What are the responsibilities and job description for the HMHR Liaison (SSP) position at King County?
The Department of Community and Human Services values diverse perspectives and life experiences. The Department encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, veterans, and those with lived experiences.
King County's Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) provides equitable opportunities for people to be healthy, happy, and connected to community.
At King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS), we believe in working as one team that solves problems—striving to be customer-focused and drive for the best results. We envision a welcoming community that is racially just. We believe the field of human services exists to undo and mitigate unfair structures. We seek to lead the way by working as respectful and responsible stewards for our community.
The Behavioral Health and Recovery Division (BHRD) of DCHS is looking for a Hospital Placement and Diversion Liaison to assure the appropriate use of King County Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization's (KCBH-ASO) resources by providing comprehensive and timely discharge and placement planning services to hospitalized and incarcerated individuals, as well as to those individuals who are currently in outpatient services who need a higher level of care.
This position will review and authorize Level of Care assessments for individuals referred to the BH-ASO's mental health residential continuum of care. It will be a member of a team responsible for diversion and discharge planning efforts for King County BH-ASO at State hospitals, HCA Long Term Civil Commitment (HCA LTCC) facilities, local psychiatric hospitals, and County-funded mental health residential treatment and supported housing resources. This is a hybrid position that includes teleworking, weekly time at King County's Chinook office, and occasional ad hoc meetings at various hospitals and mental health residential treatment facilities.
WHO MAY APPLY: This position is open to current King County Term-Limited Temporary or Career Service nty employees only, who meet the minimum qualifications. Interviews for this selection process will take place on or around 6/18/2026.
APPLICATION PROCESS
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process, or if you have questions, please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.
The following items are required to be considered for this vacancy:
- NeoGov Job Application (The responses on your job application should be thorough and complete, and will be used in the screening process)
- Supplemental Questions (The responses to the supplemental questions should be thorough and complete, and will be used in the screening process)
Your application may be rejected as incomplete if you do not include the relevant information in the application. Cover letters and/or resumes are not accepted in lieu of a completed application. Applications and/or Supplemental Questionnaires that state "see my resume" or "see my personnel file" are considered incomplete and will not be accepted.
This selection process may also be used to create a pool of candidates for current and future career service, term-limited temporary, and special duty opportunities. The pool will be active for 6 months.
WORK SCHEDULE/CONDITIONS: This position is scheduled to work 40 hours per week, Monday - Friday, 8 am - 5 pm. This position meets the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and is overtime eligible with supervisory pre-approval. This position is represented by PSEU.
MISSION CRITICAL POSITION STATUS: This position has been designated Non-Mission Critical. Unless otherwise directed by the County Executive, department director or agency head, all employees, regardless of designation, are expected to report to work or request leave during an emergency or inclement weather. For more detailed information, please visit HR Policy County Operations During Emergency Situations and the King County Guidelines for Workforce Management in an Emergency.
TELEWORKING REQUIREMENT: DCHS works in a hybrid model, with days in the office as well as telecommuting. The ratio of remote to onsite work will be dependent on business needs and is subject to change. The primary onsite location is the Chinook Building at 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104.
Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.
King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely. The individual selected for this opportunity will join an innovative and progressive team that is redefining how we work as we transition to the department's hybrid environment. Employees will be provided with a County-issued laptop and must maintain a home workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours.
RECRUITER: Greg Mallory, grmallory@kingcounty.gov
- Work within a multidisciplinary team to determine an individual's readiness for discharge from Community, State, and Long-Term Civil Commitment hospitals. In collaboration with hospital treatment teams and external partners such as DSHS, develop a comprehensive and timely plan for discharge to include facilitating referrals to the appropriate treatment resources in the King County Integrated Care Network (KCICN) as well as to locations outside of King County as needed.
- Demonstrate and maintain excellent diagnostic and assessment skills for all adults in hospital and carceral systems, as well as those in outpatient settings seeking a higher level of care.
- Support individuals in their efforts towards recovery, providing services that promote recovery principles.
- Develop, maintain and share knowledge of a variety of behavioral health, social services, and housing resources within King County and creatively develop community discharge plans utilizing that knowledge.
- Coordinate and track referrals to the mental health residential treatment continuum of care. Conduct assessment interviews and make determinations of medical necessity to determine the service needs of individuals. Adhere to UM guidelines, including timeliness and documentation requirements, as set forth by the BHRD UM Quality Team and other entities.
- Monitor openings in the mental health residential treatment continuum of care, as well as in other programs such as PACT and forensic teams, and provide appropriate referrals to all programs in a timely manner.
- Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with providers and colleagues working in allied systems, have excellent and current knowledge of the system of resources available to those with behavioral health disorders, and have excellent communication with a variety of individuals.
- Remain current on best practice research and philosophy related to behavioral health disorders, hospital discharge planning, forensic mental health, and diversion strategies from institutional settings.
- Attend and participate in assigned meetings, treatment conferences, and committees relevant to the performance of job functions.
- Ensure documentation meets and follows King County BH-ASO policies and procedures. Maintain King County BH-ASO and individuals' records in accordance with County, State, and Federal guidelines.
- Maintain a system of tracking relevant clinical, financial, legal, and behavioral aspects to each individual's case and utilize that information to effectively advocate for that individual's needs.
- Track admissions and discharges, daily census, system trends, and relevant data, as required by King County, Managed Care Organizations, WSH, and HCA.
- Maintain adherence to King County BH-ASO's Policies and Procedures, the WSH/BH-ASO Working Agreement, and WSH and other Hospital procedures.
- Demonstrate and maintain excellent knowledge of processes, programs, and resources for individuals with behavioral health disorders encountering the carceral and forensic mental health systems; and
- Perform other duties as assigned.
- Bachelor's Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Behavioral Services, or related field.
- Ability to obtain registration as a Certified Agency Affiliated Counselor with DOH within 90 days of employment.
- A minimum of five years' supervised experience.
- Experience working with publicly funded behavioral health service systems.
- Experience with psychiatric hospital discharge planning services.
- Experience in forming clinical rapport with individuals with behavioral health disorders utilizing best practice methods, such as Motivational Interviewing.
- Ability to provide functional assessments, clinical formulations consistent with the DSM diagnostic manual, and develop comprehensive community-based discharge plans justified by individuals' unique needs based upon principles of recovery.
- Ability to work with a variety of individuals representing allied systems, such as Peer Bridgers, hospital personnel, behavioral health providers, courts and judicial staff, and systems of care such as Developmental Disabilities Administration, Aging and Disability Services, Department of Corrections, and other entities.
- Knowledge of utilization management strategies and quality management practices.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Experience gathering and utilizing data, and generating reports for management staff and others.
- Computer skills: knowledge of MS products, including Teams, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
- Valid Washington State Driver's License, or the ability to travel around the County and to other required ad hoc meeting locations in a timely manner.
- Must be able to pass a criminal background check on a post-offer/pre-employment basis.
Desired Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills
- Experience with the behavioral health services system in Washington State and King County.
- Master's Degree in a related field.
- Licensed AAC with DOH, or other independent WA State Licensure with Mental Health Professional (MHP) Designation
Forbes named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.
Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles - we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ , people living with disabilities, and veterans.
King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer
No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.
To Apply
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.
Salary : $86,844 - $110,080