Medical Social Worker- Mental Health Unit - Public Defender's Office (2920)

Application Opening: December 24, 2024

Application Deadline: January 14, 2025 by 11:45pm

Hourly Compensation: $109,252 - $132,730/Annually

This is a Temporary Provisional (TPV) position. 

The Public Defender’s Office Civil Mental Health Unit (MHU) provides legal representation to individuals subject to civil and criminal mental health commitments in San Francisco. Each year, the office represents approximately 700 individuals subject to conservatorships under the Lanterman-Petris-Shot Act, 70 individuals committed to the Department of State Hospitals after being adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity, individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities residing at regional centers, and individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities committed pursuant to W&I 6500. 

Additionally, the MHU represents individuals subject to involuntary psychiatric detention petitions under Cal. W&I Code Sec. 5250, 5270 and involuntary medication petitions filed by hospitals and psychiatric facilities. We are committed to providing zealous advocacy, honoring our clients’ wishes, and preserving patient autonomy.

The Medical Social Worker position requires demonstrated commitment to zealously advocating for patients’ rights and respecting patients' autonomy over their medical decisions.  The successful candidate will know the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. The candidate will be required to engage directly with patients with mental health disorders such as, but not limited to, schizophrenia, bipolar, depression, and severe substance dependence, as well as patients diagnosed with developmental disabilities; interview and assess clients to determine if they meet the legal criteria of grave disability; make referrals for outpatient treatment in the community; consult with mental health service providers; interview and gather socioeconomic data from patients, providers, treatment facilities, relatives and acquaintances; collect, review and analyze psychiatric and medical records; assist patients to develop plans for maintaining food, clothing, shelter, medical needs, and personal safety; provide client supportive services; and when required, sworn court testimony.

The position requires traveling to hospitals and treatment facilities in San Francisco and the Greater Bay Area when necessary.

Education:

Possession of a Master's Degree in Social Work (MSW) from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE); AND

Experience:

Six (6) months (1000 hours) of social work experience in a health care setting. This experience may be gained from supervised field placement during the Master's in Social Work (MSW) program or from post-graduate social work experience

Desirable Qualifications:

1. Strong commitment to serving marginalized, neglected, and homeless individuals suffering from mental health diagnoses
2. Demonstrated strong commitment to and interest in zealously advocating for indigent clients with mental health diagnoses
3. Demonstrated strong commitment to and interest in supporting and working with clients who have experienced trauma or display behavior likely attributable to experiencing homelessness, economic disenfranchisement, substance abuse, mental illness, poverty, food insecurity, and racism
4. Experience working in a social justice, community-based organization, state or local government agencies
5. Public speaking experience and willingness to provide testimony before a judge and/or jury
6. Experience referring patients to mental health, substance abuse, and dual diagnoses treatment facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area
7. Graduate degree or certificate in Social Work, Public Health, or Nursing
8. Knowledge of community resources for mental health and substance abuse treatment
9. Strong oral and written communication skills
10. Experience providing services to patients with mental health diagnoses
11. Experience working in hospitals, rehabilitation, community-based programs, acute and subacute mental health facilities
12. Education or experience in Forensic Psychiatry
13. Willing to travel throughout San Francisco and Bay Area to interview, assess, and advocate for patients receiving services at hospitals, locked and unlocked mental health facilities, and out-patient community programs

Note: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.

Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.
Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.
Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

HOW TO APPLY:
Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.sf.gov/ and begin the application process. 

• Select the “Apply Now” button and follow instructions on the screen 

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, @smartrecruiters.com, and [email protected]). 

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment, please contact Stephanie Aquino, Senior Human Resources Analyst, at [email protected]   

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.