Position Description

Final Filing Date: June 30, 2024

Exam # 24/60C22/05MN

SUMMARY OF POSITION
Join a dedicated team of multi-disciplinary mental health professionals. The Behavioral Health Bureau is seeking to fill multiple Social Worker IIIs (SW IIIs) vacancies to provide supportive services to Monterey County clients by working with people that have mental illness and/or substance use related issues.

The Behavioral Health Bureau is a progressive agency that serves children, youth, adults, and their families with System of Care values of being community based, culturally relevant, client and family centered and using clinical evidence-based practices to support clients in the wellness and recovery of their mental illness and substance use. We are currently recruiting to fill multiple positions within our Access to Treatment, Adult, Crisis, Forensic, Child & Adolescent Systems of Care.

Access to Treatment is seeking Social Worker IIIs for the Salinas and Marina outpatient clinics. The regional Access clinics are entry points into services and the Social Worker III will work with individuals of all ages who are seeking to get connected to services for mental health and substance use issues that are impacting their ability to function in work, school, home, social and community settings. The Social Worker III will work within a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, psychiatric staff, and other support staff. The Social Worker III conducts screenings, provides case management services and supports with referrals and linkage to adjunctive services and/or programs.

The Social Worker III position with the Access CalWORKs program provides case management and rehabilitation services for individuals that are part of the CalWORKs Welfare to Work program. The goal of the Welfare to Work program is to provide resources and behavioral health or substance abuse services to individuals or groups to remove barriers to employment leading to financial independence.

The Social Worker III position in South County is an integral member of the Behavioral Heath team. Supporting both the Access to Treatment and Adult System of Care (ASOC) programs, this Social Worker III will work within a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, psychiatric staff, and other support staff. Using a strength-based and client-centered approach, works in collaboration with clinical staff on supporting individuals, families, and their support systems in meeting their mental health/recovery/ and substance use goals.

The Adult System of Care (ASOC) is seeking Social Worker IIIs for the Salinas and Marina outpatient clinics and individuals interested in working with an outpatient adult population (18+ years of age). ASOC programs provide a wide range of clinical, case management and care coordination services to adults with serious mental illness and co-occurring conditions. These programs are oriented towards a strength-based, wellness, whole person care approach that facilitates each person’s progress towards their own individualized recovery goals. The Social Worker IIIs are part of a multi-disciplinary team and work closely with psychiatrists, clinic nurses, medical assistants, clinicians, and behavioral health aides. Additionally, there are a rich set of community providers that work closely with teams to provide a variety of services including but not limited to supported employment and education, dual recovery, crisis residential, day treatment, peer support and supported housing.

The Adult System of Care (ASOC) Adult Placement Team works with LPS conserved clients with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use conditions who are in a variety of placement settings both in and out of county. This Social Worker III will work on a multi-disciplinary team and closely with the Senior Psychiatric Social Workers as well as the Public Guardian/Conservator’s Office. The team travels weekly to see clients at their placements and coordinates transitions between levels of care as needed.

The Adult Forensic Team Social Worker III positions are based out of Salinas and will work with current and former justice involved adults (18+ years of age) some of whom are reentering society after a period of incarceration (jail/prison) and transitioning to community-based services to meet their mental health and substance use treatment needs. The SWIIIs work as part of a multidisciplinary team approach and provide support, information, resources, screenings, referrals, and direct services to individuals with the goal of connecting them to needed care, stabilizing in the community, and reducing recidivism rates. SWIIIs will be critically important to the successful implementation of two key initiatives going into effect this year, specifically the CARE Act (Care Court) and Cal AIM Justice Involved Behavioral Health Linkages.

The Community Crisis Services (Mobile Crisis) Team Social Worker III position will work in partnership with licensed/license eligible clinicians as part of a two-person team to provide mobile crisis services throughout Monterey County. Mobile Crisis teams responds to calls for crisis support and provides brief crisis intervention, de-escalation, triage, risk / safety assessment, safety planning, referral and linkage to individuals and families experiencing behavioral health crisis in the community. This team seeks to provide support to stabilize the situation in the community to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations and divert from emergency resources (hospital/jail) when appropriate while providing linkage to ongoing care as needed. They also receive non-urgent referrals and provide follow-up as well as outreach and engagement services.

The Child and Adolescent System of Care (CSOC) Social Worker III position will work with youth across a variety of the CSOC programs who are experiencing mental health issues that are impacting their functioning in school, home, and community settings. CSOC programs the Social Worker III may support include but are not limited to: youth enrolled in the public schools of Monterey County, children and youth hospitalized for severe mental health conditions, children and youth involved with the child welfare system, youth involved with the juvenile legal system, and transition age youth experiencing first episode psychosis. Social Worker IIIs provide information, make referrals to community resources, assist with referral screening and triage, co-facilitate rehabilitation groups and work closely with Psychiatric Social Workers to provide supportive case management and linkage services for clients including but not limited to transportation, interpretation, translation, and community outings. Additionally, Social Worker IIIs work in collaboration with other agency and school partners to support the mental health needs of their clients to promote academic success, positive community involvement, placement stability, and foster social emotional wellness.

The Eligible List established by this recruitment process will be used to fill current and future vacancies, both regular and temporary, as they arise.

Examples of Duties

• Carries a caseload as a support staff working alongside Psychiatric Social Workers. Sometimes cases may be complex assisting people with multiple emotional, mental, social and physical issues.
• Provides psychosocial education and rehabilitation in groups and/or 1:1.
• Assists clients with linkages (which can include referrals and transportation) to support client’s ability to access needed services and community resources for things like housing, socialization, medical and mental health needs, education, vocational and/or other support services. May assist with transportation to ensure linkage to essential Behavioral Health and other supportive services.
• Makes home visits and performs work in the office and community in connection with casework assignments.
• Prepares and maintains documentation in the Electronic Health Record; communicates decisions, timelines, recommendations and case plans to clients and families that is in coordination with team and in congruence with treatment goals/objectives.
• Responds to situations as part of a team approach to clients in crisis, such as being involved in WIC 5150 situations which include welfare checks, providing support and gathering collateral information and collaborating with others to get client to the hospital.
• Interface with multi-disciplinary team, including Psychiatric Social Workers, Medical Doctors, medical support staff, Public Guardian/Conservators, Department of Social Services, Probation, etc. to help formulate diagnosis, treatment plans and intervention strategies.
• Participates in in-service training and other staff development activities to increase knowledge of social work processes and achieve technical competence.

To view the complete job description, please visit the Monterey County website: Social Worker III

THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE
Will have a proven track record demonstrating the following knowledge, skills and abilities:

Thorough Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of organization, workload management and time management.
• Principles and practices of note taking, report writing, and English composition, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
• Phone etiquette, customer service, communication and interview techniques.
• Basic principles of individual and group behavior.
• Basic public welfare programs on the Federal, State, and local level.
• General principles of public assistance policies and programs.
• Strategies and protocols surrounding crisis intervention techniques such as voice modulation and assessing the potential for suicide.
• Psychopathology, the different types of mental illness diagnoses, how mental illness affects human behavior and mental health services and treatments utilized by clients.
• Signs, stages and dynamics of abuse, and the effects of abuse on child/adult development and behavior.
• Signs and symptoms of alcohol and drug use/abuse in adults and children and the effects on families.

Skill and Ability to:

• Communicate effectively with others in writing, in person and over the telephone.
• Analyze data, interpret directions, procedures and regulations, and develop appropriate responses.
• Perform job duties under stressful conditions.
• Respond appropriately to situations.
• Maintain confidential information in accordance with legal standards and/or county regulations.
• Understand and apply the agency program, policy and procedures.
• Obtain facts and recognize the relevance and significance.
• Organize and maintain work detail.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationship with agency staff, clients, and outside organizations.
• Analyze situation and adopt effective courses of action.
• Recognize signs of abuse for children, elderly and dependent adults; assess risk factors and potential dangers to clients.
• Develop skill in interviewing case, recording, and interpretation.
• Work within a community setting and effectively use appropriate resources and services.
• Maintain confidentiality in accordance with legal standards and/or county regulations.
• Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Operate a personal computer and other office equipment and related software.
• Act appropriately in emergency and stressful situations.
• Interact professionally and respectfully with clients including difficult, hostile, or distressed clients.
• Respect cultural differences.
• Work with difficult or complex cases/clients including clients with dual diagnoses, potentially dangerous clients or legally complex cases.
• Analyze data from multiple sources, interpret and apply complex directions, rules, policies, procedures and regulations, and develop appropriate responses.

Desirable Qualifications:
• Ability to speak, read and write in English and Spanish

Characteristics of the Ideal Candidate:
• Exceptional customer service
• Compassionate, empathetic, and culturally sensitive
• Communicate effectively and professionally orally and in writing
• Self-motivated and able to perform assignments independently
• Ability to work effectively on a multi-disciplinary team
• Strong collaborative skills
• Exceptional inter-personal skills
• Multi-task oriented
• Flexible

Examples of Experience/Education/Training

The skills necessary may be acquired through various types of education, training, and/or experience, typically:

EITHER
Pattern 1:One (1) year of full-time experience performing journey level social work case management comparable to the Social Worker II classification in an Interagency Merit System (IMS) County;
OR
Pattern 2: Two (2) years of full-time social work case management experience* in a public or private agency and thirty (30) college semester units (45 quarter units) from an accredited college or university, including fifteen (15) semester units (22 quarter units) in social welfare, social/human services, sociology, or other social or behavioral science. **

* Qualifying social work case management includes direct case work management, such as: assessment, evaluation; conducting investigations of abuse and neglect; preparing court reports; responsibility for a long term caseload, monitoring compliance through home calls and other personal contact; collaboration with other agencies and linking clients to resources and programs; development of a case plan, modification of case plans as needed/required; and authority to impose sanctions or implement actions that impact services.
** Examples of acceptable social or behavioral science courses include: anthropology, criminal justice, education, ethnic studies, history, human development, law, human services, nursing, nutrition, psychology, public health, social welfare, sociology, welfare, women’s studies.
OR
Pattern 3:
Bachelor’s degree and successful completion of 24 semester or 36 quarter units of a Master’s degree program in Social Work, or a Counseling program from an accredited college or university, emphasizing Marriage, Family and Child Counseling or Marriage and Family therapy, Gerontology or Clinical Psychology, and twelve (12) months of social work case management experience*

*Qualifying social work case management includes direct case work management, such as: assessment, evaluation; conducting investigations of abuse and neglect; preparing court reports; responsibility for a long term caseload, monitoring compliance through home calls and other personal contact; collaboration with other agencies and linking clients to resources and programs; development of a case plan, modification of case plans as needed/required; and authority to impose sanctions or implement actions that impact services.

Additional Information

REQUIRED CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• Possess and maintain a valid California Class C driver’s license or the ability to provide suitable transportation that is approved by the appointing authority.
• Be available to work a flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends, holidays, and during times of disaster and/or emergency, travel out of County to attend meetings.
• Successfully complete a background check to include fingerprinting.

BENEFITS:
The County of Monterey offers an excellent benefits package. Please visit our website to view the Bargaining Unit K Benefit Summary Sheet. This information is not legally binding, nor does it serve as a contract. The benefits listed in the Monterey County Personnel Policies and Practices Resolution or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) prevail over this listing.

NOTES:
As a condition of employment, prospective employees may be required to submit to a background review which may include a review of information concerning present and/or prior employment, driving record, and record of any criminal convictions. Employment is contingent upon acceptable documentation verifying identity and authorization for employment in the U.S.; a list of acceptable documents is available on the USCIS Form I-9. If you are hired into this classification in a temporary position, your rate of pay will be hourly, and you will not be eligible for the benefits listed in the summary.

APPLICATION & SELECTION PROCEDURES

Apply on-line at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/montereycounty

or

Hard copy applications may be obtained from and submitted during normal business hours,

Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM by contacting:

Monterey County Health Department

Attn: Human Resources Division

1270 Natividad Road

Salinas, CA 93906.

Phone: (831) 755 - 4519 Fax: (831) 796 - 8682

The selection process is tentative, and applicants will be notified if changes are made. To assess applicants' possession of required qualifications, the examination process may include an oral examination, pre-examination exercises, performance examination, and/or written examination. The competitive examination process includes submittal of required application materials. A complete application package will include:

• A completed County of Monterey Employment Application
• Responses to the Supplemental Questions

Applicants who fail to provide all required materials by the final filing deadline will not be considered. Resumes, cover letters, letters of interest, and other correspondence will not be accepted as a substitute for required application materials. All required application materials will be competitively evaluated. Those applicants that are determined to be the most appropriately qualified will be invited to participate further in the selection process.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION: Monterey County is a drug-free workplace and an equal opportunity employer. The County seeks candidates who can make contributions in an environment of cultural and ethnic diversity. Monterey County is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request reasonable accommodation, contact Monique Ng, Human Resources Analyst, at (831) 755 - 4524 or ngmc@countyofmonterey.gov .

http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/government/departments-a-h/human-resources/human-resources/benefits/benefit-summary-sheet

Closing Date/Time: 6/30/2024 11:59 PM Pacific

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