The Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Division of San Mateo County Health is seeking a well-qualified individual for the position of Supervising Mental Health Clinician, to supervise and coordinate the professional work of mental health professionals, paraprofessionals and interns in a geographic or service unit and participate in program planning, administration and evaluation; and provide specialized psychiatric casework counseling and therapeutic services to children and their families within the Prenatal to Three Specialty Team.
The current vacancy is in the Mental Health Youth Services, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, Prenatal to Three Program.
Prenatal to Three The Pre-Natal to Three (Pre-3) Program provides specialized mental health services for pregnant women, new caregivers, and children ages 0–5 who meet medical necessity criteria for Specialty Mental Health Services. The program is rooted in a trauma-informed and culturally responsive framework, recognizing the critical importance of the earliest years of life in shaping long-term health and development.
Pre-3 clinicians deliver direct mental health treatment and case management while also supporting the parent-child relationship through dyadic and family-based approaches. The program partners closely with Children and Family Services, San Mateo Medical Center, Family Health, and community providers to ensure comprehensive care for families navigating complex needs. Collaboration extends to interagency efforts such as the Keller Center and Child Welfare Team, strengthening coordinated systems of support for vulnerable young children and their caregivers.
By addressing perinatal mental health, early childhood trauma, and family stressors, the Pre-3 Program plays a vital role in promoting resilience, preventing deeper system involvement, and improving long-term outcomes for infants, young children, and their families.
The Supervising Mental Health Clinician will oversee a multidisciplinary team that provides clinical outpatient services to children and their families. The team may include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and peer support specialists (family partners). The clinical team may also include master and doctoral level interns/trainees and psychiatric residents.
The ideal candidate will possess:
- Knowledge of trauma informed system of care principles and general services.
- Knowledge of program management techniques, system of care principles, and practices.
- Demonstrated expertise and skill in clinical work with infants, young children and families, young children with serious emotional disturbances.
- Experience providing clinical services for clients with co-occurring disorders of mental illness and substance use.
- Ability to provide clinical case management to support the team, as needed.
- Experience working with clients of diverse cultures and backgrounds and conducting outreach to underserved communities from a trauma-informed perspective.
- Knowledge of evidence-based clinical practice modalities, e.g. Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Solution Focused Brief Treatment, Child Parent Psychotherapy, Parent Child Interaction Training, etc.
- Knowledge of Medi-Cal and Medicare regulations and managed mental health care.
- Strong clinical assessment, diagnostic and evaluation skills.
- Strong supervisory/leadership skills which demonstrate an ability to direct and motivate a multi-disciplinary team.
- Collaborative skills and the ability to establish and maintain productive working relationships with consumers, families, professionals and the public; including collaborative community engagement to plan and implement needed services.
- Ability to make sound decisions and manage crises based on the exercise of judgment and the consideration of all available information.
Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Function as the Unit Supervisor, and plan, assign, train, and supervise the work of a group of inter-disciplinary mental health professionals and interns.
- Plan, implement and coordinate all unit related activity.
- Participate in administrative staff meetings to formulate overall program plans and review ongoing operations.
- Establish and maintain program procedures which are consistent with federal, state and local laws governing mental health services.
- Monitor and consult with contract providers to ensure compliance with services requested by the County and to help determine jointly beneficial solutions to problem areas.
- Maintain unit records and collect statistical data for routine, evaluative and research purposes.
- Lead clinical meetings for cooperative planning of treatment and accountable case disposition.
- Facilitate development of training program for staff and interns.
- On occasion, the Unit Supervisor will conduct therapy for individuals, couples and families; and make diagnoses.
- When appropriate, conduct case management functions.
- Maintain patient/client case documentation adhering to state and division policy and procedures.
- Provide crisis consultation, support and triaging for clinicians and their clients
- Screen for new clients and their families.
- As needed, act as liaison for clients hospitalized.
- Provide guidance and support to clinicians in discharge planning, follow-up care, and triaging to clients and family members.
- Provide both client-centered and program-centered consultation to external agencies, institutions and individuals.
- Provide community education and information to external agencies, institutions and individuals.
- Perform related duties as assigned
Qualifications
Licensure/Certification: Possession of a current California license in at least one of the following: Clinical Psychology, Clinical Social Worker or Marriage and Family Therapy.
Education and Experience: Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to qualify is a Master's degree in a mental health specialty, such as social work, nursing, or clinical counseling and two years of professional post-graduate experience in a mental health setting.
TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT SCHEDULE
Final Filing Date: Thursday, September 25, 2025, by 11:59PM PST
Application Screening: Week of October 6, 2025
Panel/Departmental Interviews: Week of October 20, 2025
