Psychiatric Social Worker I - Trainee

Psychiatric Social Worker I – Trainee

The Monterey County Health Department, Behavioral Health Bureau is seeking enthusiastic candidates to work as part of a multidisciplinary care team serving children, youth, adults, and older adults as a Psychiatric Social Worker I – Trainee.

The Behavioral Health Bureau is a progressive agency that serves children, youth, adults, older adults and their families with System of Care values of being community based, culturally relevant, client and family centered, using evidence-based practices to support clients in their wellness and recovery journey for mental illness and substance use disorder conditions.

Children's System of Care provides an array of clinical services from of birth to 25 years of age and their families. Clinical teams include Early Childhood Services, Transition Age Youth, Post Hospitalization Support, as well clinical teams that partner with Child Welfare, Education and Juvenile Probation.

Adult System of Care provides a wide range of comprehensive integrated care to adults/older adults (18+ years of age) with serious mental illness, co-occurring substance use, and other complex issues. The multidisciplinary teams work together to provide an array of services including but not limited to psychosocial rehabilitation, individual and group therapy, strength-based case management, crisis intervention, family support and community integration. Clinical teams are based out of the outpatient regional clinics in Marina, Salinas, Soledad, and King City.

Access to Treatment clinics are entry points into services and provide an array of clinical services for individuals of all ages who are seeking to get connected to services for mental health and substance use issues that are impacting their ability to function in work, home, school, social and community settings. Services include screening, assessment, crisis intervention, individual and group therapy, linkage and referral to community resources as well as the Children and Adult Systems of Care.

Community Crisis Services (Mobile Crisis) Team responds to calls for crisis support and provides brief crisis intervention, de-escalation, triage, risk / safety assessment, safety planning, referral and linkage to individuals and families experiencing behavioral health crisis in the community. This team seeks to provide support to stabilize the situation in the community to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations and divert from emergency resources (hospital/jail) when appropriate while providing linkage to ongoing care as needed.

Adult Justice Involved Services Team works with current and former justice involved adults (18+ years of age) some of whom are reentering society after a period of incarceration (jail/prison) and transitioning to community-based services to meet their mental health and substance use disorder treatment needs. Clients may be participating in one of the Collaborative Court or Diversion programs, CARE Act (Care Court) or referred to services through Post Release Community Supervision or the Cal AIM Justice Involved Behavioral Health Linkages Initiative.

As a member of a psychiatric team, this position will assist and participate in interviewing clients and families, compile social case histories, participate in diagnostic and evaluative staff conferences, prepare reports, interpret and explain factors pertaining to mental illness, provide case management services and work collaboratively with a variety of community, county and state agencies.

Candidates appointed to the Psychiatric Social Worker I – Trainee level may be promoted to the Psychiatric Social Worker I level upon meeting the employment standards for the higher job class which includes receiving their Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) number, Associate Clinical Social Worker (ASW) number, or Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC) number issued by the California State Board of Behavioral Science Examiners, within six months of hire.

The Health Department offers up to a $10,000 signing bonus to candidates hired into regular positions for this classification from this recruitment (24/60B01T/09MJ). For more information regarding the Signing Bonus, please refer to Admin Procedures A.49.1 Employment Bonus.

The Eligible List established by this recruitment process will be used to fill current and future vacancies, both regular and temporary, as they arise.

The successful candidate will have a proven track record demonstrating the following knowledge, skills and abilities:

• Working knowledge of current philosophy, principles, and evidence-based practices for services to consumers with serious mental or emotional disturbance.
• Individual, group and family psychodynamics as they relate to adults or children.
• Psychiatric diagnostic methods and terminology.
• Personality and human development from infancy through adulthood.

Skill and ability to:

• Provide treatment to adults, children or adolescents with various mental disabilities ranging from serious mental illness to dysfunctional behavior patterns including victims of sexual and physical abuse.
• In conjunction with the consumer, develop realistic, attainable and measurable service plans and facilitate their attainment.
• Evaluate the degree of community functioning or emotional distress of consumers.
• Communicate effectively orally and in writing and able to complete work using electronic format.
• Ensure time sensitive documentation submitted within established guidelines.
• Work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary team.

Desirable qualifications:

• Ability to speak, read and write in English and Spanish

The skills necessary may be acquired through various types of education, training, and/or experience, typically:

Education: Possession of a Master's Degree from an accredited school of social work and registration with the Board of Behavioral Science Examiners as an Associate Clinical Social Worker.

Required conditions of employment:

• Possess and maintain a valid California Class C driver's license or the ability to provide suitable transportation that is approved by the appointing authority.
• Be available to work a flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends, holidays, and during times of disaster and/or emergency, travel out of County to attend meetings.
• Successfully complete a background check to include fingerprinting.
• At time of hire:

Possession of a Master's Degree from an accredited school of social work

Or

Possession of a Master's Degree which qualifies for licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist by the California State Board of Behavioral Science Examiners.

The County of Monterey offers an excellent benefits package. Please visit our website to view the Bargaining Unit K Benefit Summary Sheet. This information is not legally binding, nor does it serve as a contract. The benefits listed in the Monterey County Personnel Policies and Practices Resolution or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) prevail over this listing.

As a condition of employment, prospective employees may be required to submit to a background review which may include a review of information concerning present and/or prior employment, driving record, and record of any criminal convictions. Employment is contingent upon acceptable documentation verifying identity and authorization for employment in the U.S.; a list of acceptable documents is available on the USCIS Form I-9. If you are hired into this classification in a temporary position, your rate of pay will be hourly, and you will not be eligible for the benefits listed in the summary.

Apply on-line at by the final filing date of Friday, July 17, 2026 at 11:59 PM (PST) or Hard copy applications may be obtained from and submitted during normal business hours, Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM by contacting:

Monterey County Health Department Attn: Human Resources Division 1270 Natividad Road Salinas, CA 93906.

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