Social Worker III, Grade

About the Position

The salary range for this role upon hire is $77,738- $119,188.

WHO WE ARE

Montgomery County is located adjacent to Washington, D.C., and with over one million residents, is the most populous County in the State of Maryland. The County is also the most diverse County in the State and ranks among the top ten most diverse Counties in the nation. Montgomery County contains many major U.S. government offices, scientific research and learning centers, and business campuses.

The Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for delivery of the County’s public health and human services that meets the needs of our community’s most vulnerable children, adults and seniors. The Department provides services through more than 120 programs at more than 20 locations. With over 2,000 employees, the Department of Health and Human Services is the largest County Department.

As a Department, we believe health and wellness of the county can only be achieved by ensuring that every resident has fair opportunities to reach their fullest potential. This means access to quality housing, transportation, education, employment, health care, human services, safe neighborhoods, and healthy food. HHS provides critical services for residents who face a variety of obstacles in achieving their full potential. HHS plays an essential role in building a healthy and strong community.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The programs of Services to End and Prevent Homelessness (SEPH) have a common vision: access by all people to safe, affordable housing, and opportunities to improve quality of life. The mission of SEPH is to make homelessness a rare, brief, and non-recurring event by operating from a Housing First philosophy.

SEPH provides a full continuum of services including housing stabilization, homeless diversion, and permanent housing; and employs evidence-based and promising practices. SEPH programs collaborate with public and private partners through the Interagency Commission on Homelessness.

The purpose of the Housing Stabilization Program is to empower Montgomery County residents to become more secure in their housing. We partner with our county residents and restore hope that they can be self-sufficient and improve their quality of life. Mental Health America defines this as “Stable (or secure) housing means that you aren’t living in uncertainty about your housing situation and generally have a choice over when to move.” To meet this goal, the Housing Stabilization Program provides prevention case management to identify the needs of and refer County residents to the resources to help meet those needs. This can include supports such as: tenant rights, financial literacy, employment, behavioral health, and if eligible, the funds to support housing stability.

What You'll Be Doing

The Social Worker III functions as a Lead Social Worker for Intake and Prevention.

Responsibilities include:

Completion of assessments of residents experiencing a housing emergency and development of comprehensive person-centered service plans.

Identify resources and services needed to prevent homelessness.

Provide short-term prevention case management services to help stabilize housing for at-risk households.

Conduct home and community visits as needed.

Act as back-up Intake and Assessment worker.

Participate in case reviews, unit meetings and interdisciplinary teams both within and outside of the department to plan and coordinate service delivery.

Provide guidance to staff in the absence of the supervisor, resolve customer issues in a timely manner, review/approve requests for emergency financial assistance, and monitor the lobby and triage areas.

Enter client information into County and State data systems.

The position provides extended hours coverage on a rotating basis.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Possession of a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from an accredited college or

university that meets the criteria of graduate social work program accredited by the Council on Social

Work Education.

Experience: Two (2) years, to include a minimum 3,000 hours, of professional experience rendering

social work services under the supervision of a LCSW-C in accordance with Maryland Board requirements.

Equivalency: See Maryland Board requirements.

LICENSE:

• Must be licensed as a Licensed Certified Social Worker - Clinical – LCSW-C by the Maryland State

Board of Social Work Examiners prior to appointment. Note: There will be no substitutions for this

requirement.

• Possession and maintenance at all times of a valid Class C (or equivalent) driver’s license from the

applicant’s state of residence when required for job-related duties.

Preferred Criteria, Interview Preferences

We will use interview preference criteria:

Five (5) years post-graduate experience in social services, including team leadership, service planning, case management, and applying evidence-based practices to support vulnerable individuals.

Individuals with lived expertise of homelessness or who are currently at risk of homelessness.

Experience working with homeless, formerly homeless, and at-risk individuals, along with knowledge of community resources available for low-income households.

Demonstrated strong leadership skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, decision making, conflict resolution, and communication.

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Office of Human Resources (OHR) reviews the minimum qualifications of all applicants, irrespective of whether the candidate has previously been found to have met the minimum requirements for the job or been temporarily promoted to the same position. This evaluation is based solely on the information contained in the application/resume submitted for this specific position.

Montgomery County Government(MCG) is an equal opportunity employer, committed to workforce diversity. Accordingly, as it relates to employment opportunities, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, in accordance with the law. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should email OHR at . Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws.

MCG also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, refer to the Careers webpage on Hiring Preference.

All applicants will respond to a series of questions related to their education, relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to minimally perform the job. The applicant's responses in conjunction with their resume and all other information provided in the employment application process will be evaluated to determine the minimum qualifications and preferred criteria or interview preference status. Based on the results, the highest qualified applicants will be placed on an Eligible List and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade will be placed on the Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for an interview.

This will establish an Eligible List that may be used to fill both current and future vacancies.

If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.

Montgomery County Ethics Law: Except as provided by law or regulation, the County's "Public Employees" (which does not include employees of the Sheriff's office) are subject to the County's ethics law including the requirements to obtain advanced approval of any outside employment and the prohibitions on certain outside employment. The outside employment requirements of the ethics law can be found at 19A-12 of the County Code. Additional information about outside employment can be obtained from the Ethics Commission website.