Psychiatric Social Worker Ii​/Emergency Appointment Homelessness

Psychiatric Social Worker II – Emergency Vacancy

The LA County Board of Supervisors recently declared a local state of emergency for homelessness, and the County is working to revise and expand our response to help all who are affected. We are looking for qualified and passionate individuals to help us in the mission of addressing issues like housing, mental health, and substance use. If you are looking for a new career that will directly benefit the population of LA County, this may be the opportunity for you.

OPEN COMPETITIVE - EMERGENCY

Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at 8:30 a.m., Pacific Time (PT)

PH9035A-EA

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. Before the end of your initial work period, you will be assessed on your work performance. Those who successfully pass the assessment will be considered for permanent appointment to Psychiatric Social Worker II.

Performs a wide variety of professional social work services in connection with the treatment of clients in need of mental health services.

Positions are assigned to community mental health facilities, psychiatric hospital wards, outpatient mental health clinics, and specialized mental health treatment programs and work under the general supervision of a higher level psychiatric social worker position, supervisory mental health position, or a psychiatrist. Incumbents formulate differential diagnoses concerning the nature of the mental illness, develop intervention plans, and determine appropriate psychotherapeutic methods.

They apply a wide variety of psychotherapeutic techniques and methods, including group, family, individual and conjoint therapy, clinical case management, and crisis intervention. They provide mental health consultation services to other health disciplines and community agencies, and participate in social work student affiliate programs for training professional social work students. Duties and responsibilities also include basic leadership and training principles for program direction for graduate students and unlicensed clinical staff.

• Interview individuals, their families and/or significant others to obtain a family, social, employment, medical, substance abuse and mental health treatment history.
• Assess client’s functioning in his/her environmental setting.
• Develop 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, psychologist, vocational or rehabilitation counselor, or another agency.
• Determine 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.
• Provide psychotherapy to individuals, groups, families, and significant others.
• Provide case management services to secure resources for clients, families and significant others to achieve treatment goals.
• Assist clients, families, and significant others by discussing their reactions and attitudes concerning mental health problems and co-occurring substance abuse disorders; explain the need for treatment; and encourage all concerned parties to work together cooperatively to resolve the problem and minimize the stresses that impact social functioning.
• Work with families and significant others toward gaining their acceptance of and participation in treatment recommendations.
• Interview persons seeking psychiatric assistance on an emergency basis and utilize crisis intervention techniques to prevent hospitalization and to aid the person in dealing with the emotional crisis.
• Serve 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…