Public Safety Social Worker​/Victim Advocate

General Description

General Description: Under the direction of the Deputy Chief of Police, this position will work within the police department partnering with officers in the community providing guidance to needed social services.

• Helps facilitate process for officers to refer community members through initial contact to resolution, which may require short term case management as necessary to assure appropriate connection with providers
• Follow-ups on referrals assigned by supervisor regarding matters concerning but not limited to, mental health, homelessness, dependency and addiction, victim’s services, family services and elderly needs to bridge available providers of social services
• Ability to engage individuals and verbally de-escalate in sometimes stressful or dynamic circumstances; provide support or guidance to concerned family members
• Works closely with Patrol Officers, CIT (Crisis Intervention Team), CRO (Community Resource Officers) officers and local Fire Department Community Paramedics to monitor needs in community.
• Facilitates follow-up to provider system when individual is not currently connected to services; pro-actively engages referred individuals in their home environments as needed to ensure connection with services
• Develops and maintains positive working relationships with community behavioral health and other healthcare providers and other community systems
• Networks with community agencies and providers
• Partners with officers to engage in street outreach to the chronically homeless, with the goal of moving them into temporary, short- or long-term housing.
• Provides temporary mental health case management for those whose continual mental health crises have resulted in frequent calls to RPD
• Works with individuals to reduce subsequent crises
• Assist individuals in accessing outpatient mental health treatment, housing, primary health care, substance abuse treatment, and social security benefits for the consumers assigned to them
• Clinician to attend roll call during shift and complete ride-alongs as directed.
• Assists officers with Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) related calls in response to traumatic events, sometimes on an on-call basis.
• Remains informed of current developments and procedures pertinent to duties; participates in staff development activities and services, reviews procedures; attends staff meetings
• Maintains required licenses and/or certificates
• Meets all job safety requirements and all applicable OSHA safety standards that pertain to essential functions
• Demonstrates regular and predictable attendance
• Maintains documentation
• Performs other related duties as assigned

• Must possess either:

- Bachelor’s degree with a license in social work (LSW) alongside a minimum of 5 years of experience in case management and social service delivery with behavioral health population, in crisis, at-risk populations, families, or those experiencing dependency or homelessness, OR

- Master’s degree with a License in Social Work or License Professional Counselor (LSW, LISW, LPC or LPCC) alongside a minimum of 2 years of experience in case management and social service delivery with behavioral health population, in crisis, at-risk populations, families, or those experiencing dependency or homelessness

• Experience working with public safety is preferred
• Must possess a valid driver’s license and proof of insurance, or ability to obtain valid driver’s license prior to employment
• Continued participation in professional development via attendance at conferences, workshops and training sessions to maintain required CEUs for any licensure
• Will consider other combinations of licensure and years of experience if candidate demonstrates competency and unique experience
• Must be willing to work on-call in order to assist officers with Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) related scenarios in response to traumatic events only as needed.

• Division policies and procedures in Crisis Intervention, De-escalation and Trauma Informed Care*
• Skill with Microsoft based products that include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other types of software
• Data input and data extraction;…