Mental Health Specialist

Salary : $63,752.00 - $74,588.80 Annually
Location : Santa Ana, CA
Job Type: Full-Time Regular
Job Number: 7105CS-1123-042 (O)
Department: Health Care Agency
Division/Service Area: Behavioral Health Services
Opening Date: 11/22/2023
Closing Date: Continuous

CAREER DESCRIPTION
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES - MENTAL HEALTH SPECIALIST
Salary may be negotiable within the range listed above, based on position requirements and successful candidate's qualifications, subject to appropriate authorization.
This recruitment is open to the public for a minimum of five (5) business days and will remain open on a continuous basis until 11:59 p.m. (PST) on the day the County's needs are met. Applicants are encouraged to apply immediately as this recruitment may close at any time without further notice.

This recruitment is being held to establish an open eligible listto fill current and future Mental Health Specialist (MHS) vacancies within Health Care Agency, Behavioral Health Services. This recruitment may also be used to fill positions in similar and/or lower classifications.
HEALTH CARE AGENCY
The County of Orange,is a dynamic organization dedicated to creating and supporting an environment that promotes the achievement of optimal individual, family and community health. Under the direction of the Agency Director, a new and dynamic executive team with an organizational structure comprised of seven (7) service areas - Finance and Administrative, Behavioral Health Services, Correctional Health Services, Medical Health Services, Office of Care Coordination, Public Health and Strategy and Special Projects is committed to meeting the health needs of the diverse Orange County community.
MENTAL HEALTH AND RECOVERY SERVICES
The Behavioral Health Services (BHS) provides a culturally competent and participant-centered system of behavioral health services for all eligible county residents in need of treatment for alcohol and other drug abuse and mental health care.

THE OPPORTUNITIES
Some of the opportunities listed below requires shift work and candidates must be able to work day, night, swing, and weekend shifts.
Some assignments may require an active and current Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) certification at time of application and throughout employment with the County.

The Outreach and Engagement (BHS O&E)team serves participants who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness and experiencing mild to serious behavioral health and/or substance use condition. The Mental Health Specialist (MHS) provides services focused on linking individuals to needed resources and services. This is accomplished through establishing and maintaining trusting relationships with the homeless community and collaborating with other service providers. The services are conducted in the community and include outreach, education, crisis management coordination, case management, skill-building workshops, referral and linkage to resources, and transportation support. The MHS is also responsible for tracking and documenting participant engagement and data in order to demonstrate participant engagement and outcomes

The Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU), within the Crisis & Acute Care Services Function Area of MHRS, has a need to fill a Mental Health Specialist who is a Licensed Psychiatric Technician or Licensed Vocational Nurse to perform the following:

• Evaluating adults experiencing psychiatric symptoms over a duration of less than 23.5 hours
• Providing crisis stabilization
• Providing telephone consultations, as needed
• Assessing adults experiencing psychiatric symptoms and recommend treatment services
• Administering medication as needed for adult psychiatric clients
• Referring adult psychiatric clients to the appropriate facilities in order to obtain proper care and treatment
• Providing counseling services, as needed, to adult psychiatric clients

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & CORE COMPETENCIES
The ideal candidates will have a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college in a behavioral science field such as psychology, counseling, or social work and/or at least three (3) years of field experience providing participant-related services to persons experiencing mental health and/or substance use disorders. The ideal candidate for the Outreach and Engagement position will also possess two (2) years of experience working with the homeless or those at risk of homelessness and have a strong desire to work with this population. Bilingual skills in the following languages are also desirable: Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Farsi. The ideal candidate must also possess a valid driver's license and reliable transportation as they will need to be able to drive to various sites in the community to provide services and attend appointments with participants.

In addition, the ideal candidate will possess extensive knowledge and/or experience in the following core competencies:
Technical Knowledge | Technical Skills

• Providing participants services in the field
• Coordinating and linking participants to mental health, substance use and housing services with various community resources
• Collecting data on intervention activities, participant demographics and outcome measures
• Meeting with participants to assess needs, address barriers to accessing services, and create individualized service plans for participants
• Facilitating coping skills groups to target population
• Attending trainings to increase knowledge and staff capacity about resources, services and how to engage the target population
• Proficient use of office software and computer programs to complete program forms and log data

Communication

• Maintaining confidentiality of participants and services and ensuring excellent customer service is provided
• Communicating effectively in writing and orally, adjusting communication styles to fit audience accordingly
• Communicating issues effectively and with sensitivity and diplomacy while building relationships with participants and referral sources

Interpersonal Skills

• Maintaining brief, ongoing communications to develop trust with participants
• Performing effectively and consistently in dynamic situations which require collaboration and professionalism
• Establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries with participants, peers and community partners
• Responding calmly to stressors, knowing when it is appropriate to involve others and multi-tasking as needed
• Collaborating with community partners in the field such as law enforcement and other outreach teams

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Please click for more information regarding the minimum qualifications for the Mental Health Specialist and details of this classification.

PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:
Physical Characteristics: Possess vision sufficient to read standard text, read a computer monitor and to drive; speak and hear well enough to communicate clearly and understandably in person, over the telephone and in small groups; independent body mobility to stand, sit, walk for long periods, stoop, and bend to access a standard office environment; manual dexterity to use hands, arms and shoulders repetitively to operate a keyboard, to write and drive a vehicle.

Environmental Conditions: Will be required to interact with participants/patients in emotional and occasionally hostile situations, work in an office environment, work in a secure facility and/or in the field, drive to community sites and to meetings, and occasionally work evenings/weekends to attend meetings/special events; and will have the ability to work in the field and interact with the public, other County employees, including supervisors and managers, staff and management in other governmental and regulatory agencies, and service providers in a variety of situations which may be emotional, stressful and/or difficult.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Human Resource Services (HRS) will screen all application materials to identify qualified applicants. After screening, qualified applicants will be referred to the next step and notified of all further procedures applicable to their status in the competition.

Application Screening (Refer/Non-Refer)
Applications and supplemental responses will be screened for the minimum qualifications. Only those candidates that meet the qualifications as listed in the job bulletin will be referred to the next step. All applicants will be notified via email of their status in the process.

Online Assessment/Technical Skill Assessment (Weighted 100%)
Qualified candidates will be invited to participate in a job-related assessment. Candidates will be notified of their date and access code, if applicable. Only the more qualified candidates will be placed on the eligible list.

Based on the Department's needs, the selection procedure listed above may be modified. All applicants will be notified of any changes in the selection procedure.

Eligible List
Once the assessment has been completed, HRS will establish an eligible list of candidates. Candidates placed on the eligible list may be referred to a selection interview to be considered for present and future vacancies.

Veterans Employment Preference
The County is committed to providing a mechanism to give preferential consideration in the employment process to veterans and their eligible spouses and will provide eligible participants the opportunity to receive interviews in the selection process for employment and paid internship openings. Please click to review the policy.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

EMAIL NOTIFICATION:
Email is the primary form of notification during the recruitment process. Please ensure your correct email address is included in our application and use only one email account.

NOTE: User accounts are established for one person only and should not be shared with another person. Multiple applications with multiple users may jeopardize your status in the recruitment process for any positions for which you apply.

Candidates will be notified regarding their status as the recruitment proceeds via email through the GovernmentJobs.com site. Please check your email folders, including spam/junk folders, and/or accept emails ending with "governmentjobs.com" and "ocgov.com." If your email address should change, please update your profile at www.governmentjobs.com.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Click here for additional Frequently Asked Questions.

For specific information pertaining to this recruitment, please contact Gabriela Torres at (714) 834-8991 or
EEO INFORMATION
Orange County, as an equal employment opportunity employer, encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.
Non-Management Benefits
In addition to the County's standard suite of benefits, such as a variety of health plan options, annual leave and paid holidays--we also offer an excellent array of benefits such as a Health Care Reimbursement Account, 457 Defined Contribution Plan and Annual Education and Professional Reimbursement. Employees are provided a Retirement Plan through the Orange County Employees Retirement System
Please go to the following link to find out more about Defined Benefit Pensions and OCERS Plan Types/Benefits.
Click for information about benefits offered to County of Orange employees.
01

INSTRUCTIONS: The information you provide will be used to evaluate your qualification for the position. If you have no experience, write "no experience" for the appropriate question. Responses of "See Work History" or copying and pasting of work experience are not qualifying responses and will not be accepted in lieu of required information. By selecting yes below, you acknowledge that you have read and understand this application requirement.

• Yes

02

Please select from the following options that best describes your qualifications: Please note that if selecting the education option (first or third option), you are required to email the recruiter a copy of your transcripts at time of application submission. The original and sealed transcript of records is required by date of appointment if selected for the position.

• Possession of a Master's degree from an accredited college in a behavioral science field such as psychology, counseling, or social work. **Please email the recruiter a copy of your transcripts when selecting this option.
• Three (3) or more years of experience providing client-related services to persons experiencing mental health, substance abuse, or alcohol disorders.
• Two (2) or more years of experience providing client-related services to persons experiencing mental health, substance abuse, or alcohol disorders AND 30 semester units or 45 quarter of units education in a behavioral science field such as psychology, counseling, or social work. **Please email the recruiter a copy of your transcripts when selecting this option.
• None of the Above

03

Do you possess a Bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college in a behavioral science field such as psychology, counseling, or social work?

• Yes
• No

04

Do you possess a valid California Driver's License?

• Yes
• No

05

Please describe any experience providing participant-related services to persons experiencing mental health and/or substance use disorders such as case management, skill-building groups, and referral and linkage.Be sure to be detailed in your response and include all the areas listed above that are applicable, types of settings (field or office), and the participant populations with whom you engaged.
Please type N/A for no experience in this area.

06

How many years of experience do you possess providing participant-related services to individual experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness?

• Two (2) or more years of experience
• Less than two (2) years of experience
• I have no experience in this area

07

Please describe any experience in providing participant-related services to homeless persons or persons at risk of homelessness.
Please type N/A for no experience in this area.

08

Bilingual skills are highly desirable for this position. In addition to English, what other language(s) can you speak, read, and write fluently?

• Spanish
• Vietnamese
• Korean
• Farsi
• Other
• None of the Above

09

Some opportunities require shift work, please select any shifts that you are available to work below:

• Day Shifts
• Night Shifts
• Swing Shifts
• Weekend Shifts

10

Do you possess a valid Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) counseling certification?

• Yes
• No

11

Do you have a valid Vocational Nurse License or Psychiatric Technician License issued by the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians?

• Yes
• No

12

Please provide your Vocational Nurse License or Psychiatric Technician License number as issued by the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatic Technicians for verification. If you answered "No," then please input "N/A."
13

Have you been a MSW or MFT intern with the County of Orange, Health Care Agency?

• Yes
• No

Required Question