What are the responsibilities and job description for the SENIOR CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER position at Los Angeles County Department of Human Resources?
EXAM NUMBER:
PH9019B
PH9019B
TYPE OF RECRUITMENT:
We welcome applications from anyone.
FIRST DAY OF FILING:
The application filing period will begin on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. (PT) - Continuous.
We will keep accepting applications until the position is filled. The application window may close unexpectedly once we have enough qualified candidates.
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THE TEAM MEMBER WE ARE SEARCHING FOR:
We are looking for someone who provides professional social work services to patients and families presenting difficult and compound medical and related psychological and social problems. In addition to providing direct patient services, the incumbent has responsibility for the social work activities of a small social work unit in a community ambulatory care setting.
CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS:
Positions allocable to this class are assigned to hospitals and ambulatory care settings and are characterized primarily by the highly specialized and difficult case assignments where the nature and extent of a patient's medical condition is life-threatening or has a dramatic impact upon the functioning and lifestyle of the patient and family.
- Senior Clinical Social Workers are encouraged to function with minimal technical supervision as they provide professional individualized treatment to accomplish changes in insight, attitudes, and motivation of patients and their family members to attain optimal health functioning.
- At this level, providing professional social work services to patients with such complex medical and psycho-social problems is regularly performed with infrequent recourse to supervisory guidance.
- Social work practice at the senior level demands highly professional skills and may include additional expertise in specific therapeutic methods such as reality therapy, behavior modification, and group therapy.
- All incumbents act as a consultant other health fields and community agencies about problems related to patient care and assessing unmet patient needs.
- Incumbents in these positions act as team leaders and coordinate social work functions as needed within a particular service by providing professional diagnostic and goal setting functions for the team members and by managing the system of case assignment. The evaluation, intervention planning, and resolution of problems not directly patient-related.
- Positions located in the community outpatient medical settings spend a majority of the time providing direct social work services to patients and family members while concurrently directing the work of a small social work unit.
- Assignment in an ambulatory facility includes developing and coordinating social work services with other programs within the respective area of assignment, formulating goals and objectives for the unit, and adapting policies and procedures to provide more effective social work services to patients.
- All positions in this class must possess an extensive knowledge of established professional social work standards and principles, pertinent policies and guidelines of the department and the assigned facility, community resources available for referral, and State and Federal social welfare laws and regulations.
- Incumbents must also possess oral and written communication skills to facilitate therapy sessions to both individuals and groups, to conduct interviews with patients and their families, to expand and to implement intervention plans, to coordinate social work services within their assigned facility, and to provide direction to team members.
Essential Job Functions
- Interviews and evaluates family members and patients to identify social, emotional, and economic factors which may interfere with acquiring maximum benefits from medical care.
- Develops social/emotional assessments and formulates diagnoses and treatment plans based upon evaluation of a patient's past, present and future medical and socioeconomic functioning.
- Develops and implements psychosocial therapy programs for patients using a variety of therapeutic methods and techniques.
- Provides consultation services to multi-disciplinary team members by evaluating the environmental and psychosocial implications of the patient's illness when the team is assessing and planning medical treatment.
- Develops and uses resources from private and public agencies and community organizations to meet patient needs.
- Confers with representatives of other departments and private agencies to resolve problems and to develop and maintain public understanding and sound working relationships.
- Participates as a member of administrative, educational, professional, and community committees for program planning.
- Plans, assigns, directs, and evaluates the tasks of a social work unit comprised of one professional social worker and a limited number of support staff in an ambulatory medical setting.
- Provides technical instructions through regular individual staff conferences.
- Provides orientation to multi-disciplinary health staff to further their understanding of the social worker's role in the treatment process.
- Conduct research studies and special projects to develop more effective methods of identifying and evaluating the needs of patients as needed.
- Writes case summaries and reports which detail the social and emotional diagnoses and assessments made and treatment rendered in accordance with applicable regulatory standards for medical treatment.
- Complies workload data to monitor levels of service and to establish budget and revenue projections.
- Submit recommendations for charge to current social work services programs and procedures, as needed.
- Submit budget recommendations regarding the facility's social work programs and staffing needs, as needed.
- Develop and conduct in-service training and staff development programs for social work staff, as needed.
- Participates in student affiliate programs for training professional social work students through case assignments and technical instructions.
- Attends in-service training programs, continuing professional education, seminars and workshops to stay on top of new trends and techniques used in the practice of social work.
Requirements
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
A Master's Degree in Social Work from a graduate school accredited by the Council on Social Work Education including two (2) years of clinical social work experience.
LICENSE:
- An active and valid license as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker issued by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
- 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.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENT INFORMATION:
In order to receive credit for any type of college or university degree, such as a Master's Degree or higher, you must attach a legible copy of the Official Diploma, Official Transcript(s), or Official Letter from the accredited institution, which shows the area of specialization and the date the degree was awarded, with Registrar's signature and school seal, to the application or within fifteen (15) calendar days from application submission to hrexams@ph.lacounty.gov. The document should show the date the degree was conferred and be in English; if it is in a foreign language, it must be translated and evaluated for equivalency to U.S. standards. For more information on our standards for educational documents, please visit: https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/070812_PPG123.pdf (Download PDF reader) and https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/205105_PPG_123_ACE_Resource_Guide.pdf (Download PDF reader).
- Accredited institutions are those listed in the publications of regional, national, or international accrediting agencies, which are accepted by the Department of Human Resources (DHR). 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 (NACES) 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 will not be accepted and may result in your application being incomplete and rejected.
- We do not accept password-protected documents. Ensure documents are unlocked before attaching to your application or sending to the exam analyst.
Programs of study accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) can be found by clicking on this link:https://www.cswe.org/accreditation/directory/?
Clinical social work experience is work experience gained subsequent to receiving both, a Master's degree in Social Work AND licensed as a Clinical Social Worker.
License/Certificate Information: In the license/certificate section of your application, be sure to give the title of your required certificate, number, date issued, date of expiration and the name of the issuing agency. The required license and/or certificate must be active and unrestricted or your application will not be accepted.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATION:Credit will be given to applicants who possess the following desirable qualifications: Additional Clinical social work experience
- beyond the minimum requirements.
Additional Information
EXAMINATION CONTENT:
This assessment type will evaluate the education and experience you list on a questionnaire and assign a score based on a standardized scoring system.
This part of the assessment is worth 100% of your total score and assesses: Minimum Requirements and Desirable Qualifications.
Candidates must meet the Minimum Requirements and must achieve a passing score of 70% or higher on the examination in order to be added on the Eligible Register.
Passing this examination and being added to the Eligible Register does not guarantee an offer of employment.
ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:
The names of candidates will be added to the Eligible Register in the order of their score group for a period of twelve (12) months following the date of eligibility.
NO PERSON MAY COMPETE IN THIS EXAMINATION MORE THAN ONCE EVERY TWELVE (12) MONTHS.
Complete applications will be processed on an as-received basis and promulgated to the Eligible Register accordingly.
VACANCY INFORMATION:
The Eligible Register resulting from this examination will be used to fill vacancies in the Department of Public Health as they occur.
AVAILABLE SHIFT:
Any, including evenings, nights, weekends and holidays.
APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION:
We only accept applications filed online. Applications submitted by U.S. mail, fax, or in person are not accepted. Apply online by clicking on the "Apply" green button at the top right of this posting. This website can also be used to get application status updates. Apply online by clicking on the green "Apply" button located on this posting. You can also track the status of your application using this website.
Plan to submit your online application promptly 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 the County of Los Angeles Job Opportunities Website, 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.
Any required documents and/or additional information, if any, must be received with your application at the time of filing online or within fifteen (15) calendar days from application submission to HRExams@ph.lacounty.gov. In the "Subject" of the e-mail please type the Exam Number and Exam Title. Failure to provide complete, accurate information will impact the assessment of your qualifications and the acceptance of your application into the examination process.
Please fill out the application completely. Provide relevant job experience including employer's name and address, job title, beginning and ending dates, number of hours worked per week, and description of work performed.
We may verify information included in the application at any point during the examination and hiring process, including after an appointment has been made. Falsification of information could result in refusal of application or rescission of appointment. Copying verbiage from the Requirements or class specification as your work experience will not be sufficient to demonstrate meeting the requirements. Doing so may result in an incomplete application and may lead to disqualification.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Please note that ALL information supplied by applicants and 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.
- Applications may be rejected at any stage of the examination and selection process.
- FALSIFICATION of any information may result in DISQUALIFICATION or RESCISSION OF APPOINTMENT.
- Utilizing VERBIAGE from Class Specification(s) and/or Minimum Requirements serving as your description of duties WILL NOT be sufficient to demonstrate that you meet the requirements. In doing so your application will be dispositioned as INCOMPLETE and will not be accepted.
- Comments such as "SEE RESUME" or "SEE APPLICATION" will not be considered a valid response; therefore, using such statements will also result in your application being rejected as INCOMPLETE.
COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT PUBLIC 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. Check the website for updated information at https://lacountylibrary.org.
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER:
Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.
DO NOT SHARE USER ID AND PASSWORD:
All applicants must file their application 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.
ANTI-RACISM, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION (ARDI): The County of Los Angeles recognizes and affirms that all people are created equal and are entitled to all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States. We are committed to promoting Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts to address the in equalities and disparities amongst race. We support the ARDI Strategic Plan and its goals by improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in recruitment, selection, and employment practices.
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, or 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 follow all of its obligations under State and Federal laws regarding the provision of reasonable accommodations to applicants.
Department Contact Name: Exam Analyst
Department Contact Phone: (213) 684-8726
Department Contact E-mail: HRExams@ph.lacounty.gov
California Relay Services Phone: (800) 735-2922
ADA Coordinator Phone: (844) 914-1006
Teletype Phone: (800) 899-4099
Alternate Teletype Phone: (800) 897-0077
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: https://employee.hr.lacounty.gov/eeo-programs/.
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: https://hr.lacounty.gov/accessibility/.
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 http://career-pathfinder.hr.lacounty.gov.
Revised January 2025
