Psychiatric Social Worker I/II/III/IV

Full Job Description

Under immediate (I) or general (II, III, IV) supervision, provides clinical or administrative psychiatric social work services in a multi-cultural environment through the use of individual, family, or group therapy, case management, interagency collaboration, and community organization; and, performs related work as required.

The ideal candidate for this position interacts with the family, patient and other disciplines to address social concerns and coordinate a safe and acceptable discharge plan. The incumbent will perform assessments, psycho-education case management for patients and their families in collaboration with other members of the treatment team.
Functions of this position will include clinical charting and discharge planning, coordinating community support services with the treatment and case management plans, collaborating with community health, education, social services, juvenile or criminal justice agencies, or other services to assist the client and/or family member. Must be able to work collaboratively with the Multidisciplinary team in a fast-paced state healthcare environment. Most positions, unless otherwise specified, require some evening, weekend and holiday hours.

WHAT WE OFFER:
The County of Ventura offers an attractive compensation and benefits package. Aside from our base salary range, an employee within this position will also be eligible for the following:

• Educational/Bilingual Incentive - Incumbents may be eligible for an educational incentive of 2.5%, 3.5%, or 5% based on completion of an Associate's, Bachelor's, or Master's degree. Incumbents may also be eligible for bilingual incentive depending upon operational need and certification of skill.

Deferred Compensation - Eligible to participate in the County's 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and/or the Section 457 Plan.

If you participate in the County sponsored 401(k) plan, the County will match a part of your contribution up to 3% of your salary, on a per pay period basis.

Following five (5) years of continuous County service, an additional 2% non-elective contribution will be made to the 401(k) plan.

• Health Plans - You are afforded a flexible credit allowance for purchasing medical, dental, and/or vision insurance from a group of authorized plans.
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Pre-tax benefit towards eligible medical, dental, and vision care expenses.
• Pension Plan - Participation in the County's defined benefit pension plan. If eligible, you may establish reciprocity with other public retirement systems such as CalPERS.
• Holidays - 12 paid days per year which includes a scheduled floating holiday.
• To learn more about the benefits, please follow the link below: https://vcportal.ventura.org/CEO/HR/MOA/docs/SEIU_MOA_2022-2025.pdf

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS:
Psychiatric Social Worker I ($29.23 - $37.22 hourly) - is the entry level classification where emphasis is on learning casework methods, procedures, policies under close supervision as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

Psychiatric Social Worker II ($2,673.32 - $3,747.34 Biweekly) - is the journey level classification providing standard services under general supervision.

Psychiatric Social Worker III ($2,807.53 - $3,932.64 Biweekly) - is the fully licensed, advanced journey clinical level assigned more leadership responsibilities and complex clinical and case management responsibilities. A PSW III requires greater skill and depth of job knowledge in assessing problem situations, and formulating and implementing plans for services.

Psychiatric Social Worker IV ($2,946.67 - $4,128.21 Biweekly) - is the fully licensed, expert level which can accept clinical leadership responsibilities, the most complex clinical and case management responsibilities, and may provide clinical supervision when called upon by the program manager. In addition to assignments similar to the three lower levels, a PSW IV is expected to provide training, assist in the development of interagency collaboration, and perform other tasks to assist administrative efforts. This level may also supervise specialized teams or coordinate centralized, department-wide client support services.

AGENCY/DEPARTMENT: Health Care Agency – Ventura County Medical Center (Medical Social Services and Inpatient Psychiatric Unit)

Psychiatric Social Worker I, II, III, and IV are represented by the Service Employees' International Union (SEIU) and are not eligible for overtime compensation.

The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary and Fixed-Term) Intermittent, and Extra-Help vacancies within the Health Care Agency. There is currently one (1) Intermittent vacancy

NOTE: If appointed at the lower level, incumbent may be promoted to the higher level without further examination upon meeting the minimum requirements, demonstrating satisfactory performance, and in accordance with the business needs of the department.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
OPENING DATE: 7/3/2025
CLOSING DATE: Continuous (Previously 7/18/2025)

Requirements

Duties may include but are not limited to the following.

Performs assessments, individual or group therapy, psycho-education case management for clients and their families in collaboration with other members of the treatment team; clinical charting; and, discharge planning;Participates in treatment and case management team meetings;Coordinates community support services with the treatment and case management plan;Collaborates with community health, education, social services, juvenile or criminal justice agencies, or other services to assist the client and/or family member;Formulates plan and holds daily unit therapy groups; andPerforms related duties as assigned.Psychiatric Social Worker IIIn addition to the duties above, the Psychiatric Social Worker II may include:Performs independent treatment and case management duties.Psychiatric Social Worker IIIIn addition to the duties above, the Psychiatric Social Worker III may include any combination of the following tasks:Performs complex clinical and case management activities; Assists in planning, organizing, and coordinating mental health or substance abuse services and programs;Assists in monitoring client outcomes and cost data; and makes recommendations for improved performance;Makes presentations to local agencies, community groups, visitors, and at colleges;Psychiatric Social Worker IVIn addition to the duties above, the Psychiatric Social Worker IV may perform any combination of the following tasks:Performs the most complex clinical and case management assignments.Provides training and clinical supervision for subordinate professional and paraprofessional staff or social work students in field work placement.Supervises specialized teams or coordinates department wide client service functions.Develops and monitors interagency agreements, policies, procedures, and protocols as needed.Assists Program Supervisors with special projects.

Qualifications These are entrance requirements to the exam process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.

Education, Training, and Experience: Psychiatric Social Worker I Possession of a Master’s degree in Social Work from an accredited university; ANDProof of Registration as an Associate with the California Department of Consumer Affairs Board of Behavioral Science Examiners (BBS) as an Associate Clinical Social Worker; OR Be within six months of completion of the requirements for graduation with a Master’s degree in Social Work from an accredited university.

Candidates who meet this qualification may receive a conditional offer of employment.

Candidates must provide the following by date of hire or the offer of employment will be withdrawn:Proof of possession of a Master’s degree in Social Work from an accredited university; ANDProof of Registration as an Associate with the California Department of Consumer Affairs Board of Behavioral Science Examiners.Psychiatric Social Worker II Possession of a Master’s degree in Social Work from an accredited university, ANDProof of Registration as an Associate with the California Department of Consumer Affairs Board of Behavioral Science Examiners (BBS) as an Associate Clinical Social Worker, ANDAt least one (1) year of experience in a psychiatric or alcohol/drug services setting working with seriously emotionally disturbed and/or addicted children or adolescents, or seriously mentally ill and/or addicted adults or seniors, and their families.Psychiatric Social Worker III Possession of a Master’s degree in Social Work from an accredited university, ANDMust have a California License as a Clinical Social Worker ANDAt least three (3) years of experience in a psychiatric or alcohol/drug services setting working with seriously emotionally disturbed and/or addicted children or adolescents, or seriously mentally ill and/or addicted adults or seniors, and their families.Psychiatric Social Worker IV Possession of a Master’s degree in Social Work from an accredited university, ANDMust have a California License as a Clinical Social Worker ANDAt least four years (4) of experience in a psychiatric or alcohol/drug treatment setting working with seriously emotionally disturbed and/or alcohol/drug addicted children or adolescents, or seriously mentally ill and/or alcohol/drug addicted adults or seniors, and their families.

May be required to have specific work experience with an age group or type of service.NOTE: Accredited institutions are those listed through the U.S.

Department of Education--Office of Postsecondary Education.

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 and Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc.

Necessary Special Requirements:Incumbents in this classification are required to be registered with and maintain current an Associate registration number from the California Department of Consumer Affairs Board of Behavioral Science Examiners as a condition of continued employment;Incumbents must obtain a Licensed Clinical Social Worker license (LCSW) license within six (6) years of initial registration as Associate Social Worker with the BBS, as a condition of continued employment (Level I/II).Certain positions may require work experience with specific age groups such as children, adults, or older adults and/or related service types.

Some positions require some evening hours and weekend coverage.Must possess a current, valid Basic Life Support (BLS/CPR) certification by the first day of employment.Desired:Bilingual (English/Spanish)Experience working with a multi-cultural client population;Field work placement experience in a psychiatric setting.

Experience performing assessments with individuals and families to assist with admission and discharge planning.Experience working with community agencies including arranging community and at home services.

Training in SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) (Medical Social Services)CCS paneled, California Children’s Services – if not currently CCS paneled, application must be submitted after hire.

(Medical Social Services) Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:Some to comprehensive knowledge of the following: social work concepts and methods applied to the seriously mentally ill or alcohol/drug addicted; the diagnostic and assessment process; the application of appropriate intervention techniques; psychosocial and cultural factors affecting mental health or substance abuse service delivery; the scope and activities of private and public agencies; mental health or substance abuse case management.In addition to the above the Psychiatric Social Worker III & IV may includesome to comprehensive knowledge of the principles of supervision and trainingAbility to do the following: establish and maintain effective working relationships with others as part of a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural team; assess, treat, and manage cases for an ethnically diverse population of seriously mentally ill or addicted clients; communicate effectively in writing and orally, including public speaking; efficiently organize time and workload responsibilities; effectively utilize agency and community resources; conduct group meetings, interpret and explain laws, rules and regulations to other staff, clients, family members, and the public.In addition to the above the Psychiatric Social Worker III & IV may includesome to thorough ability to organize and supervise the work of others, as required.

Additional Information FINAL FILING DATE: This is a continuous recruitment and may close at any time; therefore, apply as soon as possible if you are interested in it.

Your application must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the closing date.

To apply on-line, please refer to our web site at www.ventura.org/hr.

If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 677-5184 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources, Health Care Agency, 646 County Square Drive, Ventura, CA 93003 Note to Applicants: It is essential that you complete all sections of your application and supplemental questionnaire thoroughly and accurately to demonstrate your qualifications.

A resume and/or other related documents may be attached to supplement the information in your application and supplemental questionnaire; however, it/they may not be submitted in lieu of the application.

NOTE: If presently permanently employed in another "merit" or "civil service" public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a "merit" or "civil service" style examination, then appointment by "Lateral Transfer" may be possible.

If interested, please click here for additional information.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE – qualifying: All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination at the time of filing.

The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position.

Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire will result in the application being removed from consideration.

APPLICATION EVALUATION – qualifying: All applications will be reviewed to determine whether or not the stated requirements are met.

Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the screening and selection process.

TRAINING & EXPERIENCE EVALUATIONA Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate, including the written responses to the supplemental questionnaire.

The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather, the T&E is one method for determining who are the better qualified among those who have shown that they meet the stated requirements.

In a T&E, applications are either scored or rank ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the department.

Candidates are typically scored/ranked in relation to one another; consequently, when the pool of candidates is exceptionally strong, many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.

NOTE: The selection process will likely consist of an Oral Exam, which may be preceded or replaced with the score from a Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E), contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool.

In a typical T&E, your training and experience are evaluated in relation to the background, experience and factors identified for successful job performance during a job analysis.

For this reason, it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities.

It is also highly recommended that the supplemental questions within the application are completed with care and diligence.

ORAL EXAM – 100%: A job-related oral exam will be conducted to evaluate and compare participating applicants' knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation to those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job.

Applicants must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

NOTE: If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, an oral exam will not be conducted.

Instead, a score of seventy percent (70%) will be assigned to each application, and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list.

Applicants successfully completing the exam process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A thorough pre-employment, post offer background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information, and driving record may be required for this position.EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITYThe County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.For further information about this recruitment, please contact Brett Ramirez by e-mail at Brett.Ramirez@venturacounty.gov or by telephone at (805) 654-2277.