Senior Social Worker

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) - a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval - award amount (up to $200 -000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
• Education
• Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
• Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited
• A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work
• Licensure
• Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level
• Failure to Obtain License or Certification
• In all cases - social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment
• Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment
• Loss of Licensure or Certification
• Once licensed or certified - social workers must maintain a full - valid - and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment
• Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment
• May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker - GS-12 Experience/Education
• The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which - one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level
• Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment
• Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice
• Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty
• Licensure/Certification
• Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination - unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California - which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations
• This includes individual - group - and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management
• (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• (c) Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area - utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes
• (d) Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area - as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills
• (e) Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession - and to write policies - procedures - and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area
• Preferred Experience: This position is aligned under the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP)/Outpatient Services within the Women's Health Clinic
• The selected Senior Social Worker will serve within a specialized mental health setting that supports Veterans whose experiences and health needs reflect concerns commonly associated with individuals who identify as female
• The incumbent will provide mental health care within an environment tailored to address these unique and intersecting psychological - social - and environmental factors
• The Senior Social Worker independently provides clinical psychosocial services at an advanced practice level to eligible Veterans and their family members with complex biological - psychological - social - and environmental needs
• The incumbent is required to interact not only with the Veteran but also family - significant others - community agencies - and other staff
• Responsibilities include delivering evidence based therapeutic interventions - coordinating care across systems - contributing to a collaborative - trauma informed clinical environment - and documenting interventions and activities accurately and timely in patient's electronic health record
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Services.

Duties

• VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Senior Social Worker in Mental Health conducts clinical activities as a member of an inpatient unit or a Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program team - including general and specialty clinics such as Women's Clinic - Trauma Recovery - and Post 9/11 Military to Veterans (M2VA) Transitions
• The Senior Social Worker independently provides clinical psychosocial and case management services at an advanced practice level to eligible Veterans and their family members to meet biological - psychological - social - and environmental needs
• Their health care and psychosocial problems and needs are complex - requiring a high degree of clinical oversight and creative problem solving
• Duties include - but are not limited to: Incumbent performs specialized treatment keeping in mind the impact of complex physical or mental illness
• Incumbent incorporates multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veteran patients - including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• Incumbent provides individual - group - and family psychotherapy and advanced level case management interventions used in the treatment of Veterans with polytrauma injuries - spinal cord injuries - traumatic brain injuries - visual impairment - post-traumatic stress disorder - addictions - and other serious disorders
• Develops and implements methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in specialty areas - utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services
• Incumbent demonstrates the ability to design changes based on empirical findings
• Demonstrates the ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the special area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certifications
• This position requires frequent - direct contacts with patients to provide therapy and support
• Frequency of contacts is increased in times of crisis
• The incumbent demonstrates flexibility of Veteran contact - providing face to face and virtual or telephonic appointments
• The incumbent works assertively and consistently with VA programs across the Health Care System to assure continuity of care by providing consultation regarding clinical needs - treatment plans - and case management services for assigned patients
• Additionally - this position may require consultation on admission decisions - and recommendations for post-discharge treatment planning
• The Senior Social Worker completes clinical documentation according to Health Care System standards
• this includes but is not limited to psychosocial assessments - progress notes - including Evidence Based Program (EBP) templates - Measurement Based Care (MBC) and treatment plans
• As a Senior Social Worker this position will be responsible for training new employees and trainees in this documentation
• The Senior Social Worker takes a leadership position in communicating with their Interdisciplinary team - as well as across teams - working in close collaboration with clinic or program directors
• They take the initiative to provide education regarding their role and the role of their program in Veteran care
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 0800 - 1630 Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact [email protected] - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: ADHOC as determined by agency policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.

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