County Caseworker 3 (Local Government) - Bedford County MH/ID

Thank you for viewing our job posting! At Bedford-Somerset Development & Behavioral Health Services (DBHS), our vision is for every person we serve to have a network of family, friends, advocates, and supportive services to live a full and productive life in our community. Learn more about us at www.dbhs.co

This opportunity is for an advanced County Caseworker 3 to assist children, adolescents, and families with multi-system needs to gain access to services. These services are planned collaboratively with child and adolescent, their family, the child serving systems, and other agencies. This person works within a complex system and must understand how the children's behavioral health system works in the county and can serve as a resource to family members, providers, and others who need assistance with services.

Full-time positions include excellent benefits including healthcare coverage, pension plan, student loan reimbursement program, flexible spending account, and paid holidays! We encourage work/life balance with a hybrid of remote and on-site work schedules for some positions. We are a family friendly agency with paid time off, paid sick time, employee assistance program, and family medical leave.

Apply today to join us in serving the community!

This advanced professional position serves as a subject matter lead worker responsible for assisting children, adolescents, and families with multi-system needs to gain access to needed services by developing and coordinating a plan of care for children and adolescents with emotional, mental health, or behavioral issues. Work involves overseeing and monitoring children's mental health residential placements as well as serving as the Student Assistance Program (SAP) liaison. This individual will have the professional responsibility for providing school-based mental health services to assigned school districts in the Bedford County school system. As the SAP Liaison, this individual will be a representative for the Bedford-Somerset DBHS program and will act as a professional member of the core team made up of the superintendent of each school district as well as guidance counselors, nurses, and teachers. This position also functions as the expert for the oversight of the Child & Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP.) Additional responsibilities include:

• Coordinating an array of services for children and families by scheduling and facilitating Interagency Service Planning Team Meetings (CASSP meetings) involving individuals from a multitude of child-serving systems as well as family members
• Providing technical assistance, consultation, and education to all child-serving systems and providers regarding children and family issues, resources, conflict resolution policies, procedures, and regulations
• Serving as a mediator and consultant between providers, agencies, and schools
• Providing case management and counseling families on services
• Interpreting program policies and procedures to children and adolescents, family agency personnel, and treatment facility personnel
• Participating in program staff meetings, inter-agency and intra-agency meetings, conferences, and staff development training
• Overseeing residential placements for children and adolescents being placed in mental health facilities
• Making referrals to mental health residential placements
• Assisting with completion of placement paperwork and ensuring completeness of required information
• Participating in Student Assistance Program (SAP) Core Team Meetings at least every other week in assigned Bedford County schools
• Providing and coordinating emergency services to schools experiencing a mental health crisis and involving the Bedford emergency crisis team when needed
• Making appropriate mental health referrals to meet the needs of students
• Providing back-up coverage to the ACM Department
• Providing back-up Crisis intervention Services to individuals during daytime office hours

Work Schedule and Additional Information:

• Full-time employment
• Upon hire, new staff begin training and are on probation for 6 months.
• Work hours are 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday - Friday, with a 30-minute lunch. Hours may vary to meet the needs of the consumers.
• On occasion, staff may need to work hours outside of the set work week to complete projects, meet work demands, or in the event of an emergency.
• Telework: This position reports to the DBHS office. You may have the opportunity to work from home (telework) part-time, after 3 months of employment. In order to telework, you must have a securely configured high-speed internet connection and work from an approved location inside Pennsylvania. If you are unable to telework, you will have the option to report to the headquarters office in Bedford.

• Salary: In some cases, the starting salary may be non-negotiable.
• You will receive further communication regarding this position via email. Check your email, including spam/junk folders, for these notices.

QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum Experience and Training Requirements:

• Two years of experience as a County Caseworker 2; or
• A bachelor's degree in sociology, social welfare, psychology, gerontology, criminal justice, or other related social sciences and three years of professional social casework experience in a public or private social services agency; or
• Any equivalent combination of experience and training which includes 12 college credits in sociology, social welfare, psychology, gerontology, criminal justice, or other related social sciences.

Other Requirements:

• PA residency requirement is currently waived for this title.
• You must be able to perform essential job functions.

Legal Requirements:

• You must pass a background investigation.
• This position falls under the provisions of the Older Adult Protective Services Act.
  • Under the Act, a conditional offer of employment will require submission and approval of satisfactory criminal history reports, including but not limited to, PA State Police and FBI clearance.
• This position falls under the provisions of the Child Protective Services Law.
  • Under the Law, a conditional offer of employment will require submission and approval of satisfactory criminal history reports including, but not limited to, PA State Police clearance, PA Child Abuse history clearance, and FBI Fingerprint clearance.

How to Apply:

• Resumes, cover letters, and similar documents will not be reviewed, and the information contained therein will not be considered for the purposes of determining your eligibility for the position. Information to support your eligibility for the position must be provided on the application (i.e., relevant, detailed experience/education).
• If you are claiming education in your answers to the supplemental application questions, you must attach a copy of your college transcripts for your claim to be accepted toward meeting the minimum requirements. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.
• Your application must be submitted by the posting closing date. Late applications and other required materials will not be accepted.
• Failure to comply with the above application requirements may eliminate you from consideration for this position.

Veterans:

Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS):

If you are contacted for an interview and need accommodations due to a disability, please discuss your request for accommodations with the interviewer in advance of your interview date.

The Commonwealth is an equal employment opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse workforce. The Commonwealth values inclusion as we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most qualified people to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, union membership, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, AIDS or HIV status, disability, or any other categories protected by applicable federal or state law. All diverse candidates are encouraged to apply.

• Completing the application, including all supplemental questions, serves as your exam for this position. No additional exam is required at a test center (also referred to as a written exam).
• Your score is based on the detailed information you provide on your application and in response to the supplemental questions.
• Your score is valid for this specific posting only.
• You must provide complete and accurate information or:
  • your score may be lower than deserved.
  • you may be disqualified.
• You may only apply/test once for this posting.
• Your results will be provided via email.