Case Worker

ABOUT THE BWELL PROGRAMS WITH CURRENT VACANCIES:

Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court: The CARE Court Program provides outreach, engagement, and case management services to individuals with untreated mental health and substance use disorders who are referred through court-submitted petitions under the CARE Court Act. Services are delivered primarily in community-based settings, meeting individuals where they are and assisting them with linkage to treatment and supportive services.

CARE Court connects participants to a court-ordered Care Plan for up to 24 months, which may include clinically prescribed interventions, medication support, housing planning, and coordinated community services. Case Workers collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams and the Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) Program, with weekly case review meetings to ensure continuity of care.

Children’s Wellness, Recovery, And Resiliency (WR&W): Case Workers in the Children’s WR&R Program work as part of multidisciplinary treatment teams at the Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Santa Barbara Children’s Outpatient Clinics. The program serves children, adolescents, and Transitional Age Youth by providing individual, family, and group rehabilitation and skill-building services.

The program emphasizes trauma-informed care, family systems, screening, evaluation, treatment planning, and crisis intervention. Staff frequently collaborate with Child Welfare Services, schools, Juvenile Probation, foster care systems, and special education programs, including support for youth with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

This field-based program focuses on short-term stabilization through mental health treatment, targeted outreach, housing support, and linkage to long-term services and community resources. Case Workers assist participants with housing placement, benefits establishment, substance use treatment, independent living skills, and coordination with shelters, landlords, housing authorities, and Continuum of Care/Homeless Management Information Systems (CoC/HMIS).

Services are provided in dynamic environments, community settings, shelters, and unsheltered locations. Case Workers are required to meet Behavioral Wellness direct client care service standards aligned with Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) requirements.

Individual Placement and Support (IPS): An IPS (Individual Placement and Support) Employment Specialist/Case Worker helps individuals with mental health conditions to secure competitive, integrated employment. They provide personalized job searching, community outreach, resume building, and long-term, on-the-job support based on client preferences, focusing on strengths, zero exclusion, and integrated, community-based services.

An IPS Case Worker conducts job development by building relationships with local employers to identify opportunities that match client interests. This role individualizes support through creating customized employment plans, assists with applications, resumes, and interview prep. Through “zero exclusion” the program accepts all clients who want to work. Regardless of job readiness, diagnoses, symptoms, or work history. The IPS Case Worker works closely with mental health treatment teams in an integrated team approach, spending the majority of their time in the community.

Examples of Duties

The examples listed are not intended to include all possible responsibilities, and duties may vary from program.

• Provides care management, crisis evaluations, and evaluations for involuntary hospitalization; interviews clients to obtain pertinent information including psychiatric, social, educational, and vocational history; makes field visits to evaluate clients to determine needs for services; assists clients in obtaining suitable services such as housing, vocational rehabilitation, financial assistance, and employment; helps clients develop necessary skills for everyday living; provides transportation for clients to obtain needed services; cooperates with other agencies and professionals to coordinate services for mutual clientele.
• Participates in interdisciplinary team reviews for collaborative assessment and treatment planning to ensure quality care; conducts social, recreational, or occupational skill development in accordance with the treatment plan; observes and reports to licensed staff observations of client's behaviors; confers with licensed staff regarding needed services and referrals to other community agencies.
• Serves as a point of contact to community agencies or contract service providers when programmatic issues arise.
• Documents client activity according to established departmental guidelines under supervision of licensed professional staff.

Employment Standards

NOTE: Applicants who are currently in their final quarter or semester of study leading to the required degree are encouraged to apply. Such applicants may compete in the examination process but may not be considered for appointment until they have attained the required degree.

Driver's License: A valid California Class C Driver's License may be required at the time of appointment.

Knowledge of: characteristics of emotional and mental disorders; and correct English grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and paragraphing.

Ability to: read, understand, and follow detailed departmental procedures and state and federal laws and regulations; learn practices of care management including evaluating needs of clients, referring clients to resources, and providing skill development for clients; learn principles of paraprofessional counseling including conflict resolution and crisis intervention; learn about resources for social, health, welfare, and related services within communities served; provide services to clients from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds; elicit from and communicate information to people with psychiatric disabilities and systematically and concisely record such data using correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling; interview clients to obtain information for crisis intervention; communicate effectively with clients and staff; work effectively as a member of an interdisciplinary team; respond supportively and empathetically to people with psychiatric disabilities; maintain calm, supportive demeanor in crisis situations; and understand and follow verbal and written instructions.

Supplemental Information

• Review applications and supplemental questionnaire to determine those applicants who meet the employment standards.
• Supplemental Questionnaire Ranking: Candidates' response to the required supplemental questionnaire will be evaluated and autoscored. Candidates' final score and rank on the employment list will be determined by their responses to the supplemental questionnaire. This process may be eliminated if there are fewer than 14 qualified candidates.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS: The County of Santa Barbara is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to applicants. Qualified individuals with disabilities who need a reasonable accommodation during the application or selection process should contact the recruiter listed on the job posting. We require verification of needed accommodation from a professional source, such as a Medical Provider or a learning institution.

Disaster Service Worker: Pursuant to Governmental Code section 3100, all employees with the County of Santa Barbara are declared to be disaster service workers subject to such disaster service. Activities as may be assigned to them by their superiors or by law.

Statement of Commitment

The County of Santa Barbara is dedicated to cultivating and sustaining an environment that exhibits equity and inclusion everywhere, and at all levels of our organization. The County believes equity is a fundamental principle that must be imbedded in policies, institutional practices and systems. The County recognizes the negative impacts of systemic racism and is committed to eliminating the barriers affecting our Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian community members, as well as people of other diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. We envision a world where society and its systems (e.g. education, criminal justice, and health care, housing the economy) are just, fair, and inclusive, enabling all people to participate and reach their full potential.

APPLICATION AND SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE DEADLINE: Friday, April 24, 2026, at 4:59 PM PST. Applications and job bulletins can be obtained 24 hours a day at www.sbcountyjobs.com.