Social Service Aide

CURRENT VACANCY IS WITHIN THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL

SERVICES BRANCH OF THE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

RESPONSES TO SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS REQUIRED

SKILLS OR EXPERIENCES LISTED UNDER THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

STATEMENT MAY ALSO BE USED TO SCREEN APPLICATIONS

SEE "SPECIAL REQUIREMENT" SECTION REGARDING

POSSESSION OF A VALID DRIVER'S LICENSE

FINAL FILING DATE: ** CONTINUOUS **

SALARY INFORMATION

$3,181 - $4,059 APPROXIMATE MONTHLY* / $18.35 - $23.42 APPROXIMATE HOURLY*

*Please refer to the appropriate Bargaining Unit Memorandum of Understanding for potential future salary increases* Please visit https://www.shastacounty.gov/personnel/page/labor-agreements-mous.

ABOUT SHASTA COUNTY

Shasta County offers all the amenities of the big city while retaining a comfortable small-town atmosphere. With its natural beauty, affordable housing, excellent educational system, abundance of recreational opportunities, and excellent quality of life, Shasta County is a great place to live, work, and raise a family.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

Health and Human Services Agency

The Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) partners with communities to protect and improve the health and well-being of Shasta County residents. Established in 2006, the HHSA is organized into four branches: Behavioral Health and Social Services, Public Health and Economic Mobility, and a centralized administration. The HHSA promotes optimal health for all. The frail, the abused, the mentally ill and those without resources look to the HHSA for services and resources to meet their basic needs, and to protect their health and safety. This transformation improves efficiency, avoids unnecessary duplication of effort, encourages collaboration among programs and organizes the HHSA's services to be more responsive to the needs of the public.

The department encourages all applicants to view the following link: https://youtu.be/bLN6efASInQ

ABOUT THE POSITION

Under general supervision, the Social Service Aide assists Social Workers by performing specifically designated tasks related to the improvement of family functioning and child and adult services; and performs related work as required.

This recruitment will be utilized to fill multiple vacancies encompassing different areas of the Behavioral Health and Social Services Branch of the Health and Human Services Agency.

The following programs will be included:

Adult Services

Focuses on issues that affect people eighteen and older. Adult mental health services include outpatient mental health care, 24-hour crisis stabilization services for people at risk of hospitalization, 24-hour crisis residential services, long-term placement services and referrals to local non-profit organizations that provide additional services. This branch also provides Adult Protective Services to follow-up on elder abuse reports. In-Home Supportive Services help those who need assistance with daily activities in order to remain safely in their own homes, and the Public Authority keeps a registry that helps In-Home Supportive Services recipients find a screened caregiver to provide those services. The Public Guardian helps citizens who are unable to manage their personal and financial affairs and may require guardianship or conservatorship. Mental Health Services Act administration is also housed in the Adult Services Branch.

Children's Services

Encompass the services that help ensure children are protected and safe. This branch investigates alleged abuse and neglect of children, and it licenses foster and adoptive homes for children who are experiencing traumatic events in their lives. The branch also encompasses children's mental health and youth alcohol and drug services. This branch also works with juvenile justice and education to coordinate services for clients.

Public Authority

The Public Authority helps match In-Home Supportive Service recipients with quality care providers by keeping a registry of people who need in-home care and those who are approved to provide care. We recruit, screen, and provide orientation to care providers, and work to ensure that our registry is a safe and reliable source for those who need in-home assistance.

IHSS

In-home supportive services are available for people who are aged, blind or disabled, cannot perform activities of daily living and cannot remain safely in their own homes without help. We work with local caregivers to ensure that these people can remain in familiar surroundings - safely, comfortably and with as much independence as possible.

WRAP Around

The Social Service aid provides one of two roles within the Wraparound and Mental Health programs such as youth mentor and the parent partner. The youth mentor supports the identified youth while working closely and in conjunction with the treatment clinician assigned to the case. The youth mentor support and provides addition intensive home-based services for the youth working with them to support the youth's treatment goals and plan of care. The parent partner is a support for the assigned caregiver including but not limited to biological parents, legal guardians, resource parents and various caregivers of the assigned case. This role assists in providing support in assisting caregivers with budges, linking to services as needed, and assisting in general parenting skills.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate will have had some experience working with at least one of the following: 1) elderly and/or disabled adults, 2) children and/or adults with mental health needs, 3) children and/or families who have experienced trauma. The ideal candidate has worked in a team environment, and/or in a role that supported the success of the individual or family with their goals. The ideal candidate works well with a team, shares in the values and practices to build strengths, and support the work of achieving improved outcomes.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

The Social Service Aide is a paraprofessional class. Incumbents assist Social Workers by relieving them of routine tasks such as performing assessments of clients in the In-Home Supportive Services program, instructing parents in the development of parenting and household management skills, and/or performing various tasks for the child and adult service programs.

The Social Service Aide differs from the Social Worker in that the former requires a lower level of skill and training than the level required of a professional Social Worker.

Supervision Exercised and Received: Incumbents in the Social Service Aide classification receive supervision from a Social Worker Supervisor or other higher-level supervisor or manager.

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following: Maintains a routine caseload of elderly adults who are infirm or incapacitated and receiving household services; conducts ongoing client needs assessments and verifies needs by contacting medical and health services providers; presents client assessments to professional staff for approval; completes narrative reports regarding a client's condition and services provided and/or recommended. Enters data regarding case and client information and contacts into automated system; makes client referrals to medical personnel or social workers as needed; train and receive certification to deliver evidence or research based parenting services to families in the Child Welfare System; provides direct training and counseling to mentally ill and developmentally disabled parents on parenting and household management skills, and teaches families about nutritional meal preparation, budgeting and household care; monitors the medical and psychological care of abused children; supervises visits between parents and children and reports observations to social worker; provides emergency child care; transports or accompanies clients to appointments for service or interviews; may testify in juvenile court hearings; assists Social Workers in providing a variety of child and adult Social Services; acts as liaison between clients and professional staff, individuals and groups in the community serviced; directly assists families in using and learning about the resources of society, particularly medical, legal and employment services; maintains records of work performed, and performs other related work as required; performs related duties as assigned.

Knowledge of: Basic rules and regulations regarding In-Home Supportive Services, child abuse reporting, and Welfare and Institution Codes; basic community resources useful to clients served, acceptable housekeeping and homemaking standards, including the methods, materials and equipment used in general housekeeping work; basic methods and attitudes involved in the in-home care of physically ill, handicapped, or disabled persons and adequate food preparation with limited kitchen equipment.

Ability to: Interview persons to obtain a variety of information applicable to the provision of Social Services; understand and accept differences in human behavior resulting from cultural, economic or other forms of deprivation; effectively instruct physically and mentally disabled adults in parenting and household skills; deal with physically and sexually abused children; prepare basic written reports; recognize and report specific indications of need for Social Services; maintain confidential information in accordance with legal standards and/or County regulations; establish and maintain effective working relations with co-workers, outside organizations, and the public.

These standards are typically attained withEITHER the equivalent to completion of two (2) years of college, including fifteen (15) semester units in social welfare social/human service, sociology, or other social or behavioral science OR two (2) years of full-time experience in a public or private Social Services agency providing services to disadvantaged adults or children.

Examples of social or behavioral science courses include anthropology, criminal justice, economics, education, ethnic studies, history, human development, law, nursing, nutrition, philosophy, political science, psychology, public health, religion, social welfare, sociology, welfare, women's studies.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT

Some positions in this classification may require possession of a valid California driver's License. Employees who drive on County business to carry out job-related duties must possess a valid California driver's license for the class of vehicle driven and meet automobile insurability requirements of the County. Eligibility for employment for those who do not meet this requirement due to disability will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the appointing authority.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS

Responses to the following must be submitted with a completed application.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; talk or hear; and taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move more than fifty (50) pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the...