Behavioral Health Practitioner (Bilingual - Spanish)

Salary : $10,039.80 - $13,044.78 Monthly
Location : Santa Maria - Orcutt
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number: 2025-00168
Division: Student and Community Services
Department: Juvenile Courts and Community Schools
Opening Date: 02/11/2026
Specific Location: Santa Maria


General Description
Our ideal candidate

You are a culturally competent and empathetic professional with creative problem-solving skills who cares deeply about the students and families receiving your services. You are a team player, skilled in your area of expertise, and you use your knowledge and skills to accomplish collective goals.
General description

Under general direction, provide culturally competent individual, group, and family therapy in order to: help children and students succeed academically, socially, and emotionally; strengthen families and connect them with the resources they need; and create a safe, healthy, and supportive learning environment, in collaboration with educators and other professionals.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide individual, group and family services - including therapy, treatment coordination, and case management - to children, students, and families served by a variety of SBCEO programs, including students with a history of disciplinary and/or behavioral issues in traditional school environments and students in the juvenile justice center.
• Make recommendations to school or program staff and families for behavioral health services and placements, as well as referrals to families for accessing and utilizing school and community resources, as appropriate.
• Provide consultative support and professional expertise to instructional or program staff, service providers, administrators, and families regarding behavioral health, behavioral issues, and substance abuse.
• Provide crisis support to students and their families, helping students regain academic, social, and emotional success and promoting family stability to enable the student to function more effectively in school and community; provide post-crisis intervention case management, including helping families link to intensive, wrap-around behavioral health services.
• Participate in the intervention/coordination of services team with other behavioral health professionals serving community school students.
• Review and approve services provided by other staff for purposes of billing MediCal and other payers.
• Attend and participate in various in-services, committees, and workshops; develop, implement and conduct in-service training sessions for families and staff.
• Maintain treatment and case management records, observing all relevant legal regulations related to patient and student confidentiality.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

Requirements
A typical way to qualify for this classification would be:
Education: Possession of a qualifying master's degree from an accredited institution of higher education.
Experience: Three years of post-licensure experience providing therapy to at-promise (at-risk) youth or families, preferably in a school environment.
Knowledge of:

• Legal and ethical standards with regard to providing school-based behavioral health services;
• Psychological diagnostic methods and terminology;
• Cultural and social factors affecting behavior patterns;
• Wellness, recovery and resiliency-oriented strategies and supports;
• Dual recovery/co-occurring disorder treatment, screening and assessment tools;
• Community needs, resources, and organizations related to behavioral health care;
• Clinical standards of practice;
• Treatment modalities and assessment;
• Behavior management practices;
• Evidence-based therapy practices;
• Trauma-informed practices;
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy and other group and individual counseling techniques;
• Non-violent crisis intervention techniques, including verbal de-escalation and physical interventions;
• Challenges facing populations served, such as poverty, behavioral health issues, homelessness, academic failure, disciplinary action, and justice system involvement;
• Correct English usage, grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary;
• Applicable laws, codes, regulations, policies and procedures;
• Modern office practices, procedures, and equipment;
• Telephone and email etiquette;
• Standard office productivity software applications, including word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and videoconferencing;
• Record-keeping practices related to patients and students.

Skill in:

• Cultural competency with populations served.

Ability to:

• Learn organization, operations, policies and objectives of the County Education Office and assigned program;
• Develop and maintain trust and cooperation with students and families;
• Establish and maintain cooperative and effective working relationships with others;
• Prepare reports and correspondence that may be sensitive and have legal implications;
• Plan and organize work to meet deadlines;
• Work independently and as part of a team;
• Analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action;
• Effectively utilize the least restrictive or intensive interventions with students;
• Prepare and maintain required records, reports and files related to assigned activities;
• Billing requirements for behavioral health services;
• Stay informed of effective interventions, innovations, and practices related to educationally related mental health services;
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing;
• Operate a computer and other office equipment and related software programs;
• Maintain confidentiality of information related to patients and students.

Ability to speak, read, and write Spanish fluently may be required for some positions in this classification.
Licenses and certificates

• Possession of a valid license as a Clinical Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist, or Professional Clinical Counselor issued by the California Board of Behavioral Science Examiners.
• Ability to obtain ordering, referring, and prescribing privileges from Medi-Cal.
• Possession of a valid California Driver's License, reliable transportation, and insurance coverage as required by law may be required for some positions in this classification.
• Valid CPR and First Aid certifications may be required for some positions in this classification.

Working conditions

Positions in this classification are considered generally sedentary. Most work is performed while sitting at a desk and usually involves extensive use of computers, telephones, and other office equipment. Strenuous physical activity - such as lifting and carrying heavy objects, crawling, or stooping - is not generally associated with these positions. These positions are not typically exposed to significant safety hazards.

Local travel by car to a variety of locations countywide, in order to attend meetings and provide service to students and families, is required.

Supplemental Information


Classified salary ranges have 26 steps (A-Z). Initial salary placement for new hires is between steps A and J, based on qualifications.

Click here for an Overview of Our Application & Selection Process .

RECRUITMENT INFORMATION:
• All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will be invited to participate in the examination process for the position.
• The examination process may include one or more of the following: written, oral, and performance examination.
• Candidates must pass all parts of the examination process to be placed on the eligibility list. Final score will determine the candidate's rank on the eligibility list.
• A candidate in the top three ranks (including tie scores) on the eligibility list may be considered for hire; when there are multiple vacancies in the same job classification, additional ranks will be considered.
• This recruitment is Dual Certification, meaning it is open to all applicants, including current SBCEO employees and those from the general public. Dual certification results in one integrated eligibility list based on rank.
• Eligibility lists are generally valid for six months; promotional eligibility lists are valid for one year. Lists may be exhausted prior to the original expiration date, or they may be extended with the approval of the Personnel Commission.
• If you require an accommodation for any step of the application and selection process, please notify Human Resources by the application deadline date (or as soon as possible for an open continuous recruitment).
• Veterans' Preference Points: This recruitment is eligible for veterans' preference points for qualifying veterans.
Non-Discrimination Policy Statement
For purposes of this policy, employees include job applicants, interns, volunteers, and persons who contracted with SBCEO to provide services, as applicable.
No SBCEO employee shall be discriminated against or harassed by any coworker, supervisor, manager, or other person with whom the employee comes in contact in the course of employment, on the basis of the employee's actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, national origin, age, religious creed, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, veteran or military status, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.
SBCEO prohibits discrimination against employees on the basis of reproductive health decision making, defined as a person's decision to use or access a particular drug, device, product, or medical service for reproductive health.
SBCEO does not discriminate against employees on the basis of immigration status, unless there is clear and convincing evidence that SBCEO is required to do so in order to comply with federal immigration law.
At the Santa Barbara County Education Office, benefits-eligible employees have access to a variety of benefits and opportunities to enhance the quality of their lives. Some of these differ depending on employment as a part-time or full-time employee. Medical, dental, and vision insurance plans are available to employees who regularly work at least 50% (20 hours) or more. Part-time employees who work between 20 and 35 hours per week receive benefits on a pro-rated basis. Please see below for information on benefits for substitutes.

The following is a list of examples of benefits that may be included.
For more details, visit our


Paid Sick Leave for Substitutes
Healthy Workplaces/Healthy Families Act of 2014
California law provides for paid sick leave for employees who work for the same employer for 30 or more days within a year from the beginning of employment are entitled to paid sick leave. Accrual begins on the first day of employment.


Insurance, Income Protection, and Tax-Savings Plans
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance plans are available to employees who regularly work at least 50% (20 hours) or more.

• Medical/Vision (PPO)
• Dental (HMO/PPO)
• Voluntary life insurance
• Voluntary accidental death & dismemberment
• Voluntary long-term disability insurance
• Voluntary short-term disability - We offer this plan for employees who want coverage for accidents or temporary medical conditions that may keep them out of work. SBCEO does not participate in State Disability Insurance.
• Voluntary supplemental insurance plans
  • Critical Illness
  • Hospital Protection
  • Personal Accident
  • Personal Cancer
• Flexible Spending Account
  • Dependent Care Reimbursement
  • Medical Reimbursement
• 529 college savings plan

Retirement Readiness

• CalSTRS
• CalSTRS Welcome Video
• CalPERS
• CalPERS YouTube Channel
• 403(b) and 457 retirement savings plans. Take advantage of tax-deferred savings in order to supplement your pension benefits in retirement. SBCEO does not participate in Social Security for regular employees.
• Retiree health benefits available

Work-Life Balance

The paid time off benefits listed below are pro-rated based on the employee's full-time equivalent (FTE) and calendar. Individual benefits will also be based on position, bargaining unit, length of service, and other applicable factors.

• Paid vacation for eligible positions
• Sick leave - 12 days per year, with unlimited accrual
• Holidays - 14 days per year, based on the Central Office Calendar. School site calendars vary.

Membership & Employee Discounts

• Coastal Housing Partnership
• Holman Group Employee Assistance Program
• Credit Unions
  • Santa Barbara Teachers Federal Credit Union
  • Santa Barbara Federal Credit Union
• Employee Discounts

Professional Development

• LinkedIn Learning
• Classified Employee Professional Growth Program
• Grant Programs

01


Can you read, write and speak both Spanish and English fluently?

• Yes
• No

02


This position requires possession of a valid license as a Clinical Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist, or Professional Clinical Counselor issued by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Please indicate which license you hold and include your license number.
03


This position is located at the Peter B. FitzGerald Community School in Santa Maria. The service requirement for this role is 11 months per year (August through June). The standard working schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, which includes a 30-minute unpaid lunch break.

• I acknowledge that I have read and understand the location and schedule requirements for this position.

Required Question