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 (HHS) is responsible for delivery of the County's public health and human services that serves 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 2,000 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.

Bilingual applicants in the Spanish/English language 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 and written communication.

If you are interested in working for the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, we invite qualified candidates to apply for our full-time Client Assistance Specialist position.

About the Position:

This position is located in the Department's Behavioral Health and Crisis Services, Trauma Services Unit. The Trauma Services Unit is comprised of two programs: The Abused Persons Program (APP) for partner violence and The Victim Assistance and Sexual Assault Program (VASAP) for sexual assaults and general/violent crimes, including services to surviving family members of homicide and tragic/traumatic deaths. Trauma Services provides comprehensive, individualized and culturally appropriate clinical and victim assistance services to domestic violence victims and offenders, sexual assault victims, and victims of general crime of all ages. All victims may be assessed and receive counseling, victim advocacy, and psychiatric care, as well as a variety of specialty services geared to their particular need. Programming for domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking victims also includes information and referral, lethality assessments, crisis intervention, safety planning, and placement in emergency shelters. Programs for victims of sexual assault include outreach through support to rape and sexual assault victims at hospitals and police stations, where they provide information, referrals, crisis intervention, and linkage to counseling.

The Client Assistance Specialist will:

• Provide court accompaniment for crime victims and/or families to trails and other court related procedures.
• Provide legal options, relief and referral to crime victims in crisis.
• Collaborate with the State's Attorney's Office, County's Family Justice Center and Montgomery County Police Department staff to support victims of crime.
• Complete telephone intakes for crime victim compensation applications.
• Process and liaison with Maryland and other State Criminal Injuries Compensation Boards and County to prepare and process claims to victim compensation funds.
• Prepare required statistical reports using various reporting tools.

This position requires the ability to attend meetings or perform work at locations outside the office. Employee will need to operate a motor vehicle to transport supplies, and equipment, to other locations to perform these duties and would require the need to lift and carry, and manage stairs with equipment, and supplies.

The selected candidate will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment background check, physical exam, and drug screening.

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.

Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree.

Experience: One (1) year of experience in human services that involved substantive client contact and service delivery through direct assistance or referral. This experience must have included ability to communicate effectively across a wide range of cultures and overcome potential barriers to service. For select positions, this experience must have required knowledge of the dynamics of trauma and victimization.

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

License: Possession and maintenance at all times of a valid Class C (or equivalent) driver’s license issued by the applicant’s state of residence.

There is no Preferred Criteria. All applicants will be reviewed by OHR for minimum qualifications. Those applicants who meet minimum qualifications will be rated Qualified, placed on the Eligible List, and may be considered for an interview.

Preference for interviews will be given to applicants with experience in the following:

• Experience and/or knowledge of legal optional and relief for crime victims and providing court accompaniment.
• Experience working as part of an interdisciplinary setting with therapists, psychiatrist and other colleagues.
• Experience working in a collaborative setting with other HHS/BHCS colleagues and the Criminal Justice agencies.
• Experience and/or knowledge of County resources.
• Experience providing services in a confidential manner including obeying HIPPA and federal laws on confidentiality for crime victims.
• Experience providing timely statistical and written reports needed for client follow up and for grant reporting, as well as timely and accurate processing of crime victim compensation claims.