Shelter Counselor I

Introduction

This examination is being given to fill multiple vacancies in the Mary Graham Children's Shelter within the Human Services Agency and to establish an eligible list to fill future vacancies for all of the Human Services Agency. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of an application. A completed application must be postmarked or received online by the final filing deadline.

NOTE: All correspondences relating to this recruitment will be delivered via e-mail. The e-mail account used will be the one provided on your employment application during time of submittal. Please be sure to check your e-mail often for updates. If you do not have an e-mail account on file, Human Resources will send you correspondences via US Mail.

The Mary Graham Children's Shelter is an Emergency Temporary Facility for children age newborn up to eighteen years of age who are removed from their homes through no fault of their own. On an annual basis, Mary Graham provides care and support services to about 1000 children. The Shelter provides a variety of support services through several collaborative partners to try and heal each child have their individual needs addressed. These support services can include medical/dental services, educational support, behavioral support, and transitional support for children under eighteen years old. For more information regarding the Mary Graham Children's Shelter and the Human Services Agency, please visit their website at: Human Services Agency - Mary Graham Children's Shelter .

Offers of employment are contingent upon successfully passing a pre-employment drug screening, a pre-employment arduous physical, pre-employment background screening, and a LiveScan fingerprint.

*Effective October 24, 2022, staff who are assigned to the Mary Graham Children's Shelter will receive a 5% pay supplement in addition to their base salary.

Effective July 2025 - 3% Cost of Living Adjustment increase

TYPICAL DUTIES

• Assists in overseeing the daily activities and behaviors of children within a care facility, both on and off-site; participates in the development, scheduling, and implementation of on-site and off-site activities; assists in ensuring the safety and proper care of children during outings and routine activities; conducts daily counts of children to ensure safety and knowledge of their whereabouts.
  
• Assigns and develops lists of children's work assignments; oversees the work to ensure its completion; works with children to identify and promote desired behaviors; ensures compliance with rules and regulations relating to the safe and orderly operation of the shelter.
  
• Schedules and conducts counseling sessions with assigned youth; consults with other staff to determine appropriate intervention strategies to meet children's physical and emotional needs; applies approved techniques within established guidelines; refers children for mental health assistance and evaluations as required.
  
• Assists in processing new children to the unit, providing orientation, and treating for medical conditions as required; assists children in obtaining daily living items and personal grooming items; provides guidance in living skills and assists in preparing children for their release from the shelter.
  
• Cleans and sanitizes common areas; sorts, launders, and stores donated and personal items for children; ensures the work unit is ready for the next shift.
  
• Prepares, updates, and maintains a variety of records, work orders, logs, charts, and reports; attends staff meetings to discuss and document observed behaviors and interactions.
  
• Identifies and reports safety issues, hazards, and health concerns requiring correction; reports items needing repair; takes immediate action to eliminate or reduce safety hazards; prepares records of actions taken and forwards to appropriate person for review or further action.
  
• Assists in providing basic medical first aid to injured children; records details of injuries and actions taken; drives children to medical facilities such as emergency rooms and clinics for treatment or scheduled appointments.
  
• Picks up, delivers, unloads, and stores needed supplies and donated items; drives children to activities and functions.
  
• Directs visitors to appropriate offices and provides needed information; receives phone calls for residents and staff; takes messages and routes to the proper person.
  

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university.

Substitution: Full-time experience working with children in a recreational, educational, counseling, or childcare setting may be substituted for the above education on a year-for-year basis to a maximum of two years. (24 units equates to one year)

Note: Individuals employed in the San Joaquin County class of Group Assistant-DCH at the time of adoption of this specification (October 11, 2000) may waive the above education and experience requirements.

AND

License: Possession of a valid California driver's license.

Special Requirement: Must pass fingerprinting as mandated by state law.

Certificates: Must obtain certification in Basic First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) within the first six months of employment and maintain such certification during employment.

Note: Employees at Mary Graham Children's Shelter are subject to the authority, rules, regulations, standards, and approval of the Community Care Licensing Authority (CCL) of the California Department of Social Services. In addition to the above minimum qualifications, as a condition of employment, approval of the CCL is required for both initial appointment and for continued employment at MGCS.

KNOWLEDGE

Principles and techniques of interviewing and recording in social service work, including basic counseling and intervention strategies/techniques for managing troubled youth; basic functions of public social service agencies and the laws, rules, regulations, and various social and economic conditions affecting their work; community resources available to troubled youth; general problems, guidelines and; related to the care and treatment of children in a residential facility; basic mathematical calculations; proper English usage including grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

ABILITY

Read and understand written materials; prepare and maintain legible files, records, and logs; write clear and concise reports; make and record observations accurately; clean assigned areas to meet health and safety needs; learn to effectively use and apply observation, counseling, and intervention skills and techniques to evaluate and recommend needed action for dependent youth; assess potentially dangerous situations accurately; make sound decisions requiring independent judgment; work with hyperactive, troubled, and developmentally delayed youth from ethnically diverse backgrounds; provide minor medical aid; learn to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation as required; learn, apply, and adhere to policies, procedures, rules and regulations governing interactions with youth and the operations of a residential facility for children; operate a variety of office equipment and home appliances to perform assigned duties; plan and implement a variety of activities to meet the children's needs; drive a vehicle in the performance of assigned duties; establish and maintain effective relationships with others contacted in the performance of assigned duties.

PHYSICAL/MENTAL REQUIREMENTS

Mobility-Constant walking; frequent driving and climbing stairs; occasional operation of keyboards, pushing/pulling, bending/squatting and running; Lifting-Frequent lifting of heavy objects or people; occasionally able to lift 5-70 pounds; Vision-Constant use of good overall vision and field of vision/peripheral; frequent reading/close-up work and eye/hand coordination; occasional depth and color perception; Dexterity-Frequent writing and reaching, occasional grasping, holding, and repetitive motion; Hearing/Talking-Constant talking/hearing in person; frequent hearing/talking on the telephone; Emotional/Psychological-Constant concentration and working weekends and nights; frequent decision making, public contact and dealing with emergency situations; occasional exposure to hazardous materials, trauma, grief and death; Environmental-Constant exposure to noise.

San Joaquin County complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and, upon request, will consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Equal Opportunity Employer

San Joaquin County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer and is committed to providing equal employment to all without regard to age, ancestry, color, creed, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation or belief, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. For more information go to Equal Employment Opportunity Division (sjgov.org).

Accommodations for those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):

San Joaquin County complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and, upon request, will consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

BENEFITS

Employees hired into this classification are members of a bargaining unit which is represented by SEIU Local 1021 .

Health Insurance : San Joaquin County provides employees with a choice of three health plans: a Kaiser Plan, a Select Plan, and a Premier Plan. Employees pay a portion of the cost of the premium. Dependent coverage is also available.

Dental Insurance : The County provides employees with a choice of two dental plans: Delta Dental and United Health Care-Select Managed Care Direct Compensation Plan. There is no cost for employee only coverage in either plan; dependent coverage is available at the employee’s expense.

Vision Insurance : The County provides vision coverage through Vision Service Plan (VSP). There is no cost for employee only coverage; dependent coverage is available at the employee’s expense.

For more detailed information on the County’s benefits program, visit our website at www.sjgov.org under Human Resources/Employee Benefits.

Life Insurance : The County provides eligible employees with life insurance coverage as follows:

1 but less than 3 years of continuous service: $1,000
3 but less than 5 years of continuous service: $3,000
5 but less than 10 years of continuous service: $5,000
10 years of continuous service or more: $10,000

Employee may purchase additional term life insurance at the group rate.

125 Flexible Benefits Plan : This is a voluntary program that allows employees to use pre-tax dollars to pay for health-related expenses that are not paid by a medical, dental or vision plan (Health Flexible Spending Account $2550 annual limit with a $500 carry over); and dependent care costs (Dependent Care Assistance Plan $5000 annual limit).

Retirement Plan : Employees of the County are covered by the County Retirement Law of 1937. Please visit the San Joaquin County Employees’ Retirement Association (SJCERA) at www.sjcera.org for more information. NOTE: If you are receiving a retirement allowance from another California county covered by the County Employees’ Retirement Act of 1937 or from any governmental agency covered by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), you are advised to contact the Retirement Officer of the Retirement Plan from which you retired to determine what effect employment in San Joaquin County would have on your retirement allowance.

Deferred Compensation : The County maintains a deferred compensation plan under Section 457 of the IRS code. You may annually contribute $22,500 or 100% of your includible compensation, whichever is less. Individuals age 50 or older may contribute to their plan, up to $30,000.The Roth IRA (after tax) is also now available.

Vacation : Maximum earned vacation is 10 days each year up to 3 years; 15 days after 3 years; 20 days after 10 years; and 23 days after 20 years.

Holidays : Effective July 1, 2017, all civil service status employees earn 14 paid holidays each year. Please see the appopriate MOU for details regarding holidays, accruals, use, and cashability of accrued time.

Sick Leave : 12 working days of sick leave annually with unlimited accumulation. Sick leave incentive : An employee is eligible to receive eight hours administrative leave if the leave balance equals at least one- half of the cumulative amount that the employee is eligible to accrue. The employee must also be on payroll during the entire calendar year.

Bereavement Leave : 3 days of paid leave for the death of qualifying family member, 2 additional days of accrued leave for death of employee’s spouse, domestic partner, parent or child.

Merit Salary Increase : New employees will receive the starting salary, which is the first step of the salary range. After employees serve 52 weeks (2080 hours) on each step of the range, they are eligible for a merit increase to the next step.

Job Sharing : Employees may agree to job-share a position, subject to approval by a Department Head and the Director of Human Resources.

Educational Reimbursement Program : Eligible employees may be reimbursed for career-related course work up to a maximum of $850 per fiscal year. Eligible employees enrolled in an approved four (4) year College or University academic program may be reimbursed up to $800 per semester for a maximum of $1600 per fiscal year.

Parking Supplemental Downtown Stockton: The County contributes up to $20 per pay period for employees who pay for parking and are assigned to work in the Downtown Core Area.

School Activities : Employees may take up to 40 hours per year, but not more than eight (8) hours per month, to participate in their children’s school activities.

Selection Procedures

Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will go through the following examination process:

• Written Exam: The civil service written exam is a multiple choice format. If the written exam is administered alone, it will be 100% of the overall score. Candidates must achieve a minimum rating of 70% in order to be placed on the eligible list.

• Oral Exam: The oral exam is a structured interview process that will assess the candidate’s education, training, and experience and may include a practical exercise. The oral exam selection process is not a hiring interview. A panel of up to four people will determine the candidate’s score and rank for placement on the eligible list. Top candidates from the eligible list are referred for hiring interviews. If the oral exam is administered alone, it will be 100% of the overall score. Candidates must achieve a minimum rating of 70% in order to be placed on the eligible list.

• Written & Oral Exam: If both a written exam and an oral exam is administered, the written exam is weighted at 60% and the oral exam is weighted at 40% unless otherwise indicated on the announcement. Candidates must achieve a minimum rating of 70% on each examination in order to be placed on the eligible list.

• Rate-out: A rate-out is an examination that involves a paper rating of the candidate’s application using the following criteria: education, training, and experience. Candidates will not be scheduled for the rate-out process.

Note: The rating of 70 referred to may be the same or other than an arithmetic 70% of the total possible points.

Online Written Exams: Written exams may be administered online. Candidates will be notified of the examination date and will be responsible to complete the written exam within a given period of time (typically within five calendar days). Candidates are required to read the Online Exam Guide for Test Takers prior to taking an online written exam.

The link to the guide is here: Online Exam Guide For Test Takers

PLEASE NOTE:

• Online exams must be completed in one sitting and can only be taken once

• Candidates will have access to an online exam within the allotted time only

• A steady internet connection is highly recommended

• The allotted time will still continue if a candidate closes the window or gets disconnected

• Once the allotted time expires, access to the exam will be unavailable

Microsoft is no longer supporting Internet Explorer. Therefore, it is recommended that candidates do not use Internet Explorer to complete online written exams.

Candidates that do not have access to a computer can contact the Human Resources office at (209)468-3370 for information on accommodations.

Testing Accommodation: Candidates who require testing accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) must call Human Resources Division at (209) 468-3370 prior to the examination date.

Veteran’s Points: Eligible veterans, unmarried widows and widowers of veterans of the United States Armed Forces who have been honorably discharged and who have served during wartime shall be given veteran’s points in initial appointment to County service. Eligible veterans receive 5 points and eligible disabled veterans receive 10 points. Disabled veterans must submit a recent award letter stating a 10% service connected disability issued by the United States Veterans Administration. Note: A copy of your DD214 showing the discharge type must be received in the Human Resources by the date of the examination.

Acceptable wartime service dates:

• September 16, 1940 to December 31, 1946
  
• June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955
  
• August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975
  
• Persian Gulf War, August 2, 1990, through a date to be set by law or Presidential Proclamation.
  

Eligible Lists: Candidates who pass the examination will be placed on an eligible list for that classification. Eligible lists are effective for nine months, but may be extended by the Human Resources Director for a period which shall not exceed a total of three years from the date established.

Certification/Referral: Names from the eligible list will be referred to the hiring department by the following methods.

• Rule of the Rank: The top rank or ranks of eligibles will be referred for hiring interviews. The minimum number of names to be referred will be equal to the number of positions plus nine, or 10% of the eligible list, whichever is higher. When filling nine or more positions in a department at the same time, the top rank or ranks will be referred and the minimum number of names shall be two times the number of positions to be filled or 10% of the eligible list, whichever is higher. This applies only to open competitive recruitments.

• Rule of Five: The top five names will be referred for hiring interviews. This applies only to department or countywide promotional examination.

Physical Exam: Some classifications require physical examinations. Final appointment cannot be made until the eligible has passed the physical examination. The County pays for physical examinations administered in its medical facilities.

Pre-Employment Drug Screening Exam: Some classifications require a new employee successfully pass a pre-employment drug screen as a condition of employment. Final appointment cannot be made until the eligible has passed the drug screen. The County pays for the initial drug screen.

Employment of Relatives: Applicants who are relatives of employees in a department within the 3rd degree of relationship, (parent, child, grand parent, grand child or sibling) either by blood or marriage, may not be appointed, promoted, transferred into or within the department when;

• They are related to the Appointing Authority or
  
• The employment would result in one of them supervising the work of the other.
  

Department Head may establish additional limitations on the hiring of relatives by departmental rule.

Proof of Eligibility: If you are offered a job you will be required to provide proof of U.S. citizenship or other documents that establish your eligibility to be employed in the U.S.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply Online:

www.sjgov.org/department/hr

By mail or in person:

San Joaquin County Human Resources

44 N. San Joaquin Street Suite 330

Stockton, CA 95202

Office hours:
Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm; excluding holidays.

Phone: (209) 468-3370

Job Line:

For current employment opportunities please call our 24-hour job line at (209) 468-3377.

When a final filing date is indicated, applications must be filed with the Human Resources Division before 5:00 p.m. or postmarked by the final filing date. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of an application. Applications sent through county inter-office mail, which are not received by the final filing date, will not be accepted. (The County assumes no responsibility for mailed applications which are not received by the Human Resources Division).

San Joaquin County Substance Abuse Policy: San Joaquin County has adopted a Substance Abuse Policy in compliance with the Federal Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988. This policy is enforced by all San Joaquin County Departments and applies to all San Joaquin County employees.

Equal Opportunity Employer : San Joaquin County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer and is committed to providing equal employment to all without regard to age, ancestry, color, creed, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation or belief, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. For more information go to www.sjgov.org/department/hr/eeo .


Click on a link below to apply for this position:
Fill out the Supplemental Questionnaire and Application NOW using the Internet. Apply Online View and print the Supplemental Questionnaire. This recruitment requires completion of a supplemental questionnaire. You may view and print the supplemental questionnaire here. View and print the official application form as an Acrobat pdf file. A San Joaquin County application form is required for this recruitment. You may print this Acrobat PDF document and then fill it in. Contact us via conventional means. You may contact us by phone at (209) 468-3370, or by email, or apply for a job in person at the San Joaquin County Human Resources Division.

Closing Date/Time: 11/20/2024 11:59:00 PM

• 

• San Joaquin County

• 209-953-7325

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