Homelessness Social Worker Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Salary : $87,954.72 - $112,272.00 Annually
Location : Los Angeles County, CA
Job Type: Full time
Job Number: b9035I-EA
Department: MENTAL HEALTH
Opening Date: 11/07/2023
Position/Program Information
TYPE OF RECRUITMENT:
OPEN COMPETITIVE- EMERGENCY
FILING DATES:
November 8, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)
This examination will remain open until the needs of the service are met and is subject to close without prior notice.
EXAM NUMBER:
b9035I-EA
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.
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.
Before the end of your initial work period, you will be assessed on your work performance. This assessment will be weighted 100%.
Those who successfully pass the assessment will be considered for permanent appointment to Psychiatric Social Worker II.
Essential Job Functions

• Interviews individuals, their familiesand/or significant others to obtain a family, social, employment, medical, substance abuse and mental health treatment history.
• Assesses client'sfunctioning 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.
  
• Assists 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 evaluatingthe 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 facilityand, 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.
  
• Providesin-service training to social work staff and participates in mental health training programs for medical students and students in the allied health fields.
  
• Instructscommunity agencies regardingthe 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
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
LICENSE:
A valid and active license as a LicensedClinical Social Worker issued by the California Department of Consumer Affairs, Board of Behavioral Sciences.
License: Attach a copy of your active and valid license as a Clinical Social Worker with expiration date at the time of filing or within 3 days of application filing directly to exams@dmh.lacounty.gov, please include exam number and exam title in the subject line.
You MUST meet the above requirement(s) in order to be appointed to fill any vacancies related to this recruitment.
A 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.
PHYSICAL CLASS:
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.
Additional Information
EXAMINATION CONTENT
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. This assessment will be weighted 100%. Those who successfully pass the assessment will be considered for permanent appointment.
APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION
Applicants are required to complete and submit an online Los Angeles County Employment Application AND Supplemental Questionnaire in order to be considered for this examination. Paper applications, resumes, or any unsolicited documents will not be accepted in lieu of completing the online application and Supplemental Questionnaire. Application filing may be suspended at any time without advance notice.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING ONLINE
Applications must be submitted online only and will be reviewed for interview consideration on an ongoing basis. If you have not been contacted within 60 days and the recruitment remains open or reopens for filing, we encourage you to submit a new application. This will allow you to reaffirm your interest and update any relevant information.
Many important notifications will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application, so it is important that you provide a valid email address. Please add hsacks@dmh.lacounty.gov as well as noreply@governmentjobs.com and info@governmentjob.com to your email address and list of approved senders to prevent email notification from being filtered as span/junk/clutter mail.
You have the ability to opt out of emails from LA County. If you unsubscribe, you will not receive any email notification for any examination for which you apply with Los Angeles County. Regardless of whether you choose to unsubscribe, you can always check for notifications by logging into governmentjobs.com and viewing your profile inbox, which saves a copy of all emailed notices.
Plan to submit your online application well in advance before the deadline as you may be required to verify your email address. This only needs to be done once per email address, and if you already have a job seeker account on govermmentjobs.com/careers/lacounty,gov you can verify at any time by logging in and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of your online application and to ensure you do not enter an incorrect email address.
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER LANGUAGE
Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number
COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT LIBRARIES
For candidates who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.
FAIR CHANCE EMPLOYER
The County of Los Angeles is a Fair Chance employer. Except for a very limited number of positions, you will not be asked to provide information about a conviction history unless you receive a contingent offer of employment. The County will make an individualized assessment of whether your conviction history has a direct or adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and consider potential mitigating factors, including, but not limited to, evidence and extent of rehabilitation, recency of the offense(s), and age at the time of the offense(s). If asked to provide information about a conviction history, any convictions or court records which are exempted by a valid court order do not have to be disclosed.
NO SHARING USER ID AND PASSWORD
All applicants must file their applications online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record.
DEPARTMENT CONTACT
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
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
Employment Information
Any language contained in the job posting supersedes any language contained below.
This document is intended to provide general information about the recruitment process of the County of Los Angeles. Applicants with questions about a specific job posting should contact the exam analyst listed on the posting.
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:
Testing Accommodations for Applicants:
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. Hearing impaired applicants with telephone teletype equipment may leave messages by calling the teletype phone number on the job posting. For more information on accommodations, please visit:
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), and age at the time of the offense(s). If asked to provide information about conviction history, any convictions or court records which are exempted by a valid court order do not have to be disclosed. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with County Fair Chance Policies and the Fair Chance Act (Gov. Code Section 12952).
Employment Eligibility:
Final appointment is contingent upon verification of U.S. citizenship or the right to work in the United States.
Career PathFinder:
Resources to help current and prospective employees plan a career with Los Angeles County are available. To explore career paths to and from nearly all job titles, please visit our interactive Career PathFinder application at
Veteran's Credit:
Pursuant to the County Charter and County policy, in all open competitive examinations (i.e., examinations open to everyone), the County of Los Angeles will add a credit of 10 percent of the total credits specified for such examination to the final passing score of an honorably discharged veteran, as well as the spouse of a deceased or disabled veteran, who served in the Armed Forces of the United States under specific conditions.
For more information on veteran's credit, please visit:
Revised September 2025
For detailed information, please click
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