PSYCHIATRIC SOCIAL WORKER II/ EMERGENCY APPOINTMENTS HOMELESSNESS

About the role

The Department of Mental Health is seeking qualified candidates to fill emergency Psychiatric Social Worker II vacancies related to the homelessness crisis. Under the emergency order, applicants who meet the requirements may be hired for an initial period of up to 90 days, with an opportunity for permanent County employment.

Responsibilities

• Interviews individuals, their families and/or significant others to obtain a family, social, employment, medical, substance abuse and mental health treatment history.
• Affords assessments of client’s functioning in his/her environmental setting.
• Develops a Client Care Coordination Plan (CCCP) designed to resolve or cope with the mental or emotional problem, which may include individual, group, family or marital counseling, case management, and/or referral to another treatment source such as a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a vocational or rehabilitation counselor, or another agency.
• Determines the duration of therapy, priorities of the problems to be dealt with, therapy methods to be used, and necessity of modifying treatment goals at successive intervals during the treatment process.
• Provides psychotherapy to individuals, groups, families, and significant others.
• Provides case management services to secure resources for clients, families and significant others to achieve treatment goals.
• Aids clients, families, and significant others by discussing their reactions and attitudes concerning mental health problems and co-occurring substance abuse disorders; explains need for treatment; and encourages all concerned parties to work together cooperatively to resolve the problem and minimize the stresses that impact social functioning.
• Works with families and significant others toward gaining their acceptance of and participation in treatment recommendations.
• Interviews persons seeking psychiatric assistance on an emergency basis and utilizes crisis intervention techniques to prevent hospitalization and to aid the person in dealing with the emotional crisis.
• Serves as a member of a mental health emergency intervention team and/or a joint law enforcement/mental health emergency intervention team by evaluating the behavior of persons to determine if they are, as a result of a mental disorder, dangerous to themselves, others, or gravely disabled.
• Initiates procedure on application for immediate 72-hour detention at a hospital facility and, depending upon the apparent seriousness of the situation, schedules an appointment for evaluation and treatment at a Mental Health Clinic or makes referral to another community treatment agency.
• Participates in multi-disciplinary team conferences to discuss and evaluate the nature of the client's problem and to evaluate the client's progress.
• Participates in social work student affiliate programs for training professional social work students through case assignments and technical instruction; assesses and evaluates students’ progress and professional development.
• Provides in-service training to social work staff and participates in mental health training programs for medical students and students in the allied health fields.
• Instructs community agencies regarding the utilization of mental health principles to identify and to treat mental health problems encountered by the agency.
• Participates in or conducts research to increase knowledge of mental health problems and to improve therapeutic treatment methods.
• Reviews treatment authorization requests from hospitals, contracted network and/or legal entity community-based providers/programs and recommend approval or denial of requests per specified state and Department of Mental Health contract compliance requirements, as needed.

Requirements

• License: A valid and active license as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker issued by the California Department of Consumer Affairs, Board of Behavioral Sciences.
• Valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.

Qualifications

Physical Class II – Light. This class includes administrative and clerical positions requiring light physical effort that may include occasional light lifting to a 10 pound limit and some bending, stooping, or squatting. Considerable ambulation may be involved.

Skills

N/A

Benefits

N/A

Pay

N/A

Schedule

N/A

Contact Information

Department Contact Name: Heleodora "Lola" Sacks, Exam Analyst
Department Contact Phone: (323) 705-4072 or (213) 972-7034
Department Contact Email: exams@dmh.lacounty.gov
ADA Coordinator Phone: (323) 705-4072
Teletype Phone: (800) 735-2922
California Relay Services Phone: (800) 735-2922

Equal Employment Opportunity/Non-Discrimination Statement

The County of Los Angeles is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and is committed to non-discrimination in the County workforce, regardless of age (40 and over); ancestry; color; ethnicity; religious creed; protected family or medical leave status; disability; marital status; medical condition; genetic information; military and veteran status; national origin; race ; sex; gender; sexual orientation; or any other characteristic protected by State or federal law. For more information, please visit: https://employee.hr.lacounty.gov/eeo-programs/.

Testing Accommodations

The County of Los Angeles complies with all federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application process, please contact the testing accommodation coordinator listed on the job posting.

Fair Chance

The County of Los Angeles is a Fair Chance employer. Except as otherwise permissible under applicable laws, you will not be asked to provide information about conviction history unless you receive a conditional offer of employment. The County will make an individualized assessment of whether your conviction history has a direct and adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and will also consider potential mitigating factors, which may include, but is not limited to, evidence and extent of rehabilitation, recency of the offense(s), a reasonable period of time having elapsed since completion of the sentence, and age at the time of the offense(s).