Psychiatric Social Worker I/Dmh Intern

Position/Program Information

EXAM NUMBER:

b9034N

TYPE OF RECRUITMENT:
OPEN COMPETITIVE JOB OPPORTUNITY

FILING START DATE:
April 11, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. (Pacific Time).

Essential Job Functions

Interviews individuals, their families and/or significant others to obtain a family, social, employment, medical, substance abuse, and mental health treatment history.

Assesses client's functioning in his/her environmental setting.

Develops a tentative 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.

Plans and conducts the client's therapy program under the guidance of supervisory staff by considering the client's treatment goal and by determining the priorities of the programs to be dealt with and the length and modality of therapy.

Provides psychotherapy to individuals, groups, families, and significant others.

Provides case management services to secure resources for clients, families, and significant others in order to achieve treatment goals.

Serves as a member of a mental health emergency intervention team and/or 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.

Requests LPS-authorized persons to complete an application for immediate 72-hour detention at a hospital facility.

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.

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.

Participates in multi-disciplinary team conferences to discuss and evaluate the nature of the client's problem, to evaluate the client's progress, and to develop a CCCP.

Participate in research to increase knowledge of mental health problems and to improve therapeutic treatment methods, as needed.

Requirements

SELECTION REQUIREMENTS:

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

A Master's degree* from an accredited** School of Social Work and must be an intern within the Department of Mental Health.

LICENSE:

Master of Social Work graduates must become registered as an Associate Clinical Social Worker with the California Department of Consumer Affairs, Board of Behavioral Sciences within sixty (60) days from commencement of employment with the County of Los Angeles. Active and valid Associate Clinical Social Worker registration must be maintained continuously until successful completion of the examination process for licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Registered Associate Clinical Social Workers must obtain licensure within six (6) years from the original date of registration with the California Department of Consumer Affairs, Board of Behavioral Sciences. Failure to obtain licensure within the aforementioned timeframes may result in termination.

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.

2 - 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.

*Withhold Information: Applicants who expect to receive their Master's degree within six (6) months of filing an application may compete in the examination, and if successful, will be withheld from certification for employment until original documentation of successful completion of the required education is received. Applicants must attach proof (original or photocopy of an original) of their college transcripts or degree indicating the field of study from an accredited college or university, or a letter with the Registrar's signature on school letterhead with school seal indicating a planned graduation date within 6 months to their application at the time of filing or within seven (7) calendar days of filing.

Transcript: **In order to receive credit for any college or university course, or any type of college or university degree such as Master's degree or higher, you must include a legible copy of the official diploma, or official transcripts from the accredited institution which shows the area of specialization with your application at the time of filing or within 7 calendar days of filing.

• Foreign degrees must be evaluated for equivalency to United States accredited institutions standards by an academic credential evaluation agency recognized by The National Association of Credential Evaluation Services or the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE). See Employment Information under Accreditation Information.

Official Transcript is defined as a transcript that bears the college seal and states "official and/or copy" issued by the school's Registrar Office. A printout of the transcript from the school's website is NOT considered official and; therefore, will NOT be accepted and may result in your application being incomplete or rejected.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience, during Master's degree in Social Work, in individual, group, or family psychotherapy assessment in a local government mental health agency or psychiatric hospital within the last two years.

Additional Information

EXAMINATION CONTENT

An evaluation of education, training, experience and desirable qualifications based upon application information weighted 100%. Additional credit will be given for desirable qualifications.

Candidates must achieve a passing score of 70% or higher in order to be placed on the eligible register.

Notice of non-acceptance and final results will be sent via email.

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

The names of candidates receiving a passing grade in the examination will be placed on the eligible register in the order of their score group for a period of twelve (12) months following the date of promulgation.

Applications will be processed on as as-received basis and promulgated to the eligible register accordingly.

Retake: No person may compete for this examination more than once in a twelve (12) month period.

SPECIAL INFORMATION
Past and present mental health clients, parents, and family members are encouraged to apply.

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.

VACANCY INFORMATION
The eligible register for this examination will be used to fill vacancies throughout the Department of Mental Health.

AVAILABLE SHIFT
Appointees may be required to work any shift, including evenings, nights, weekends or holidays.

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. We must receive your application before 5:00 pm, PT, on the last day of filing. Application filing may be suspended at any time without advance notice.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING ONLINE
Apply online by clicking on the "Apply" tab for this posting. You can also track the status of your application using this website.

Applications must complete and submit their online applications and upload required documents (e.g. license, transcripts, resume, etc.,) as attachment(s) during application submission or send by email to [email protected] within seven (7) calendar days from date of application submission. Please be sure to reference your full name and examination title on the subject line of your email.

The acceptance of your application will depend on whether you have clearly shown that you meet the Selection Requirements. Your online application must show complete license, education and work experience information necessary to evaluate your qualifications. License information section must show title of license, license number, original date of issue, and expiration date. Education information section must include name and address of school attended, complete dates attended, name of course/s taken, number of units earned, and degree/s earned. Work experience section must include job title, employer name and address, name of work area/facility, actual payroll title held and not the working and/or functional titles, from/to dates of employment including month, day and year, total number of months, total number of hours worked per week - not a range of hours (full or part-time), and complete and detailed description of related job duties. If range of hours is provided, experience will be prorated based on the lowest number of hours worked per week. LIST separately each job experience to be evaluated. All information supplied by applicants is subject to verification. We may reject your application at any time during the examination or selection process.

IMPORTANT NOTES
• Please note that ALL information included in the application materials is subject to VERIFICATION at any point during the examination and hiring process, including after an appointment has been made.
• FALSIFICATION of any information may result in DISQUALIFICATION or RESCISSION OF APPOINTMENT.
• Utilizing VERBIAGE from Class Specification and/or Selection Requirements serving as your description of duties WILL NOT be sufficient to meet the requirements. Doing so may result in an INCOMPLETE APPLICATION and you may be DISQUALIFIED.

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.

For the time being, all notifications, including results letters and notices of non-acceptance, will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application. It is important that you provide a valid email address. Please add [email protected] as well as [email protected] and [email protected] to your email address and list of approved senders to prevent email notification from being filtered as span/junk/clutter mail.

Applicants 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.

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.

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: [email protected]

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.

Your Responsibilities:

1. Completing Your Application:

a. Before submission of the application, it is your responsibility to ensure that all information provided is correct and complete on the application. Incomplete applications cannot be accepted.

b. List each payroll title separately for each job. Do not group your experience. Specify the beginning and ending dates for each job. If you are a Los Angeles County employee and have held multiple positions, do NOT list all of your time with the County under your present payroll title.

c. Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.

d. To receive credit, include required documents (e.g., copy of your diploma, transcript, certificate, or license) as directed on the job posting. International degrees in a foreign language must be translated to English and evaluated for equivalency to U.S. standards. Refer to the job posting for specific deadlines for supporting documentation.

2. Requirements on Job Posting:

a. Your application will only be accepted if it clearly shows you meet the requirements. The information you give will determine your eligibility and is subject to verification at any time.

b. You must be at least 16 years of age at the time of appointment unless other age limits are stated on the job posting. The Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967, as amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of age for any individual age 40 or older.

c. Experience is evaluated on the basis of a verifiable 40- hour week, unless specified otherwise. Prorated part-time experience may be acceptable.

3. Application Deadline: All job applications must be completed and submitted before the closing time on the last day of the filing period as indicated on the job posting unless other instructions are provided. Job postings with an open continuous filing period are subject to closure without prior notice. It is to your advantage to file your application early and not wait until the last allowable date and time as you will not be able to apply once the filing period has closed.

4. Change of Name or Address: To change personal information such as your name or address, log into your profile on www.governmentjobs.com and make the necessary change. This can be done at any time.

5. Equal Employment Opportunity/Non-Discrimination Policy:

a. It is the policy of the County of Los Angeles to provide equal employment opportunity for all qualified persons, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. b. If you are an individual requesting reasonable accommodation(s) in the examination process, please contact the testing accommodation coordinator listed on the job posting. The provision of accommodation(s) may be subject to verification, consistent with state and federal law. All accommodation-related information will remain confidential.

Disclaimer: The County of Los Angeles is not responsible or in any way liable for any computer hardware or software malfunction that may affect the employment application or the application selection process.

You assume all responsibility and risk for the use of this system and the Internet generally. This system and the information provided on it are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. No advice or information given by the County of Los Angeles or its respective employees shall modify the foregoing or create any warranty.

The County of Los Angeles expressly disclaims any warranty that the information on this system or on the Internet generally will be uninterruptible or error free or that any information, software or other material accessible from the system is free of viruses or other harmful components. You shall have no recourse against the County of Los Angeles as the system provider for any alleged or actual infringement of any proprietary rights a user may have in anything posted or retrieved on our system.

The County of Los Angeles shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special or consequential damages arising out of or in any way connected with the use of this system or with the delay or inability to use it (or any linked sites), or for any information obtained through this system, or otherwise arising out of the use of this system, the Internet generally or on any other basis.

NOTE: Your application is submitted using Secure Encryption to ensure the privacy of all information you transmit over the Internet.

By accepting the Use Disclaimer set forth herein, you agree to all of the above terms and further agree to use this Online Job Employment Application System only for the submission of bona fide employment applications to the County of Los Angeles. Any other use of this Online Job Employment Application System, including without limitation any copying, downloading, translating, decompiling, or reverse engineering of the system, data, or related software, shall be a violation of the Use Disclaimer.

Test Preparation: Study Guides and other resources are available to help candidates prepare for employment tests. An interactive system for taking practice tests may be accessed on the Department of Human Resources website at https://hr.lacounty.gov/. Additional resources may be listed on the job posting.

Veteran’s Credit: In all open competitive examinations, a veteran’s credit of 10 percent of the total credits specified for such examinations will be added to the final passing grade of an honorably discharged veteran who served in the Armed Forces of the United States under any of the following conditions: During a declared war; -or- During the period April 28, 1952 through July 1, 1955; -or- For more than 180 consecutive days, other than for training, any part of which occurred after January 31, 1955, and before October 15, 1976; -or- During the Gulf War from August 2, 1990 through January 2, 1992; -or- For more than 180 consecutive days, other than for training, any part of which occurred during the period beginning September 11, 2001, and ending on August 31, 2010 the last day of Operation Iraqi Freedom; -or- In a campaign or expedition for which a campaign medal or expeditionary medal has been authorized and awarded. Any Armed Forces Expeditionary medal or campaign badge, including El Salvador, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, Southwest Asia, Somalia, and Haiti qualifies for credit.

A campaign medal holder or Gulf War veteran who originally enlisted after September 7, 1980 (or began active duty on or after October 14, 1982, and has not previously completed 24 months of continuous active duty) must have served continuously for 24 months or the full period called or ordered to active duty.

This also applies to the spouse of such person who, while engaged in such service was wounded, disabled or crippled and thereby permanently prevented from engaging in any remunerative occupation, and also to the widow or widower of any such person who died or was killed while in such service. A DD214, Certificate of Discharge or Separation from Active Duty, or other official documents issued by the branch of service are required as verification of eligibility for Veterans preference. Applicants must submit the documentation for each open competitive exam to qualify for veteran’s credit. More information available at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/veterans-services/vet-guide-for-hr-professionals/

Accreditation Information: Accredited institutions are those listed in the publications of regional, national or international accrediting agencies that are accepted by the Department of Human Resources. Publications such as American Universities and Colleges and International Handbook of Universities are acceptable references. Also acceptable, if appropriate, are degrees that have been evaluated and deemed to be equivalent to degrees from United States accredited institutions by an academic credential evaluation agency recognized by The National Association of Credential Evaluation Services or the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE). More information is available at: http://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/070812_PPG123.pdf and http://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/205105_PPG_123_AC E_Resource_Guide.pdf

Background Check: 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 a 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 or adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and will also 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.

Career Planning: 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 https://career-pathfinder.hr.lacounty.gov/#/.

Benefit Information: Depending on the position, the successful candidate will enroll in a contributory defined benefit pension plan if the candidate is a “new member” of the County’s defined benefit plan (LACERA) on or after January 1, 2013 (first employed by the County on or after December 1, 2012) – unless she or he established reciprocity with another public retirement system in which she or he was a member before January 1, 2013. It should be noted that County employees do not pay into Social Security, but do pay the Medical Hospital Insurance Tax portion of Social Security at a rate of 1.45%. The Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) has reciprocal agreements with several public retirement systems in California.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: All positions are open to qualified men and women. Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, persons with disabilities who believe they need reasonable accommodation, or help in order to apply for a position, may contact the ADA/Personnel Services for Disabled Persons Coordinator. Hearing impaired applicants with telephone teletype equipment may leave messages by calling the teletype phone number on the job posting. The County will attempt to meet reasonable accommodation requests whenever possible.

Equal Employment Opportunity: It is the policy of the County of Los Angeles to provide equal employment opportunity for all qualified persons, regardless of race, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. All positions are open to qualified men and women pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The County will comply with all of its obligations under State and Federal laws regarding the provision of reasonable accommodations to applicants.

Los Angeles County Child Support Compliance Program: In an effort to improve compliance with court ordered child, family and spousal support obligations, certain employment and identification information (i.e., name, address, Social Security number and date of hire) is regularly reported to the State Directory of New Hires which may assist in locating persons who owe these obligations. Family Code Section 17512 permits under certain circumstances for additional employment and identifying information to be requested. Applicants will not be disqualified from employment based on this information.

Social Security Act of 2004: Section 419 (c) of Public Law 108-203, the Social Security Protection Act of 2004, requires State and local government employers to disclose the effect of the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset Provision to employees hired on or after January 1, 2005, in jobs not covered by Social Security. The County of Los Angeles does not participate in the Social Security System. All newly hired County of Los Angeles employees must sign a statement (Form SSA-1945) prior to the start of employment indicating that they are aware of a possible reduction in their future Social Security benefit entitlement. For more information on Social Security and about each provision, you may visit the website www.socialsecurity.gov, or call toll free 1-800-772- 1213. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the TTY number 1-800-325-0778 or contact a local Social Security office.

Employment Eligibility Information: Final appointment is contingent upon verification of U.S. citizenship or the right to work in the United States. Immigration law provides that all persons hired after November 6, 1986, are required to present original documents to the County, within three (3) business days of hiring, which show satisfactory proof of 1) identity and 2) U.S. employment eligibility.

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 commencing with Section 12900 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) the Regulations of the Fair Employment and Housing Commission (California Code of Regulations, Title 2, Division 4, Sections 7285.0 through 8504) and other applicable laws prohibit employment discrimination based on an applicant's protected characteristics, including race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, childbirth, and other characteristics.

COVID-19 VACCINATION: Some County workforce members may be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Successful candidates for those positions/classifications may be required to submit proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or request an exemption for qualifying medical or religious reasons during the onboarding process. Candidates should not present proof of vaccination until instructed to do so by the hiring department.

Updated February 2024