ISCA - High School Social Worker

Application Deadline: open until filled

ABOUT INSIGHT SCHOOLS OF CALIFORNIA:

Insight Schools of California (a network of three public charter schools) delivers online/virtual home based-instruction to students in grades 9-12 in California. Insight Schools of California serves at-risk students. We use K12, inc. as our curriculum provider for the basis of instruction and teachers provide live instruction via the Engageli platform. While our schools do offer some scheduling flexibility, students are still required to maintain daily attendance, attend instructional sessions, and complete their coursework each day.

HOURS AND SALARY INFORMATION: 
Full Time: Monday-Friday from 8:00am-5:00pm. You are not allowed to have another job during these contracted hours.

We do participate in CalPERS. Please contact your CalPERS counselor about how employment with Insight Schools of California may affect your personal PERS account. Only full time employees are offered health, dental, and vision benefits. Benefits information is only given out upon offer. We do provide training for all programs and we have a great staff to serve as your support system.

• 1-year related experience

• Valid Marriage Family Therapist (MFT) or 

• Valid Marriage Family Child Counselor (MFCC) Certification/License or 

• Valid Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or 

• Valid Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) 

PLEASE NOTE: We DO NOT accept temporary county certificates, out-of-state, intern, expired, emergency, short-term staff permits, or credentials in the process of being obtained. All applicants must meet all requirements at the time of applying in order to be considered.

Job Title: High School Social Worker
Reports To: Lead Trauma Guidance Counselor
FLSA Status: Exempt
Department: High school

Overview:

Virtual schools are new models in public education. They look both backward to what we know works well in educating children, and forward to see how technology can help us implement these strategies with children. Virtual school counselors are part of a pioneering effort. Our counselors, therefore, need to share the school’s pioneering mission and approach.

Summary:  

The Social Worker is responsible for providing individual counseling services to students who self-refer or are referred by a teacher or administrator for issues related to mental, emotional, or behavioral health. The social worker serves as the liaison for homeless and foster youth students. The social worker performs screenings, evaluation, assessments, and recommendations for services and acts as a crisis intervention therapist by working collaboratively with staff, providing resources, and helping families who are in situations of crisis, abuse and neglect. Direct services provided include but are not limited to: crisis intervention, suicide prevention, advocacy and service planning for students in need of ongoing services, and outreach to students in need of services. The position helps foster a high touch approach to mental health and educational support and exhibits superior customer service skills along with a commitment and desire to provide the best experience possible for students and families. 

Essential Functions, Duties and Responsibilities: The below statements are intended to describe the general nature and scope of work being performed by this position. This is not a complete listing of all responsibilities, duties and/or skills required; other duties may be assigned. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.

• Provide student support through individualized services, small groups, schoolwide campaigns, psychoeducational workshops, and push-in service 
• Provide mental health initial needs assessment, crisis intervention, advocacy, linkage for referrals and other early intervention services and mental health resources as deemed necessary
• Provide individual and group therapy
• Support crisis risk assessment and referrals in alignment with school policy
• Serve as the liaison for homeless and foster youth students by regularly identifying homeless students, providing regular outreach, providing resources, performing internal audits, managing data trackers, providing one on one support, and being the main point of contact for the homeless and foster youth population
• Develop individualized plans of care using evidence-based practices and research in the field of counseling.
• First point of contact for “crisis” calls and referrals from staff and administration; follow up with families directly, coordinating with external agencies (CPS, DCFS, etc.) as needed 
• Compiles and maintains local community resources for families in various regions of California 
• Documents all contact, resources provided, and student progress to maintain accurate student records and confidentiality 
• Collects and evaluates data on caseload, and participates in weekly data conferencing 
• Participate in State Testing, including but not limited to: proctoring state mandated assessments, supporting testing sites, following up with and supporting families in completing state testing, and addressing any student/family issues with school staff 
• Attends all in-person meetings as scheduled
• Assists with testing as directed by administration
• Coordinates support with all team members, including but not limited to: SPED, Intervention, General Education, RAISE Team and Administration 
• Provides/Facilitates family intervention meetings with discouraged or disgruntled families 

Minimum Required Qualifications: 

• Permanent California Residence (within 1 of the 42 CA counties we hire in)
• Master’s degree in social work
• 1-year related experience

CERTIFICATES AND LISENCES: 

• Valid Marriage Family Therapist (MFT) or 
• Valid Marriage Family Child Counselor (MFCC) Certification/License or 
• Valid Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or 
• Valid Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) 

OTHER REQUIRED EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES: 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Organizational skills, multi-tasking abilities
• Customer service orientation
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook)
• Flexible schedule: Ability to travel as needed, up to 10% of the time within and between assigned geographic areas to support students, attend regularly scheduled meetings, and participate in school activities, open houses and orientations 
• Ability to pass required background check
• Ability to obtain fingerprint clearance

DESIRED Qualifications: 

• Interpret and implement applicable laws, codes, policies, procedures
• Experience working with the proposed age group
• Experience supporting adults and children in the use of technology 
• An ability to learn new technology tools quickly (e.g., database and web-based tools) 
• An ability to support and guide adults as well as students
• Experience coordinating academically oriented clubs and extracurricular activities 
• Experience working in and educational setting

Competencies:

Adaptability/Flexibility: Adapts to change, is open to new ideas, takes on new responsibilities, handles pressure, and adjusts plans to meet changing needs.

Integrity/Ethics: Deals with others in a straightforward and honest manner, is accountable for actions, maintains confidentiality, supports company values, and conveys good news and bad.

Teamwork: Meets all team deadlines and responsibilities, listens to others and values opinions, helps team leader to meet goals, welcomes newcomers, and promotes a team atmosphere.

Supervisory Responsibilities: This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Business Ethics: Inspires the trust of others; Keeps commitments; Treats people with respect; Upholds organizational values; Works with integrity and ethically.

Communications: Exhibits good listening and comprehension; Expresses ideas and thoughts in written form; Expresses ideas and thoughts verbally; Keeps others adequately informed; Selects and uses appropriate communication methods.

Leadership: Exhibits confidence in self and others; Inspires respect and trust; Motivates others to perform well; Reacts well under pressure; Shows courage to take action.

Planning & Organization: Integrates changes smoothly; Plans for additional resources; Prioritizes and plans work activities; Sets goals and objectives; Uses time efficiently; Works in an organized manner

Quality Management: Fosters quality focus in others; Improves processes, products and services; Measures key outcomes; Sets clear quality requirements; Solicits and applies customer feedback.

Team Leadership: Acknowledges team accomplishments; Ensures progress toward goals; Fosters team cooperation; Supports group problem solving

Use of Technology: Adapts to new technologies; Demonstrates required skills; Keeps technical skills up to date; Troubleshoots technological problems; Uses technology to increase productivity

Computer Skills: To perform this job successfully, an individual should have knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite; and experience using a student information system and/or other type of database software. Experience moderating web meetings (Blackboard Collaborate, Webinar, Webex) for small and large groups.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. A flexible schedule is required.

This position is a virtual position working from a home office. Must have ability to travel throughout the school year within and between assigned geographic areas to support students, attend regularly scheduled meetings, proctor state exams and participate in school activities and orientations.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to outdoor weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms and talk or hear.

RESTRICTIONS ON TIME OFF:

Professional Development: No days off August 5th- 16th (Employees may take time off this week on dates not assigned to attend professional development/training) 

Launch: No more than 2 consecutive days off August 5th – September 20th 

Testing: No days off weeks of testing when staff member is assigned (April 28 – May 30th) 

End of Year: Dates between June 9th and June 12th approved based upon completion of end of year tasks.

* Use of sick time under the California Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 may be approved during the above restricted dates

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.