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.

Duties

• VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The duties related to this position include but are not limited to the following: Clinical Assessment, Screening, and Diagnosis: Conducts comprehensive biopsychosocial and substance treatment focused assessments; evaluates substance use severity, mental health symptoms, impairment, and cooccurring conditions; Formulates individualized treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran and the interdisciplinary PRRC team. Implements measurement based care at baseline and regular intervals to monitor symptom change and guide clinical decision making; documents results and uses them to adjust treatment plans. Performs required risk screening and assessment (e.g., suicide risk per VHA Risk ID procedures), creates/updates safety plans, and coordinates risk management with Suicide Prevention staff. Evidence Based Psychotherapy (Individual & Group): Provides individual and group psychotherapy utilizing guideline recommended, Facilitates multiple PRRC group therapies per week (coping with triggers, stress management, illness management, sleep management, interpersonal effectiveness, relapse prevention), ensuring curriculum fidelity and integration with individual treatment plans and program goals. Facilitates interventions in the community for psychosocial rehabilitation and community reintegration. Intensive Case Management & Care Coordination Serves: as a primary resource on community and VA programs, arranging referrals and collaborating with internal/external partners to address housing, employment, education, family support, and Whole Health resources, as available locally. Participates in admission screening, unit orientation, daily community meetings, and milieu interventions; supports unit safety and supervision procedures required in MH RRTPs, including timely communication of critical changes in Veteran status. Contributes to program evaluation and quality improvement (e.g., symptom outcomes, completion rates, readmissions); assists with developing group schedules, clinical pathways, and performance measures consistent with national guidance. Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Consultation, and Training: The incumbent collaborates with psychiatry, psychology, nursing, recreation therapy, peer support, pharmacy, whole health, physicians and others on interdisciplinary treatment planning and reviews; provides consultation on substance use treatment informed care and psychosocial factors impacting recovery. Offers 4 education/mentoring to staff and trainees on substance use assessment, EBPs, measurement-based care, and residential program practices; may assist in precepting unlicensed social workers and graduate trainees under appropriate supervision. Documentation & Compliance: Completes timely, accurate documentation for assessments, treatment plans, progress notes, risk assessments/safety plans, consults, and discharge summaries, following VHA Patient Care Data Capture and Closeout requirements and facility policies. Work Schedule: 7:30am to 4:00pm Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact V21ccoeedrp@va.gov, 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 1…

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. 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. 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: 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 https://www.va.gov/ohrm/Qualification…

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.