The Senior Social Worker will work primarily in the Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC) within the Mental Health Service at the Coatesville VA Medical Center. The incumbent will independently provide clinical psychosocial assessments, supportive individual/couples/family counseling, group counseling, and case management services at an advanced practice level to eligible veterans and their family members to meet biological, psychological, social and environmental needs. 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: Citizenship Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). 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/. English Language Proficiency Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. 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: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit Social Worker 0185, dated September 10, 2019, refer to VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) The full performance level of this vacancy is 11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-12. Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the work are generally minor and are generally sedentary in nature but will require occasional travel. ["Duties Include but are not limited to: Interviews veterans and their family members/significant others to establish facts about the veteran's situation, presenting problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems on the veteran's functioning and health as part of a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment. Interprets and explains VA's treatment and benefit programs. Reviews all data, subjective and objective, and makes a clinical assessment, identifying needs and strengths. Independently evaluates the veteran's situation, including the veteran's reaction to it and ability to cope with it, and arrives at a reasoned conclusion. Develops psychosocial recovery plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members, with a focus on recovery goals that will enhance the veterans quality of life and facilitate integration into the community. Using known available resources and the initial assessment of the veteran's likelihood to accept differing types of assistance, makes initial and continuing decisions regarding use of VA and non-VA services and referrals. Participates in the assignment of veterans to treatment teams and programs and consults with other specialists in planning treatment for veterans with co-morbidities. Assists and encourages veterans and significant others in facing problems, thinking them through, evaluating the situation realistically, considering alternative courses of action and arriving at plans for using resources to resolve problems. Organizes community services on behalf of beneficiaries, developing and coordinating procedures for use of these services by related staff and develops working relationships with other organizations having responsibilities for the same patient population. Maintains a current and productive network of referral resources and makes provision for referral services from other agencies, community resources (i.e., transition or halfway houses, shelters, etc.), and other Governmental agencies to resolve problems. Monitors veteran's progress, maintains comprehensive documentation, ensures expert diagnosis and treatment of clinical disorders, and shows competent discretion in decision to adjust treatment. Coordinates Social Work services with other services offered in the treatment program, assuring such services are complementary and comprehensive. Educates interdisciplinary team members on psychosocial treatment of Veterans with SMI and helps them understand family dynamics and the impact of psychosocial issues and problems on the veteran's health and response to treatment. VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday through Friday 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. 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"]
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.
