MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR, R.N./EMERGENCY APPOINTMENTS HOMELESSNESS

Job Description

Position/Program Information

TYPE OF RECRUITMENT:
OPEN COMPETITIVE - EMERGENCY

EXAM NUMBER:

b5278J-EA

FILING START DATE:


Applications will be accepted from Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. (PT) until Friday, November 20, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. (PT).

All applications must be received before 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday, November 20, 2026 to be accepted.

The LA County Board of Supervisors recently declared a local state of emergency for homelessness , and the County is working to revise and expand our response to help all who are affected. We are looking for qualified and passionate individuals to help us in the mission of addressing issues like housing, mental health, and substance use. If you are looking for a new career that will directly benefit the population of LA County, this may be the opportunity for you.

The Department of Mental Health is seeking qualified candidates to fill emergency Mental Health Counselor, RN. vacancies related to the homelessness crisis.

Under the emergency order, applicants who meet the requirements may be hired for an initial period of up to 90 days, with an opportunity for permanent County employment.

During your initial work period, you will be assessed on your work performance. This assessment will be weighed 100%.

Those who successfully pass the assessment will be considered for permanent appointment to Mental Health Counselor, RN.

About this position:
This experienced-level class functions as a primary provider of mental health nursing services to individuals, families, and groups in a range of mental health care settings.

Essential Job Functions

Provides individual counseling to a caseload of assigned patients in the regional Mental Health Clinic.

Conducts initial interview and ongoing assessment of client's presenting problems, including mental status, level of functioning, developmental status, social and employment skills, co-occurring substance abuse problems, and mental and physical health educational needs.

Obtains client's social and medical history, and integrates assessment of physical health problems that impact the client's mental illness. Provides input to the multidisciplinary team with respect to the client's diagnosis as impacted by physical health problems.

With the participation of the client and appropriate others, plans and conducts the Client Care Coordination Plan; and in collaboration with the treatment team, determines whether the client requires long- or short-term counseling, the priorities in which the problems will be addressed, the counseling methods to be used, and the advisability of using individual or group counseling.

Administers psychotropic medication; monitors drug effectiveness and side effects; and provides drug education to clients and clients' families.

Provides periodic and ongoing re-assessment of changes in client's mental and physical health status, nutritional status, and progress toward recovery.

Plans and conducts conferences with family members, significant others, and caregivers in order to gain insight into the client's mental illness by observing how the client reacts to the family and the family to the client.

Evaluates client outcomes and periodically consults with the psychiatrist to determine the need for adjustments in the Client Care Coordination Plan.

Guides individual and group therapy activities by facilitating communication, clarifying questions, explaining behavior characteristics, and encouraging interaction within the group in order to assist clients in gaining insight into their emotional problems and in developing new coping strategies.

Identifies community agencies and resources to assist clients with rehabilitation and recovery while living in the community; and may interact with private medical facilities, courts, and governmental agencies to link or coordinate services.

Participates in team meetings to discuss ongoing client needs and progress, shift activity, and adherence to program policies and procedures such as documentation and timeliness of services and/or treatments provided.

Serves as a member of the Psychiatric Mobile Response Team or similar crisis response team in reply to urgent requests to evaluate the mental status of persons who appear dangerous to themselves or others, or who appear to be gravely disabled due to mental illness.

Assesses client's suicidal or homicidal tendencies, potential for violence toward self or others, and grave disability; makes independent judgment with respect to client's need for involuntary treatment; and, where appropriate, signs application for immediate 72-hour detention at a hospital facility or schedules an appointment for evaluation and treatment at mental health clinic.

As acting Officer of the Day, provides triage, information and referral when appropriate, and may assess incoming clients for assignment within the unit or department.

Conducts site reviews and investigates client complaints or grievances by reviewing clinical records to ensure quality of care, appropriateness of medications administered based on diagnosis, and overall mental health treatment plan; writes plan of corrective action as appropriate and conducts follow-up visits as necessary to ensure that compliance standards are met.

Requirements

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
OPTION I: One year as an Assistant Mental Health Counselor, RN * in the service of Los Angeles County.

OPTION II: A Bachelor's degree in Nursing from an accredited** college or university withcompletion of specialty coursework in psychiatric nursing --AND-- two years of full-time post baccalaureate experience as a licensed registered nurse in psychiatric nursing.

OPTION III: A Master's degree in Psychiatric Nursing from an accredited** college or university --AND-- one year of full-time post-graduate experience as a licensed registered nurse in psychiatric nursing.

Applicants must meet the above requirement at the time of filing in order to be appointed to fill any vacancies related to this recruitment.

LICENSE REQUIREMENT:

An active license (without limitations or restrictions) to practice as a Registered Nurse issued by the State of California Board of Registered Nursing.

A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.

Physical Class:
II - Light: This class includes administrative and clerical positions requiring light physical effort that may include occasional light lifting to a 10 pound limit and some bending, stooping or squatting. Considerable ambulation may be involved.

Option I : *To qualify, applicants must have County status in the class as evidence by holding or having held such payroll title in the service of Los Angeles County for the required amount of time to qualify.

Option II & Option III : see **accreditation information below.

**ACCREDITION INFORAMTION:

It is important to fill out the job application completely as directed. The Department of Mental Health encourages all applicants to submit relevant attachments including resumes and required documents in the Attachments section of the application.

*In order to receive credit for any degree, such as a Associate's, Bachelor's or Master's, you must include a legible copy of the official diploma, official transcripts, or official letter from the accredited institution which shows degree has been conferred and the area of specialization with your application at the time of filing or email within seven (7) calendar days from application submission. We do not accept password-protected documents. Ensure documents are unlocked before attaching to your application or send to the exam analyst.

• Foreign degrees must be evaluated for equivalency to United States accredited institutions standards by an academic credential evaluation agency recognized by The National Association of Credential Evaluation Services or the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE). See Employment Information under Accreditation Information.

Official Transcript is defined as a transcript that bears the college seal and states "official and/or copy" issued by the school's Registrar Office. A printout of the transcript from the school's website is NOT considered official and; therefore, will NOT be accepted and may result in your application being incomplete or rejected.

NOTE: if you are unable to attach the required documents with your application online, you may e-mail them to Exams@dmh.lacounty.gov within seven (7) calendar days from application submission. In the "Subject" of the e-mail please type Exam Title and Exam Number.

We do not accept password-protected documents. Ensure documents are unlocked before attaching to your application or sending to the exam analyst.

Additional Information

EXAMINATION CONTENT :

During your initial work period, the appointing department will evaluate your performance. Those who achieve a passing score on this evaluation will be considered for permanent County employment.

APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION:

Applications must be submitted online only and will be reviewed for interview consideration on an ongoing basis. If you have not been contacted within 60 days and the recruitment remains open or reopens for filing, we encourage you to submit a new application. This will allow you to reaffirm your interest and update any relevant information.

Applications must be filed online by clicking on the green "Apply" button located on the top right corner of the screen. Applicants must complete and submit their online applications and upload required documents (e.g. Official Transcripts, Resume, etc.) as attachment(s) during application submission, or send by email to exams@dmh.lacounty.gov within 7 calendar days from date of application submission. Indicate the Exam Title on the subject line when sending required documents by email.

Fill out your application completely. The acceptance of your application will depend on whether you have clearly shown that you meet the Minimum Requirements. Provide any relevant education, training, and experience in the spaces provided so we can evaluate your qualifications for the job. For each job held, provide the name and address of your employer, your job title, beginning and ending dates, and description of work performed. If your application is incomplete, it will be rejected.

Many important notifications will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application, so it is important that you provide a valid email address. Please add isan@dmh.lacounty.gov as well as noreply@governmentjobs.com and info@governmentjob.com to your email address and list of approved senders to prevent email notification from being filtered as span/junk/clutter mail.

You have the ability to opt out of emails from LA County. If you unsubscribe, you will not receive any email notification for any examination for which you apply with Los Angeles County. Regardless of whether you choose to unsubscribe, you can always check for notifications by logging into governmentjobs.com and viewing your profile inbox, which saves a copy of all emailed notices. Plan to submit your online application well in advance before the deadline as you may be required to verify your email address. This only needs to be done once per email address, and if you already have a job seeker account on govermentjobs.com/careers/lacounty .gov you can verify at any time by logging in and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of your online application and to ensure you do not enter an incorrect email address.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• Applications may be rejected at any stage of the examination and selection process.
• FALSIFICATION of any information may result in DISQUALIFICATION or RESCISSION OF APPOINTMENT.
• Utilizing VERBIAGE from the Class Specification, Minimum Requirements, and/or Special Requirement Information serving as your description of duties WILL NOT be sufficient to demonstrate that you meet the requirements. In doing so, your application will be REJECTED as INCOMPLETE.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER LANGUAGE

Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.

COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT LIBRARIES

For candidates who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.

NO SHARING USER ID AND PASSWORD

All applicants must file their applications online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record.

ANTI-RACISM, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION (ARDI)

The County of Los Angeles recognizes and affirms that all people are created equal and are entitled to all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States. The Department of Human Resources is committed to promoting Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts to address the inequalities and disparities amongst race. We support the ARDI Strategic Plan and its goals by improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in recruitment, selection, and employment practices.

DEPARTMENT CONTACT:

HR Examinations Unit: ( 213) 972-7034

HR Examinations Unit Email: exams@dmh.lacounty.gov

Analyst Contact Phone: Irene San, (323) 705-4074

Analyst Contact Email: isan@dmh.lacounty.gov

ADA COORDINATOR PHONE: (323) 705-4074

TELETYPE PHONE : (800) 735-2922

CALIFORNIA RELAY SERVICES PHONES: (800) 735-2922

For detailed information, please click here

Closing Date/Time: 11/20/2026 5:00 PM Pacific