Job Abstract

DEADLINE TO APPLY: First Review: 11:59PM on Sunday, June 2, 2024; Open Until Filled

THE DEPARTMENT:
The Youth and Family Services Bureau (YFSB) is a unique part of the Hayward Police Department where police officers and professional counselors work side by side offering a variety of services to the residents of Hayward. For more than 40 years, YFSB has focused on helping families succeed at home, school and in the community. YFSB seeks to strengthen the Hayward community through creating opportunities for kids to grow up in healthy and safe neighborhoods and schools. The dedicated YFSB staff strives to reduce delinquency and crime through a range of services that address the specific needs of each family. YFSB also offers a variety of prevention services that encourage youth to stay out of trouble and provide them with positive ways to engage with their peers and the community.

THE POSITION:

The City of Hayward is excited to announce its recruitment for the position of Family Counselor (Limited Term). Under general direction, the Family Counselor provides crisis intervention, counseling, and referral services to youth, families, and individuals and performs other related duties as required, such as school based, case management, and gang prevention/intervention services.

While the current vacancy is a Family Counselor (Limited Term) opportunity, future vacancies will be filled by the resulting eligible list. Candidates will be afforded the opportunity to indicate their preferred position term during the application process of this recruitment.

This is a limited term position, meaning continued employment is dependent on ongoing funding for the program. Funding has already been secured through FY2025 (June 30, 2025) and there is potential for the position to become permanent in FY2026.

You are:
The ideal candidate has experience providing short-term family counseling and case management services to youth and their families who are involved in the juvenile justice system or at elevated risk for involvement. They are skilled at completing safety assessments and intervening with people experiencing mental health crisis. They have the ability to work well across disciplines, particularly with law enforcement and other emergency response teams and in schools. They are knowledgeable about local community resources and skilled at forming relationships quickly.

What you will do:

Duties may include but are not limited to the following:

Provides crisis intervention services to youth, families, individuals, and couples including but not limited to crises involving incorrigible youth, dependent children under the court's custody, domestic violence, first time offenders, and the hospitalization of individuals dangerous to self and others.

Provides counseling to youth, families, couples, individuals and groups.

Maintains crisis intake log, case files and service statistics.

Provides referral information to the public, and other agencies.

Participates in division, department, community and school meetings.

Provides support service, consultation and training to patrol officers on juvenile and mental health topics.

Provides case management services to youth and their families.

Provides school based services to students and their families, including consultation and training for school administrators and teachers, implementation of school climate initiatives, and coordination of site-based student support services.

Provides gang prevention and intervention services to at risk and gang involved youth and their families.

Maintains formal and informal liaison with mental health professionals and service providers including courts, schools, private therapists, hospitals, probation and other agencies.

Provides emergency psychological evaluation and recommendations.

Responds to critical incidents and other in-field emergency situations.

Performs related work as necessary.

Link to full job description: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/haywardca/classspecs/1174318?keywords=FAMILY&pagetype=classSpecifications

Knowledge of:

• The theory and principles of human development, particularly child development.
• The theory and principles of social aspects of mental and emotional adjustment, including normal and abnormal behavior.
• Principles, methods and current practices of crisis intervention and counseling, which includes interviewing techniques, assessment and treatment modalities.
• Principles, methods and current practices of social casework.
• The theory and principles of child abuse, elder abuse and domestic violence treatment.
• The theory, principles and current practices of gang prevention and intervention.
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V) system of diagnosis.
• Proficiency in the use of computer skills, including multiple software formats, email and storage of digital files.
• Community resources in the mental health and human services areas.

• Perform crisis intervention and counseling services.
• Establish effective and productive casework relationships with youth, families, and individuals.
• Establish cooperative working relationships with police officers in the handling of crisis calls.
• Establish cooperative working relationships with educators and school site personnel.
• Work independently, make sound decisions and set priorities under stressful conditions.
• Work collaboratively in the highly structured environment of a police department while maintaining accepted professional standards of clinical practice.
• Communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Maintain records, including statistics, and to prepare reports.
• Work varied shifts.
• Effectively manage time, meet deadlines and prioritize workload.

You have:

Any combination of experience and education equivalent to that which would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities would be qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge, skills and abilities would be:

Experience: One (1) year providing counseling or psychotherapy to youth, families, groups and individuals. Experience with probation involved or at-risk youth and experience with school based mental health services are highly desirable; experience working in school settings is highly desirable.

OR

One (1) academic year of graduate level internship experience. One (1) relevant clinical internship placement is desirable.

Education: Equivalent to a Master's Degree from an accredited college or university in Counseling, Clinical Psychology, Clinical Social Work or a closely related field or a Doctorate in Clinical or Counseling Psychology. (Note: Applicants with a related Master's Degree in progress are also encouraged to apply. Selected candidate will need to provide proof of graduate degree completion by the start date of employment.)

License: Possession of a valid License in Marriage and Family Therapy (L.M.F.T.), Licensed Clinical Social Work (L.C.S.W.), Licensed Professional Counselor (L.P.C), Licensed Clinical Psychologist or a closely related field is highly desirable.

Possession and maintenance of a valid Class C California Driver's License.

BENEFITS AND REWARDS:

Depending on employee group, some of these benefits may include: