Summary

The Senior Social Worker is assigned to the Mental Health Service Line, providing Access services as a member of a multidisciplinary team. The incumbent provides triage services, outreach, orientation, post discharge follow-up and high risk case management services. With a focus which will include brief crisis interventions, they provide advanced evaluation and treatment strategies, making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnosis within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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
• 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
• English Language Proficiency: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part
• 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: 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
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Reference: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard, GS-0185, Veterans Health Administration, dated September 10, 2019
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: Hearing (aid permitted) required.

Duties

• Access Care is the main entry way to mental health services for Veterans who are self- or provider referred to the Mental Health Service
• Critical triage functions include crisis evaluation and intervention, disposition of patients to the appropriate level of care, and acting as liaison for the inpatient, outpatient, primary care and community agencies involved in the provision of care for the Veteran population
• The Access provider carries out assessment of the full range of mental health issues, as well as providing time-limited treatment services
• Duties for the position include but are not limited to Independently provides specialized services for complex patients with service delivery to include intake evaluation, diagnostic assessments, brief interventions and patient education
• Responsible for assisting with review of consults/referrals for Veterans requesting mental health services
• Determines the urgency of the request, arranges an appointment for evaluation, ensuring that consults are responded to in a timely fashion
• Responsible for maintaining required clinical records, evaluating and monitoring service delivery and outcomes
• Provides data summaries and information for requested reports
• Assesses crisis situations, formulates crisis plans, provides crisis interventions and follow up intervention services, developing individualized treatment plans, with particular regard for addressing situations related to harm to self, others or grave disability
• Participates in development of a treatment plan for each patient with whom major contact is expected, with measurable goals outlined, based on relevant psychological, medical and psychiatric information and principles of treatment matching
• Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients
• Attends regularly scheduled treatment team meetings to ensure efficiency and continuity of service delivery to specialized patient populations
• May supervise and participate in the training of Social Workers, Social Work Associates, volunteers, and students
• participates as required and requested in orientation, training and staff development programs involving Mental Health and VANCHCS
• Assist patients in the preparation of materials needed for applications to various agencies for entitlements
• Serve as the clinic consultant for information on negotiating the complex processes patients encounter when interacting with government and community agencies
• Uses diagnostic knowledge of the patient's need(s) to make referrals to a variety of VA and non-VA resources in support of the treatment objective of the patient
• Other duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday
• 8:00 a.m
• - 4:30 p.m.
• Tour of duty subject to change to meet the needs of the Agency Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, 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) 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: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required