Adult and Aging Social Worker

About the role

The County of Sonoma Human Services Department (HSD) seeks experienced Social Workers who are ready to make a difference in the lives of adults with vulnerabilities in our community! Starting salary up to $57.83 /hour ( $120,698 /year) plus a competitive total compensation package!

Responsibilities

• Receiving and investigating reports of suspected elder and/or dependent abuse, neglect, or self-neglect through the intake process
• Managing a client caseload and providing person-centered services to elders and adults who are dependent
• Providing an evidenced-based intervention to address symptoms of depression
• Conducting home visits, risk assessments, creating person-centered service plans, and documenting case details within required time frames
• Working collaboratively with community partners, such as law enforcement, the District Attorney, hospitals, and other social services agencies to intervene in cases of abuse and neglect
• Responding to client emergencies when it is determined there is an immediate health and/or safety risk
• Collaborating with a multidisciplinary team weekly
• Identifying and linking clients to available resources and services
• Conducting interviews and providing crisis counseling with reporting parties to collect detailed information
• Completing detailed case documentation and meeting mandated deadlines for specific case action and documentation

Requirements

The ideal candidates for the Adult and Aging Social Worker position will be compassionate, resourceful, and adaptable professionals who thrive in a dynamic, community-centered environment. They will bring strong clinical skills, cultural humility, and an ability to navigate complex systems to ensure older adults, people with disabilities, and their families receive equitable access to services and support.

Skills

• Experience with social work case management, including managing complex caseloads
• Significant knowledge of social work principles and mental health conditions in the aging and disabled populations
• Experience supporting older adults and people with disabilities in home, medical, or community-based settings
• Knowledge of community resources, crisis intervention techniques, and risk assessment protocols
• Experience in community care coordination, counseling, and mental health services
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and tactful problem-solving skills in sensitive or traumatic situations
• Experience conducting home visits with older adults and people with disabilities
• The ability to work within a multidisciplinary team, including physicians, nurses, behavioral health clinicians, and/or community partners
• Experience working with regional centers, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing facilities, or other institutions or medical settings
• Strong skills in assessment, care planning, service coordination, and advocacy
• The ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills working with diverse populations
• A commitment to Trauma-Informed Care and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion principles

Qualifications

• Any combination of training and experience which would provide the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and abilities listed.
• Normally, this includes a Master's Degree in social work, or a Master's Degree from a two-year counseling program, such as marriage and family therapy, clinical counseling, mental health counseling, addiction counseling, and counseling psychology, upon appointment;
• OR, Graduation from college, with a Bachelor’s Degree in social work, sociology, psychology or other behavioral science; and three years of social work case management experience for older and/or adults or people with disabilities or complex medical conditions, which included performing duties such as needs assessments, conducting investigations of abuse and neglect, and/or developing and modifying social work case plans;
• OR, Academic coursework at a college or university in social work, sociology, psychology, and other behavior sciences; and six years of progressively responsible experience providing social services for older and/or dependent adults, or for people with disabilities or complex medical conditions, which included performing duties such as needs assessments, conducting investigations of abuse and neglect, and/or developing and modifying social work case plans would provide such opportunity.

Special Requirement

Some positions require a Master’s degree in Social Work per State regulations; some positions may require bilingual skills.

Licenses

Possession of a valid driver’s license at the appropriate level including special endorsements, as required by the State of California, may be required depending upon assignment to perform the essential job functions of the position. The position advertised on this announcement requires possession of a valid California Driver’s License.

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

• Considerable knowledge of: current principles, practices, and techniques of social work; casework methods and techniques with particular reference to problems of older and/or dependent adult neglect, abandonment, and abuse; current philosophy and practices in the field of Adult Social Services and gerontology; 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 adult behavior; signs and symptoms of alcohol and drug use/abuse in adults and their families/caregivers; standards for maintaining clients safely in the home; options for housing and higher level care; conflict resolution, family dynamics, and caregiver/client dynamics.
• Working knowledge of: principles and methodologies of research, analysis, prob