Senior Social Worker (Mental Health Consultant)

Posting number: 2026AO27587

Department: DPH - Public Health

Division: Community Health Services

Job classification: Social Worker - Senior (C9A : PROTEC17-DPH, DCHS-Health Prof)

Posting type: Open & Promotional

Categories: Public Health, Social Services, Community and Social Services

Summary

20260604121525_cfd7086d-bf43-4c5d-b85c-6b56af74da6d.webp
The Child Care Health Program (enter CCHP Website) provides health consultation, training, and education to child care and early learning educators to elevate their skills in guiding, nurturing, and supporting the health, safety, social and emotional development, nutrition, and learning of all children in their care. The CCHP is an interdisciplinary team of nurse, mental health, nutrition, and educator consultants who collaborate to offer in-person and virtual services and trainings to those educators. The successful candidate for this position will have excellent communication, relationship, and trust-building skills; knowledge of early childhood development and attachment; and the ability to work with diverse educators and families.

Consultation focuses on the behavioral, developmental, and socioemotional needs of children from infancy through school-age. In addition to consulting with early learning educators about the children in their care, the MHC may also consult with parents/family members to provide information about managing behavior and mental health and offer referrals for behavioral or developmental services as needed. In partnership with other mental health staff on the Child Care team, the MHC will be responsible for leading the mental health work of the unit, consulting with partners at the City of Seattle and the rest of the Child Care Health Team.

Within the interdisciplinary team of Public Health Nurses, Mental Health Consultants, Educator Consultants, and Nutritionist, this Mental Health Consultant (MHC) will provide on-site consultation services to child care and early learning programs. Following the model of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC), the CCHP MHCs strive to build the capacity of educators, families, programs, and systems to prevent, identify, and reduce the impact of behavioral problems among children.

Note: This recruitment will be used to create an eligibility pool to fill additional Career Service, Term-Limited Temporary (TLT), or Special Duty Assignment (SDA) vacancies that may occur over the next six months.

Commitment To Equity and Social Justice

Named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential civil rights leaders in our nation's history, King County is a vibrant international community with residents that represent countries from around the world. It is a region with increasing diversity that cherishes the traditions of many cultures.

The county government has a deep commitment to equity and social justice and advancing practices, strategies, and policies that promote fairness, justice, and opportunity for all – in our workplaces and our communities. With this commitment, King County has adopted a pro-equity agenda to advance regional change and ensure that residents from all communities are incorporated into our emergency planning and public outreach efforts.

We recognize that structural racism consists of principles and practices that cause and justify an inequitable distribution of rights, opportunities, and experiences across racial groups. Since declaring Racism is a Public Health Crisis in June 2020, King County and Public Health committed to being intentionally anti-racist and accountable to Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities.

To learn more, please visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/equity-social-justice.aspx

Work Schedule

This position has a regular schedule of Monday through Friday, generally 8 AM to 5 PM, with some limited flexibility. It may require that you work occasional evenings and Saturday hours, as well for trainings and meetings. This position is subject to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and is eligible for overtime pay.

Remote and Onsite Work

The Child Care Health team 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 (Chinook Building - 401 5th Ave. Seattle, WA). 

Employees must reside in W