Alcohol & Other Drugs - Case Manager - Youth Services Center (Open and Promotional) bei County of San Mateo, CA

About the Department

The Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Case Manager (Case Management/Assessment Specialist II) will join the Behavioral Health Recovery Services (BHRS) Clinical Team to provide services to individuals housed at the Youth Services Center (YSC) – Juvenile Hall. 

Reporting to the Supervising Mental Health Clinician/Unit Supervisor, the AOD Case Manager will support the complex needs of juvenile justice-involved as well as transitional-age individuals, presenting with severe emotional and behavioral challenges, along with multiple risk factors such as co-occurring substance use and mental health conditions, trauma, out-of-home placement, and psychiatric hospitalizations. 

The AOD Case Manager will perform a wide variety of intake and referral services, including assessment, evaluation, tracking, and support services for clients receiving substance abuse treatment; develop and implement activities related to substance abuse prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation; and perform other related work as required.

There is one vacancy in Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS), assigned to the Youth Services Center (YSC) – Juvenile Hall in San Mateo.

Ideal candidate will possess:

• Experience providing alcohol and drug counseling to adolescents, transition-age youth, or juvenile justice-involved populations.
• Experience working in a juvenile detention facility, residential treatment program, or similar high-risk youth environment.
• Ability to provide culturally responsive, gender-responsive, and trauma-informed services.
• Ability to facilitate group treatment sessions for clients in various stages of recovery.
• Experience conducting comprehensive assessments, evaluations, and referrals for substance use treatment.
• Ability to provide care coordination with internal and external providers, including therapists, psychiatrists, and primary care professionals.
• Strong case management skills, including reentry planning and collaboration with multiple agencies.
• Experience participating in multidisciplinary team meetings and contributing to treatment planning.
• Demonstrated ability to build rapport and maintain effective relationships with juvenile justice-involved individuals.
• Knowledge of local community-based resources and the ability to make effective referrals.
• Proficiency in documenting and billing client interactions using AVATAR, EPIC and eClinicalWorks (eCW) is preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and manage a dynamic caseload in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability to establish, maintain, and foster positive and effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
• Ability to speak, read, and write fluently in English and Spanish is strongly preferred.

NOTE: The eligible list generated from this recruitment may be used to fill future extra-help, term, unclassified, and regular classified vacancies.

Position Duties

Examples Of Duties

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Perform client evaluations using a variety of assessment and screening tools, information gathered from interviewing client and/or other professionals and established clinical guidelines to determine the appropriate referral(s), level of care, and recommended treatment plan.
• Interview clients and their families to gather social, psychiatric, and drug and alcohol history.
• Provide written reports to a variety of agencies, courts, probation and/or treatment providers that may include case histories, assessment results, treatment authorizations, referrals, compliance with court orders and treatment recommendations.
• Help create effective evaluation reports, court reports, and/or clinical case reports, or templates for said reports.
• Attend staff conferences and related meetings to coordinate activities with other divisions of the department, other County departments and community groups and providers.
• Monitor compliance with court ordered or related criminal justice referrals.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience:
Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying.  A typical way to qualify is:
 
Case Management/Assessment Specialist II:  Two years of experience assessing and evaluating clients using assessments instruments and/or guidelines, identifying and making referrals based on those assessments, and interviewing clients for in a social service program.

Knowledge of:

• Principles, philosophy, practices, materials, trends and literature related to substance use and mental health disorders, and impact of trauma.
• Various models of treating addiction including medication assisted treatments, and the use of medications to treat substance use disorders, CBT approaches, relapse prevention and harm reduction.
• How to work effectively with individuals with developmental disabilities and cognitive impairments, including those related to substance use.
• Prevention methods and treatments procedures 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.
• Techniques and dynamics of assessment and engagement.
• Standardized clinical assessment instruments, practices and procedures.
• BHRS policies including informing clients of consent to services, notice of privacy practices, and Office of Consumer and Family Affairs (OCFA) right to file a grievance procedure. 
• Social and psychological needs, problems, behavior patterns and treatment of persons impacted by substance use.
• Availability of and procedures for obtaining a wide variety of community and governmental services and resources.
• Methods and techniques of interviewing, problem solving and motivational interviewing.
• Principles of counseling, including group leader functions.
• Resources/strategies for the client for purpose of referral.
• Appropriate methods and use of assessment to evaluate and assess alcohol and drug disorders.
• Basic case management processes.
• Reporting requirements of criminal justice referrals and treatment providers.
• Federal and State confidentiality and privacy regulations including 42 CFR part 2, HIPPA, etc.

Skill/Ability to:

• Assess client's immediate needs and ensure client's receipt of needed services.
• Interview clients and other professionals to gather information.
• Perform effectively in stressful, emotional, and confrontational situations.
• Recognize factors causing reaction or changes in clients' condition or behavior.
• Obtain, maintain, and present accurate client data.
• Communicate clearly and effectively both orally and in writing.
• Secure pertinent social and personal data and meet documentation requirements.
• Develop relationships with the treatment provider community, courts, probation and other professional agencies/staff.
• Evaluate information received and make appropriate treatment recommendations and/or referrals.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients and their families, professionals and para-professionals and support staff in the department, outside agencies and the public.
• Provide high quality clinical case documentation

Other Qualifications

Open & Promotional. Anyone may apply. Current County of San Mateo and County of San Mateo Superior Court of California employees with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, or extra-help/limited term position prior to the final filing date will receive five points added to their final passing score.

Responses to the supplemental questions must be submitted in addition to our regular employment application form. A resume will not be accepted as a substitute for the required employment application and supplemental questionnaire.

The examination process will consist of an application screening (pass/fail) and a panel interview (weight 100%). Depending on the number of applications, an application appraisal of education and experience may be used in place of other examinations, or a screening committee may select those applicants whose education and/or experience appear to best meet the needs of the position based solely on the information provided in the application materials. Because of this screening process, all applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. All interviews will be given in San Mateo County, California and applicants must participate at their own expense.

IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the 'Apply' button. If you are not on the County's website, please go to https://jobs.smcgov.org to apply. Online applications must be received by the Human Resources Department before midnight on the final filing date

TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT SCHEDULE
Final Filing Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2025, by 11:59PM PST
Application Screening: Week of October 6, 2025
Panel/Departmental Interviews: Week of October 20, 2025

About the County
San Mateo County is centrally located between San Francisco, San Jose, and the East Bay. With over 750,000 residents, San Mateo is one of the largest and most diverse counties in California and serves a multitude of culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities.

The County of San Mateo is committed to advancing equity to ensure that all employees are welcomed in a safe and inclusive environment. The County seeks to hire, support, and retain employees who reflect our diverse community. We encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply. Eighty percent of employees surveyed stated that they would recommend the County as a great place to work.

The County of San Mateo is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion at all levels.