Behavioral Health Specialist II

ABOUT THE POSITION

The County of Riverside's Behavioral Health department seeks to fill multiple Behavioral Health Specialist II positions in Blythe, CA.

The incumbents will be responsible for, but not limited to:

* Providing outreach, engagement, and case management services to homeless individuals.
* Assisting individuals with obtaining required documents to apply for housing programs, and completing housing applications and forms.
* Completing progress notes, reports and documentation in a timely manner.
* Transporting consumers to medical, psychiatric and other appointments in the community.

Under general supervision, job duties include, but are not limited to the following; work with a team of mental and behavioral health professionals in planning and providing mental health services and provision of consumer treatment, directly assist clients in the utilization of appropriate community resources, provide education and information to the community, provide general counseling, provide case management services, outreach and engagement to homeless individuals, assist individuals with obtaining required documents to apply for housing programs, complete housing applications and forms, complete progress notes, reports and documentation in a timely manner, transport consumers to medical, psychiatric and other appointments in the community, provide community services, and perform other work as required.

Incumbents in this class provide support, encouragement, advocacy, and related services in order to assist the client in coping with immediate situations with no attempt to modify or change the consumer's personality structure. Classes in this series differ from those in the Clinical Therapist series in that the latter, due to advanced education and experience, use independent judgment in making diagnoses, developing treatment plans, and provide a wide range and variety of behavioral health services including psychotherapy.

Work Schedule: Will be discussed during the interview. Tentative: 9/80

Work Location:1297 W Hobsonway, Blythe, CA 92225

This is a field based, homeless outreach position in which staff are out in the field for 6 to 8 hours per day regardless of weather which may include strong winds, heavy rain or high heat.

Meet the Team

The Riverside University Health System is here for you when you or someone you love is in need of help to achieve and maintain a life of whole health wellness and recovery.

EXAMPLES OF ESSENTIAL DUTIES

* Interviews consumers to team with mental health professionals in determining the needs of individuals or groups on a walk-in/telephone basis; responds to potential suicide or other emergency telephone calls; describes basic services to consumers; discusses goals and objectives of proposed treatment plans and establishes contract with consumer; assists consumer in recognizing and solving conditions in the consumer's environment which may contribute to mental health problems; as part of a team, counsels individual consumers and groups to develop social adjustment skills and to increase client resolution of identified problems.
* Visits clients, individually or as part of a team, in a variety of living situations to help assess the mental health needs of individuals and families; places consumers who may have difficulty caring for themselves into an appropriate care or treatment facility; visits consumers to observe progress, provide counseling, gather data, and to report significant changes in the consumer's condition to designated professional staff.
* Refers consumers to appropriate resources and/or makes appointment with behavioral health professional(s) for diagnosis and evaluation; assists the consumer, family, and other concerned individuals in filing for and obtaining various kinds of assistance such as financial, housing, or legal; monitors consumer services to insure that a continuum of services is available.
* Gathers data from consumer/family interviews, past records, other information, to gain understanding and verification of previous disorders and treatment episodes; refers consumer to physicians for medication, observation, and treatment; advocates for the client; consults with other individuals and groups regarding services available within the Mental Health Department and specific needs of particular consumers.
* May provide direction to volunteers interested in performing services in Riverside County behavioral Health programs; acts as a liaison between the Mental Health Department and other agencies, departments, organizations, and community groups; May act as an agency representative to community organizations.
* Schedules or assists in the scheduling of needed transportation for consumer services; maintains records and writes reports and summaries for consumer records or other documentation including care status, care reviews, case management plans, summaries, and reports; prepares correspondence and special reports as necessary; attends in-service workshops and training.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge of: Basic principles and practices involved in improving mental health; laws, rules, and regulations governing a public mental health agency; behavioral health programs and services available to the community and their functions; principles and techniques of individual and group counseling; interviewing and problem solving methods.

Ability to: Work effectively with a wide variety of different agencies, organizations, and individuals; Interview clients, recognize the relevant and significant facts, and take appropriate action pertaining to behavioral health needs; implement a treatment plan and monitor a client's progress toward established goals; understand and evaluate psychological, cultural, and social factors affecting behavioral patterns; interpret agency programs and policies to clients, the general public, and agencies/organizations; apply laws, rules, and regulations governing a public mental health agency in specific situations; communicate effectively in verbal and written form.

OPTION I

Education: Completion of 30 sem./45 qtr. units in psychology, sociology, or related behavioral science coursework from a recognized college.

OPTION II

Experience: Six months of experience as a Behavioral Health Specialist I with Riverside County.

OPTION III

Experience: One year of experience equivalent to Behavioral Health Specialist I with a California County Mental Health Agency or private Mental Health care facility.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

Veterans' Preference

The County has a Veterans Preference Policy. Upload a copy of your (or your spouse's) Member-4 Form DD-214 (or NGB-22) indicating dates of service, and a copy of your spouse's letter of disability (if applicable) with your application. For privacy reasons, it is recommended that you remove your social security information from the document(s). A Human Resources Representative will review the materials and determine if you qualify for veterans' preference.

See the policyhere(Download PDF reader).

What's Next?

This recruitment is open to all applicants.

Applicants who are current County of Riverside employees and/or current employees of the Behavioral Health Department may be considered before other applicants depending on the volume of applications received.

Qualified applicants may be considered for future vacancies throughout the County.

Application Period

BASED ON THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS RECEIVED, THIS POSTING MAY CLOSE WITHOUT NOTICE.

Applications received prior to the closing date will be considered based on the information submitted. Changes or alterations cannot be accepted. No late applications will be permitted.

Applicants who fail to provide information demonstrating they possess the position requirements may not be considered further in the application process. A description of job duties directly copied from the job classification or job posting will not be considered.

Upload a copy of any license(s), official/unofficial transcript(s), degrees, and/or related employment documents to your NeoGov account. If your education was completed outside of the United States, you will need to provide a copy of your Foreign Education Equivalency evaluation from a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE).

Include relevant work experience details on resume and/or application.

For specific questions regarding this position, please contact Anay Sanchez at anasanchez@rivco.org