Senior Social Worker

NOTE: THE 2-PAGE RESUME REQUIREMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO THIS OCCUPATIONAL SERIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION - REFER TO REQUIRED DOCUMENTS BELOW. Assigned to Clinical Care Programs with responsibility to provide direct services for Veterans - their families and caregivers. Performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness with increased care needs and requiring specialized treatment to a variety of Rehabilitation Care Services programs.

Qualifications

NOTE: THE 2-PAGE RESUME REQUIREMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO THIS OCCUPATIONAL SERIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION - REFER TO REQUIRED DOCUMENTS BELOW. To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

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
• 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/
• 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
• Grade Determinations: 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: 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
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate 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 Assignments: For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - complexity (difficulty) - and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level
• Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site
• a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center - or a national VHA referral center - such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center - or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity
• The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns
• Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics
• The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans - ensures equity of access - service - and benefits to this population - ensures the care provided is of the highest quality
• The senior social worker provides leadership - direction - orientation - coaching - in-service training - staff development - and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff
• They serve on committees - work groups - and task forces at the facility - VISN and national level - or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor - Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services
• This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management
• This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: This work requires moderate lifting (15-44lbs) - pushing - walking - and hearing (aid may be permitted)
• Environmental factors include working closely with others - working alone - and may work in close proximity to others and shared office space with regular noise associated with office environments.
  
  

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties will include - but are not limited to: Functions Provides direct care to Veterans and their caregivers within Social Work Specialty Care programs with a focus on working with Veterans with ALS as well as a consultative service to other areas
• Serves on a multidisciplinary teams
• Completes biopsychosocial assessments - develops treatment plans and carries out treatment accordingly - provides case management and lead coordinator responsibilities to Veterans
• Incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veteran patients
• Subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources
• Responsible for using current social work resource information
• Act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the veteran/family
• Experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans
• Access to multiple resource directories
• In the event of a medical or psychiatric emergency - staff will follow the protocol of the mental health programs
• Provides education related to VA and community resources
• Also provides education and guidance specific to the specialized area of practice
• Provide the veterans and their caregivers with ongoing supportive counseling
• Specific tasks may include: Consult with inpatient/outpatient medical staff to coordinate care
• Assess the patient's understanding of his/her diagnosis and proposed treatments
• Help Veteran cope with end of life or complex chronic illness diagnoses
• Educate/instruct regarding resources and coping strategies
• Assess treatment options
• Collaborate within agencies when Veteran's care involves multiple entities
• Provide education related to benefits and services
• Provide referrals and linkage to community agencies with specialized benefits
• Counsel individuals - couples - and families and/or refer to specialized mental health providers
• Provide or link to appropriate support groups and educational programs
• Facilitate communication between the treatment team - Veteran - family and others
• Facilitate family discussions about illness - healthcare - and life changes
• End of life planning/preference of care
• Assist with placements into residential care facilities - sub-acute skilled nursing facilities - and adult day healthcare programs
• Address the impact of end of life and/or chronic illness on life issues
• Provide education on or referrals for needs
• Apply knowledge around safety
• Referral to and coordination of care services
• Advocate for services such as home health or hospice care
• Serve as trainer on geriatric related topics
• Develop and co-facilitate educational - support and other related groups
• Provide individual - group - and family psychotherapy and advanced level case management interventions
• Assist Veterans access services involving the continuum of care
• Share and apply specialized knowledge of issues
• Provide services on an outpatient basis and consult with inpatients and/or inpatient staff
• Assist with discharge processes
• Develop and implement methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services
• Offer consultation to colleagues and students
• Teach and mentor staff and students on the special area of practice
• Train students - residents - interns and fellows in social work and from other disciplines and conduct formal workshops and classes for staff
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8am-4:30pm 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 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: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized