Marriage and Family Counselor

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office upholds Alameda County as a safe and livable community through the fair and effective administration of justice; compassionate and committed support of crime victims; innovative programs that provide opportunities for rehabilitation and reintegration; and programs designed to enhance the lives of vulnerable populations, children and youth for a bright, healthy future. Read more about our mandated services.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office is comprised of approximately 150 attorneys, 60 inspectors, 30 Victim-Witness advocates and claim specialists, as well as a variety of administrative, finance, and communications professionals. Our jurisdiction covers over 800 square miles and our staff work in 9 offices located throughout the County.

We have six specialized divisions within the office:

§ Criminal Prosecution

§ Juvenile Justice

§ Consumer, Environmental and Worker Protection

§ DA Inspectors

§ Victim-Witness Assistance

§ Alameda County Family Justice Center

THE POSITION

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office is recruiting for a Marriage and Family Counselor to work with our Trauma Recovery Center Team at the Alameda County Family Justice Center (“ACFJC”). Applicants for this position must be a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with trauma informed care experience who conducts outreach, assessment, case management and psychotherapy services with clients and brings a trauma informed, cultural humility lens to each aspect of these services.

This is the entry-level marriage and family therapist class located in the Trauma Recovery Center.  TRC Family and Marriage Therapists must have training and expertise in the assessment and treatment of acute trauma and polyvictimization, along with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, including anxiety disorders, mood disorders and personality disorders.

Must have the flexibility to work with a wide variety of clients.  For example:  Recent victims of violent crimes, survivors of physical assault, sexual assault, gunshot wounds, stabbings, domestic violence, and human trafficking.

Family Justice Center

Founded in 2005, the ACFJC collaborates with over 45 law enforcement, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations to ensure safety and healing for victims of interpersonal violence through comprehensive, coordinated, culturally sensitive and accessible services, including: victim and witness assistance; legal advocacy; domestic violence and sexual assault counseling; restraining order assistance; safety planning; children's counseling; parenting support; shelter/housing assistance; benefits assistance and enrollment; Safe at Home application assistance; self-sufficiency services, professional development, resume writing and interviewing skills; criminal justice information and assistance; and clinical mental health services through the Trauma Recovery Center.

The California Victim Compensation Board administers the Trauma Recovery Center program under the authority of Government Code section 13963.1.  To be designated a “Trauma Recovery Center” applicants must be able to provide all of the following resources, treatments, and recovery services to crime victims:

•            Mental health treatment services

•            Assertive community-based outreach and clinical case management

•            Coordination of care among medical and mental health care providers, law enforcement agencies, victim service

             providers and other social service agencies

•            Services to family members and loved ones of homicide victims

•            A multidisciplinary staff of clinicians that includes licensed psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. These

             clinicians can be either salaried or contract positions.

In 2016, The Alameda County Family Justice Center became the first non-hospital in California to receive the Trauma Recovery Center (“TRC”) designation.  That designation was renewed in 2018.

To meet the TRC’s on-site mental health treatment services requirement, the District Attorney has partnered with community-based non-profits La Familia Counseling Services (“LFCS”) and Youth Alive! to implement a mental health treatment program at the Family Justice Center.  The District Attorney is currently recruiting for a Social Worker III to be part of the TRC team.

Responsibilities:

Provides psychotherapy and case management services to clients in out-patient services or hospital psychiatric wards; interviews clients and families and contacts community agencies to gather data of social and psychiatric relevance; prepares and maintains mental health/environmental case histories for use in diagnostic evaluations and participates in formulating client treatment programs.

Holds regular interviews with clients to assist in their understanding of problems and in developing realistic plans to resolve them; advises clients of community resources; makes referrals and other arrangements as assigned.

Attends staff conferences and training sessions; presents case history material for review and discussion; consults regularly with supervisors regarding problems and progress and to obtain guidance and supervision; consults with staff, including persons of other disciplines as required.

Gathers required data and prepares reports; interprets procedures to families and other interested persons and provides psychotherapy and case management as indicated; may participate in commitment hearings, giving factual and corroborative testimony requiring clients' mental health and environmental history and present behavior.

LOCATION

Location of the assignment is with the Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) in partnership with the Alameda County Family Justice Center which is a Division of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

 •     Theory, principles and techniques of marriage and family therapy, and/or psychotherapy, including trends,

       standards, and terminology.

       •     Social, emotional, and behavioral aspects of mental disorders.

 •     Dynamics of maturation, social adjustment, normal and abnormal behavior, as well as general psychology.

 •     Psychotherapy, case management and other techniques of marriage and family counseling, including but

       not limited to therapy with families, couples, groups, and individuals, including children.

       •     Community resources in the field of mental health.

Ability to:

       •    Apply clinical and case management principles and concepts; secure accurate social and personal data.

       •    Establish and maintain effective and professional relationships and work effectively with others.

       •    Utilize community resources in a mental health or rehabilitation program.

       •    Write and speak effectively, maintain necessary records, and prepare reports, including statistics.

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)

· Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance

· 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

· Management Paid Leave**

· Catastrophic Sick Leave

· 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

· 1^st 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.