in providing non-medical support, which includes counseling, consultation, and outreach, to eligible faculty, staff, parents, children, and youth.Non-medical counseling is preventive in nature and aims to address and provide solution focused approaches to issues before they become greater challenges.

Military children face unique emotional and environmental challenges due to the stress of military life. This is an opportunity for you to reach them where and when you are most needed.

CYB-MFLC responsibilities include:

• Work at installation Child Development Centers (CDCs) with children 0-5, before or after-school care centers for school-aged children, youth and teens on educational activities and appropriate developmental focus.

• Visually observe, participate, and engage in activities with children and youth; provide coaching, guidance and support to staff and parents; and model behavior management techniques for staff and parents.

• Offer presentations to address social skills development and social emotional learning that is crucial for childhood early development. 

• Promote creativity and positivity through approved materials.

• Build rapport with parents and families by attending installation and community events.

• Help children with transition adjustments, such as a new school and a new home.

• Participate in regular in-service training or other contract activities as assigned.

• Communicate information regarding trends and issues at assigned installation to Team Leads.

CYB-MFLC will also benefit from:

• No insurance to file.

• No progress notes required.

• No treatment plans to develop.

• iPad provided for easy digital reporting, with no PII or PHI.

• Paid federal holidays.

• Free and unlimited behavioral healthcare training.

• Reimbursement for job-related license renewal fees.

• Eligibility to participate in 401K retirement plan.

• Centralized support through a Counseling Center of Excellence that provides best practices, expert speakers, and state-of-the-art resources.

Additional Job Duties May Include:

• Responding to emergent situations in any physical location on a military installation

• Traversing long distances to both indoor and outdoor locations, to maneuver through rugged, outdoor, or uneven locations (ascend/descend), and work in outdoor weather.

• Travelling to locations outside of a military base in a variety of physical environments. 

• Due to the nature of working on military installations or related worksites, counselors may need to comply with various site-specific requirements to work at designated locations.

Environment: 

At the direction of the Department of Defense, duties are performed in multiple indoor locations (approximately 60%) and outdoor locations (approximately 40%). The indoor locations are located within a child development center (CDC) controlled by the Department of Defense. The outdoor locations frequently involve traversing over uneven grassy, gravel, and/or dirt areas, ascending/descending stairs, and exposure to the weather.CDC settings frequently involve sitting on the floor to interact with children for up to 2 hours at a time.

Licensure Portability

Great news! Under the recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), licensed Military and Family Life Counselors may provide non-medical counseling services to military families at any location in a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, or a territory or possession of the United States, regardless of which state the counselor is licensed in. Within the scope of the MFLC program, a counselor may hold any independent and clinical license recognized by the Secretary of Defense as an appropriate license for the provision of non-medical counseling services.

Minimum Requirements:

• A master’s degree or higher in the Behavioral Health Professions (MS/MSW/MA/PhD).

• The candidate must hold a valid independent license in the mental health field from any US state or territory (LCSW, MHC, MFT, LPCC, Psychologist).

• Must be a U.S. citizen.

• Must be able to pass a basic background check for employment, a Child National Agency Check, and Inquiries (NACI/CNACI) clearance, commonly called a Public Trust clearance.