Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to U.S. Citizens and those authorized to work in the U.S.

PDS Overview: The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS) is a federally funded, independent organization governed by an eleven-member Board of Trustees. PDS provides legal representation for indigent individuals who are charged with criminal offenses in the District of Columbia and face a loss of liberty. PDS has approximately 200 employees, most of whom work at our main office located at 633 3rd Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. The PDS staff consists of approximately 100 attorneys, and approximately 100 social workers, investigative specialists, administrative, and technical employees. PDS is funded by federal appropriations, and all employees are entitled to participate in certain federal benefits plans: health and life insurance, federal retirement system, and the Thrift Savings Plan.

Employment at the Public Defender Service (PDS) is neither federal nor District of Columbia government employment, and all employees are "At-Will."

Division Description and Position Background: The Mental Health Division (MHD) provides legal representation to the District of Columbia residents, who have been involuntarily institutionalized for treatment of mental illness; who have been found incompetent to stand trial; or who have been found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGI). In addition, the MHD staff regularly advises local and national advocacy groups, testify before the D.C. Council on legislative reforms and frequently provide critical assistance to trial division attorneys.

Major Duties: The incumbent of the position serves as a forensic social worker or forensic professional counselor responsible for direct support to NGI acquittees pursing both conditional and unconditional release from their commitment. NGI acquittees must demonstrate to the Court that they have sufficiently recovered their sanity such that they are not likely to endanger themselves or others, if released. The process of release is intricate and slow. The average length of commitment is twenty-six years. The incumbent will have to be well-versed with all aspects of the acquittee's recovery and work collaboratively with counsel of record to achieve the desired outcome for the client.

Additionally, the incumbent will:

• Evaluate clients, devise, recommend, and implement case strategies for the client's successful return to the community and ultimate release from commitment.
• Develop conditional release plans according to the individual needs of the client.
• Prepare extensive persuasive, legally and clinically-based analytical psychosocial assessment which are submitted to the court.
• Provide follow-up visits, care and coordination of services for clients who are released to the community to ensure continued stay in the community and to avoid re-hospitalization.
• Research, analyze, and interpret clinical literature for persuasive advocacy.
• Independently manage clinical and legal case records/files.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with government agencies, private organizations, and services throughout the District of Columbia Metropolitan area.

Conditions of employment

Key Requirements: (1) Applicant must be a US Citizen or have current authorization to work in the United States; (2) Incumbent must have no convictions as defined in D.C. Code Sec. 14.305(b)(1) (Impeachment by evidence of conviction of crime); (3) Incumbent must have a valid U.S. driver's license; (4) incumbent must own or have ready-use of an insured, reliable, and privately-owned motor vehicle and must be insured as the driver for that vehicle (rental cars and car services are not acceptable substitutes).

*All candidates are subject to a criminal background check.

Qualifications

• All applicants must have an active District of Columbia licensure as a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) or Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).
• All applicants must have one year of experience as social worker/case manager or other comparable experience in criminal defense mitigation, court-based client advocacy (for the mentally ill and/or dually diagnosed), or direct clinical services (mental health and/or dually diagnosed) for indigent clients in a criminal justice setting (i.e., Drug Court, Mental Health Community Court, etc.).

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) Required: In addition to a traditional resume, candidates should submit a separate narrative statement addressing the following quality ranking factors. These factors will be used to distinguish the best-qualified applicants from a group of persons basically qualified for the position. Failure to submit your narrative response for this job will negatively affect your eligibility and/or rating for this position.

1. Experience working with arrested adults and understanding of the plight of persons from disadvantaged backgrounds.
2. Direct defense experience working with adult clients on rehabilitation and dispositional issues.
3. Knowledge of social work concepts and concepts related to rehabilitation and alternatives to involuntary hospitalization and/or confinement.
4. Intense knowledge of mental illness.
5. Demonstrated excellent writing and oral persuasion skills and ability to communicate effectively to broad spectrum of people.
6. Demonstrated computer skills.
7. Familiarity with treatment and rehabilitation resources available in the D.C. metro area.
8. Knowledge of the court system.
9. Detailed knowledge of the mental health system in general, and specific aspects of the experience related to those committed to mental institutions, including the effects of institutionalization.
10. Experience in crisis intervention counseling and de-escalation.

Qualifications Required for the Grade 12
To qualify for the Grade 12, a candidate must possess the aforementioned educational requirement and at least one year of general experience (described below):

• General experience is progressively responsible experience in social work concepts, counseling, or other work that indicates the possession of, or the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the forensic social work duties

Qualifications Required for the Grade 13
To qualify for the Grade 13 a candidate must possess the aforementioned educational requirement and at least 2 years the following specialized experience:

• Candidates must have demonstrated and progressively responsible experience that is in, or closely related to, the work of the position that has provided the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to apply a body of concepts, regulations, decisions, or statutes; extracting data from various sources; and dealing with people for purposes such as assessing mental health and identifying rehabilitation resources for social work or similar purposes.

Note: If hired at PDS Grade 12, a candidate may be promoted without further competition upon completion of one year of exemplary performance and upon maintenance of active professional social work (LICSW) or professional counselor license (LPC), subject to approval of the PDS Director.

Highly Desired Qualifications:

• Candidates with bilingual Spanish/English skills are strongly encouraged to apply.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application package includes your cover letter, resume and requested supporting documentation. Please ensure your application package includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position. Failure to provide sufficient evidence in your application package and requested supporting documents can result in a rejection of your application package.

Rating: Your application package will be rated and ranked among other applicants, based on your experience, education, training, and awards relevant to the duties of this position. Your rating can be lowered if your application package is not supported by the requested documents.

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application package will be referred to a hiring manager for consideration at which time you may be invited to participate in a selection interview.

Interview Structure: Those who are selected for interviews will be required to interview via Web- X, Skype, or some other communications platform. Note: PDS reserves the right to interview prior to the closing date.