Social Worker​/Release Planner

Social Worker (Release Planners)

Empower Lives, Evoke Change:
Join Our Public Health Social Work Team Today! Jail Health Services (JHS), a division of Public Health - Seattle & King County, is actively seeking four (4) career service compassionate Social Worker (Release Planners) to join our dedicated Social Services section. Joining our dynamic, multidisciplinary healthcare team, you will play a crucial role in assisting individuals to access resources for healthier and more meaningful lives, making this position both rewarding and impactful.

In this role, you'll be deeply engaged in a harm reduction, trauma-informed, and patient-centered approach. Your key responsibilities include facilitating referrals, connecting individuals to medical care, behavioral health treatment, and various benefits and social services. Actively working to eliminate barriers, you will provide essential support such as medication, transportation, cell phones, clothing, and assistance with benefit activation upon release. This support ensures a smooth transition to community from one of two King County jails located in Seattle and Kent, WA.

The primary services we provide include medical, dental, mental health, social and release planning services, treatment of substance use disorders, and pharmaceutical services. We care about the patients we serve and their health outcomes. Our division includes over 250 employees and an annual budget of over $60 million. The purpose of JHS is to assure that high-quality health and human services are available to the incarcerated population in the King County adult correctional facilities: the King County Correctional Facility (KCCF) in Seattle and the Maleng Regional Justice Center (MRJC) in Kent.

The JHS vision is Opening doors to healthier, happier lives, and the mission is to assess and stabilize serious health problems for the detained population of the King County Correctional Facility and the Maleng Regional Justice Center with a focus on transition from jail.

Staffed 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, JHS provides a broad range of health care to all individuals booked into the jails. For patients with serious mental health or medical conditions, special housing units (psychiatric and infirmary) along with a higher level of services and medical monitoring are provided. Since the patient population varies both in numbers as well as in acuity of health conditions, staffing is adapted and flexed to meet the constantly changing needs of the population.

JHS staff manage the complex health needs of underserved populations many of whom come to the facility without access to care in the community and with decompensated acute and chronic health conditions.

Named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential civil rights leaders in our nation's history, King County is a vibrant international community with residents that represent countries from around the world. It is a region with increasing diversity that cherishes the traditions of many cultures.

The county government has a deep commitment to equity and social justice and advancing practices, strategies, and policies that promote fairness, justice, and opportunity for all – in our workplaces and our communities. With this commitment, King County has adopted a pro-equity agenda to advance regional change and ensure that residents from all communities are incorporated into our emergency planning and public outreach efforts.

We recognize that structural racism consists of principles and practices that cause and justify an inequitable distribution of rights, opportunities, and experiences across racial groups. Since declaring Racism is a Public Health Crisis in June 2020, King County and Public Health committed to being intentionally anti-racist and accountable to Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities.

To learn more, please visit http://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..aspx

Public Health employees classified as Social Worker shall be eligible upon approval to receive a 5.5 % Master Premium above their current base pay rate on all earnings subject to QUALIFICATION…