The Senior Social Worker provides services to patients/significant others treated in the Homeless Program, in the provision of care in patients from the adult to the geriatric. The Social Worker's efforts are directed toward using a therapeutic relationship to engage hard-to reach homeless and chronically homeless Veterans with serious mental illness, including those with co-morbid substance abuse/dependence disorders and/or complex medical issues. 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. 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. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of 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. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. NOTE: Licenses from the state of Alabama no longer meet VA regulatory requirements for independent licensure. If you are licensed in the State of Alabama, you must also be licensed at the Independent Level in another state. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade level. Senior Social Worker, GS-12: Experience and 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. Individuals assigned Senior Social Worker must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. NOTE: Licenses from the state of Alabama no longer meet VA regulatory requirements for independent licensure. To qualify for the assignment of Senior Social Worker at the GS-12 level, you must have 2 years of experience at the advanced practice level, earned while having an active, unrestricted advanced practice license in a U.S. state or territory other than Alabama. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate 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:GS-12 One year experience working independently, and with minimal supervision, with a variety of people in sometimes difficult situations utilizing critical and creative thinking skills to develop practical solutions. One year experience developing treatment plans for clients that are homeless with mental illnesses, substance abuse or recovering from traumatic events and frequently communicating with clients to ensure their physical and mental health well-being. One year experience following policies, directives, handbooks, regulations, etc, and attention to detail One year experience evaluating patients based on their needs, limitations, and desires and ability to submit referrals, consults, schedule appointments as appropriate. One year experience with community partners and volunteering for community events and working well as part of a team. Full independent licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or equivalent Physical Requirements: There are no set physical requirements for this position. Use of eyes, hands, walking/standing and hearing may be needed to perform some functions. Mental, emotional, and cognitive stability are required. References: Reference can be found at the VA Qualification Repository, VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) GS-0185, Social Worker Qualification Standard, dated 09/10/2019. The grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12. ["Major duties include, but are not limited to: - Responsible for oversight of the Safe Haven (SH) contract and day to day contact with contract provider staff. - Responsible for assessing, evaluating, and admitting Veterans for appropriateness to SH contract and discharge. - Responsible for approving the accuracy of the monthly invoice of care completed by contract provider based on daily rate and number of clients. - Responsible for scheduling and ensuring the completion of the monthly, quarterly, and annual inspections of contract facility (SH) timely. - Will keep Program Manager and Supervisor informed of any discrepancies or issues that arise. - Ability to provide psychosocial treatment to a wide variety of individuals from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds. This requires knowledge of human development and behavior (physical and psychological), and the differential influences of the environment, society, and culture. - Ability to provide assessment of mental health and psychosocial needs of an individual in crisis. - Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology. - Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies in a fast-paced environment. Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. - Ability to work with patients and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems utilizing individual, group, and family counseling skills and identifying the patient's problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed, in collaboration with the patient, family and interdisciplinary treatment team. - Basic knowledge of psychosocial treatment modalities and ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. - Basic skill in the use of computer software applications for drafting documents, data management, and tracking. Ability to learn and utilize software programs in use by VHA. - Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. - Ability to independently provide brief counseling and/or psychotherapy services to individuals, groups, and families. Social workers must practice within the bounds of their license or certification. - Ability to provide consultation services to other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. - Ability to provide orientation and coaching to new social workers and social work graduate students. Ability to serve as a field instructor for social work graduate students who are completing VHA field placements. - Ability to independently evaluate his/her own practice through participation in professional peer review case conferences, research studies, or other organized means. - Must have a current, valid, unrestricted driver's license and the ability to operate a GSA vehicle for travel and outreach activities. Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 0800-1630 Compressed/Flexible: Available Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized"]

Return to Search Results