Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Rehabilitation Counselor II

Recruitment #18-6640-01

Introduction

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.

Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.  Applications will only be accepted on-line.

Supplemental Questionnaire:  A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application.  Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.  Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

DESCRIPTION

THE COUNTY

Alameda County, located on the east side of San Francisco Bay, is California's seventh-largest county.  The County employs 9,080 full-time employees and operates on an annual budget of $2.39 billion.  Oakland, the County seat, is California's eighth largest city.  One and a half million people call Alameda County home and live in a variety of incorporated cities, unincorporated communities and rural areas.  As a major urban county, Alameda provides a full range of services to its citizens.  The County is a blend of culturally and ethnically diverse communities, and its mixture of cosmopolitan and suburban areas provides the perfect environment for families and their active lifestyles.  The County offers extensive cultural resources, countless recreational opportunities and an array of fine public and private colleges and universities.  

THE HEALTH CARE SERVICES AGENCY

Alameda County's Health Services Program is administered by the Health Care Services Agency and includes the following program areas: Behavioral Health Care, Public Health, Environmental Health, and Agency Administration/Indigent Health. The ultimate mission of the Health Care Services Agency is to provide fully integrated health care services through a comprehensive network of public and private partnerships that ensure optimal health and well-being and respect the diversity of all residents. Health Care Services Agency currently has multiple career opportunities for experienced professionals to become part of a service delivery team dedicated to the optimal health and well-being of Alameda County residents. 

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE

It is the mission of Behavioral Health Care Services to maximize the recovery, resilience and wellness of all eligible Alameda County residents who are developing or experiencing serious mental health, alcohol, or drug concerns. We envision communities where people realize their potential, and where stigma and discrimination against those with mental health, alcohol and/or drug issues are a thing of the past.

Only through exemplifying the following Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services values will we be successful:

ACBHCS

Access - where every door is the right door for welcoming people with complex needs;

Consumer and Family Empowerment - through shared decisionmaking best practices, that clinically produce effective outcomes;

Best Practices - business excellence that uses public resources costeffectively;

Health and Wellness - by integrating emotional, spiritual and physical health care;

Culturally Responsive - appropriate services built on the strengths and life experiences of culturally diverse consumers and their families;

Social Inclusion - utilizing advocacy and education to eliminate stigma, discrimination, isolation, and misunderstanding of persons with mental illness and substance abuse.

For more information about the department of Behavioral Health Care Services, please visit www.acbhcs.org/

THE POSITION

Under general direction, to provide rehabilitative counseling services in Mental Health, or related programs; to formulate client assessments and provide counseling for assigned clients to gather and present case history data; and to do related work as required

IDEAL CANDIDATES

In addition to the minimum qualifications and knowledge and skills listed below, ideal candidates for this position will be:

·         Someone trustworthy who interacts with others in a way that gives them confidence in one’s intentions and those of the organization.

·         An adept case manager able to secure relevant client care data and identify key issues and relationships in the management of client care; is able to manage a high volume client case load and still attend to the diverse needs of each client; and is able to develop assessment, treatment and discharge plans, and resolve various administrative, operational, and client care requests and requirements with ease.

·         A team player able to skillfully coordinate tasks, functions and people, and who inspires team spirit and collaboration by being accessible, supportive, open-minded, empathetic.

·         An effective communicator who clearly conveys information and ideas verbally and in writing to individuals or groups in a manner that meets audience needs and helps them understand and retain the message; who develops and maintains effective relationships with others; and who relates well to people with diverse cultures, interpersonal styles, abilities, motivations, or backgrounds.

·         Someone passionate about the field of rehabilitation who has a willingness to invest one’s time, talent, and best efforts to advocate for and engage consumers in mental health, substance use, dual diagnosis, and rehabilitation counseling services.

·         Someone who will take personal satisfaction and pride in serving the interests of the Behavioral Health Care Services Agency while performing the full range of professional rehabilitation counseling responsibilities.

·         A technical expert who has achieved a satisfactory level of professional knowledge, skill and experience in the area of mental health, substance use, dual diagnosis, and rehabilitation counseling services for behavioral health consumers; and who strives continuously to keep up with developments and trends in the field.

·         A problem solver capable of identifying and understanding issues, problems and opportunities; who uses data, logic, and sound judgment to evaluate alternatives and recommend viable solutions; and who solves problems consistent with available resources, facts, constraints, and probable consequences to achieve desired organizational or service goals.

·         Someone who understands outreach concepts, principles, and practices of community employer sourcing and job development; and is experienced at aligning human capital needs of employers with the qualifications, skills and specialized employment needs of clients.

·         Someone who is well organized and able to plan activities, manage a frequently changing schedule, multi-task, and manage several activities at once; and who is able to establish a course of action for self and others to ensure that work is completed efficiently.

·         A supportive team leader/supervisor knowledgeable of management principles and practices, including work planning, employee supervision and resource allocation; capable of training, coaching, guiding and mentoring in order to optimize others in accomplishing goals and objectives.

 

For a detailed listing of the duties and essential competency requirements for this position, please see the Rehabilitation Counselor II job specification.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Either I

Education: Possession of a master’s degree from an accredited college or university in rehabilitation counseling, clinical or educational psychology, or social work/marriage and family counseling/professional counselor.

And

Experience: The equivalent of two years of full time experience in the field of vocational rehabilitation, alcoholic or drug abuse rehabilitation or Mental Health treatment.

 

Or II

Education: Possession of a master’s degree from an accredited college or university in rehabilitation counseling, clinical or educational psychology, or social work/marriage and family counseling/professional counselor.

And

Experience: The equivalent of one year of full time experience in the class of Rehabilitation Counselor I in the Alameda County classified services.

 

License: Possession of a valid California Motor Vehicle Operator's license. Possession of Marriage and Family Therapist, Social Work, or License Professional Counselor license is desirable.

 

Special Requirement: In compliance with the Administrative Simplification provision of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), employees in this classification are required to possess a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number prior to their first day on the job.

 

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

NOTE:   The level and scope of the following knowledge and abilities are related to duties listed under the "Examples of Duties" section of this specification.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:


Knowledge of:
  • Modern principles, methods, materials, trends and literature related to alcohol and drug disorders, mental and emotional illness, personality disorders and their attendant problems. 
  • Prevention and treatment procedures, techniques, related to alcohol and drug disorders, mental and emotional illness, and personality disorders. 
  • Social aspects of drug, alcohol, mental and emotional problems. 
  • Techniques and dynamics of group and individual counseling.  
  • Scope and activities of health, economic, legal and welfare agencies.  
  • Techniques and dynamics of assessment and engagement. 
  • Evidence Based Practices used effectively within rehabilitation settings.       

Ability to:
  • Develop and maintain effective and productive relationships with clients and their families. 
  • Secure pertinent social and personal data and meet documentation requirements. 
  • Utilize community resources, such as, Department of Rehabilitation, Social Security Administration, various social services agencies.
  • Work effectively with others, including family members, employers, benefits counselors, housing programs and site managers. 
  • Write and speak effectively. 
  • Interpret data. 
  • Guide and supervise the work of others. 
  • Work independently and seek supervision when needed. 
  • Multi-task and prioritize projects. 
  • Input and/or access data via a system-wide computer network and personal computers.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps: 1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. 2) Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process which is a review of candidates' Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process. 3) Those candidates selected as best qualified will move on to the next step in the examination process, an oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position.  Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Selection Plan

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance.  The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:  

 TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN

Deadline for Filing

5:00pm, Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Review of Minimum Qualification

December 6, 2018

Supplemental Questionnaire Review for Best Qualified

January 7-11, 2019

Oral Interview Exam**

January 29-30, 2019

**The combined oral examination/hiring interview, in addition to establishing an eligibility list, may serve as the final selection interview for vacancies in this classification.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statues.  To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs

BENEFITS

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

  • Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
  • Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
  • Vision or Vision Reimbursement
  • Share the Savings
  • Basic Life Insurance 
  • Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees) 
  • County Allowance Credit
  • Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
  • Short-Term Disability Insurance
  • Long-Term Disability Insurance
  • Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
  • Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

  • Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
  • Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

  • 11 paid holidays
  • Floating Holidays
  • Vacation and sick leave accrual
  • Vacation purchase program
  • Catastrophic Sick Leave
  • Employee Mortgage Loan Program
  • Group Auto/Home Insurance
  • Pet Insurance
  • Commuter Benefits Program
  • Guaranteed Ride Home
  • Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
  • Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
  • Child Care Resources
  • 1st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

 

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

 

Please take the steps recommended above to insure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

 

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

 

Nicole Lewis-Bolton, Human Resources Analyst II

Human Resource Services, County of Alameda

(510) 272-6468 • nicole.lewis-bolton@acgov.org