This is a TERM position funded through July 1, 2024. Continued employment beyond this date is subject to extension of funding and is not guaranteed.

Montgomery County is located adjacent to Washington, DC 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 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 1,750 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.

If you are interested in working for the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, we invite qualified candidates to apply for our Community Services Aide III , 24 Hour Crisis Center positions.

About the Position:

These positions is located in the Department’s Behavioral Health and Crisis Services’ 24 Hour Crisis Center. The Crisis Center provides telephone, walk-in, mobile crisis outreach, single adult shelter system screening and referrals, and crisis residential services to persons experiencing situational, emotional, or mental health crises. The Crisis Center provides all services, twenty-four hours/day seven days/week. Much of the work of the Crisis Center focuses on providing the least restrictive community-based service appropriate to the client's situation. The Crisis Center coordinates the mental health response during disasters and community critical incidents and serve as the afterhours contact for Public Health, STEER (Stop, Triage, Engage, Educate, Rehabilitate), APS (Adult Protective Services) APP (Abused Person Program) and CWS (Child Welfare Services).

Community Services Aide III (Navigator)

• Respond to requests for assistance (via referrals from access points, walk-in visits, and/or telephone calls and recorded messages), following the program's service delivery model, either in person or virtually as assigned.
• Refer clients to appropriate services in the community, to assist in maintaining behavioral health needs. Answer or make phone calls to assure that residents and their family members are connected to services, providing relationship-based direct/live warm referrals to other resources/entities whenever possible.
• Works with Residential Crisis Clients to connect to community resources and eligible public benefits.
• Serve as a client advocate.
• Provide information and referrals, in partnership with department employees, contractors, service area colleagues, and nonprofit providers, sometimes with and on behalf of multiple family members
• Administer initial surveys and 6 months reassessments and increase client engagement through monthly follow-ups and scheduling assistance when needed.
• Perform computer-based data collection per prescribed timelines, schedule customers, and update and maintain information and referral system.
• Enter accurate case information into the NexGen/Her database.
• Attend regular trainings and presentations to keep up to date on information on resources and processes
• Utilize the County’s Language Line to serve speakers of other languages.

Community Services Aide III (Case Manager)

• Functions as part of the crisis center team and serves as main liaison between clients and HHS/partners
• Provides in-person and virtual assistance regularly at different settings including offices, community, and public spaces
• Maintains caseload, client records in data systems, tracks and generate reports
• Identify barriers and client needs through motivational interview technique
• Match and refer clients to appropriate services in the community, to assist in maintaining behavioral health needs to promote wellness and self-sufficiency
• Liaise with various internal and external programs to resolve client issues and maintain productive working relationship
• Attend regular trainings and presentations to keep up to date on information on resources and processes
• Serve as client advocate

Bilingual applicants in the Spanish/English languages are encouraged to apply. If the candidate selected for this position possesses multilingual skills, they will be required to successfully pass an examination assessing oral communication, reading comprehension, and interpreting skills. For Advanced proficiency, the candidate must also pass an examination requiring translating text from Spanish to English and vice versa.

Selected candidates will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment medical exam with drug and alcohol screening and a background check. These positions require the ability to work limited evening and weekend hours.

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/IRC.

Montgomery County Government 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 a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the Office of Human Resources via email to OHR@montgomerycountymd.gov . Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws.

Montgomery County Government also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, please 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 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 Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for interview.

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.

Experience: Three (3) years of experience providing delivery of social, health and/or public assistance services.

Education: Completion of high school or High School Certificate of completion recognized in the State of Maryland.

Equivalency: An equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted.

License: Possession and maintenance of a valid Class C (or equivalent) driver’s license from the applicant’s state of residence.

The applications of those individuals meeting the minimum qualifications will be reviewed to determine the extent, relevancy of training, and experience in the following areas.

• Excellent listening and customer service skills, with a calm and professional demeanor to assist complex client population and to interact with a range of partners
• Experience in addressing and delivering services or other supports to vulnerable populations in a professional setting.
• Knowledge of available resources and applicable regulations to deliver social, health, and/or public assistance services.
• Experience utilizing technology and computer applications to deliver eligibility services, as well as to prepare documents and statistical reporting.
• Knowledge of family dynamics, human development, crisis intervention, and case management and community outreach practices.