Downtown Women's Center Posting

Medical Social Worker – Women’s Health Center

The mission of the Downtown Women’s Center (DWC) is to provide permanent supportive housing and a safe and healthy community fostering dignity, respect, and personal stability, and to advocate ending homelessness for women. Founded in 1978, DWC was the first organization to exclusively serve mentally ill and elderly homeless women on Los Angeles’ Skid Row. The DWC Day Center now offers 85,000 meals, case management, and other supportive resources on a drop-in basis to 4300 homeless women each year, while the DWC Residence provides a permanent home and a range of services to 71 women who were
once without safe, affordable housing. Please visit www.DWCweb.org for more information.

POSITION SUMMARY
The Downtown Women’s Center seeks a full-time Medical Social Worker to provide individualized case management, health linkage services, and counseling to homeless and formerly homeless women. Through personalized support and advocacy, this position works to connect women with medical and mental health services, housing, basic needs, public benefits, and job training. The Medical Social Worker is a member of the Clinical Health Services (CHS) team and works as part of a team of clinicians and health professionals to
empower women to achieve and maintain personal stability. This position reports to the Director of Clinical Health Services. The Medical Social Worker will play a key role in the success of the new DWC women’s health center. The position will provide direct services to clients with a focus on helping women access services and treatment necessary to manage chronic health and mental health issues. This position will collaborate with staff and local service providers to connect clients to a medical home/primary care provider
and ensure that the client receives coordinated medical services. This position may: conduct clinic intake assessments, coordinate activities of medical and mental health professionals including appointment scheduling, facilitate timely and appropriate treatment through client support and advocacy, assist with coordination of care plans, schedule health education and screening activities, and facilitate client support groups. This position will lead and support health initiatives designed specifically to address women’s health
needs (i.e. breast health, cervical health, etc.) in the Skid Row community.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
• Provide individualized case management services to clients; create individual service plans that address each clients’ medical and mental health needs and goals, identify and provide needed resources and referrals
• Coordinate mammography services including by not limited to screenings, medical linkage, and coordination of care
• Work to effectively resolve individual barriers through follow-up, advocacy, and collaboration with DWC staff and other community service providers
• Provide counseling and therapeutic services as needed; crisis intervention and group facilitation as necessary
• Maintain accurate and timely records of: activities, case management notes, and services provided to each client
• Develop and maintain relationships with clients, staff, and local service providers; participate in community meetings pertaining to medical services benefitting clients and serve as a representative of DWC
• Support the development of measurable outcomes and the implementation of ongoing program evaluation. Provide regular, written reports to the Director of Clinical Health Services and additional reports as assigned
• Provide supervision and guidance to interns and volunteers in the provision of services to clients
• Develop, implement, and manage interagency holistic health programming and activities to address health education, prevention, and treatment; including provision of women’s health and education services
• Other duties as assigned to support the mission of the organization

NECESSARY SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS
• Master’s degree required (MSW, MPH, MA in related field); master’s degree in social work (MSW) preferred
• Two years experience working as a social worker/similar position and knowledge of community resources required
• Knowledge of the complexity of poverty and women’s homelessness, health issues, mental illness, trauma, substance abuse and older adults preferred
• Ability to problem solve and demonstrate an understanding of complex systems required
• Experience working in a medical, mental health, or public health setting preferred
• Excellent active listening and crisis intervention skills with ability to exercise and model good judgment
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities, including proficiency in balancing direct service responsibilities with effective record keeping
• Ability to work effectively on multiple teams while meeting the needs of both the clients and the organization
• Strong administrative skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) required
• Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills; proven ability to communicate with diverse audiences
• Criminal background check and clearance required
• Current valid California state driver’s license, insurance, and vehicle with good driving record
• Oral and written fluency in Spanish and English a plus

SCHEDULE & SALARY: This is a full-time exempt position. Office hours are 9:00am to 5:30pm; with flexibility to work evenings and weekends when necessary. Salary range $40,000-$45,000/annually depending on qualifications & experience. TO APPLY: Please email cover letter and resume
to HR@DWCweb.org. Please include “Medical Social Worker” in the subject line of your email.