Senior Social Worker
What you'd do
This position is responsible for assessment, planning, and provision of case management services to Veterans served by the PACT teams. Senior Social Worker coordinates a variety of activities including outreach, interdisciplinary activities, psychosocial assessments, treatment planning, consultation/education to Health Care staff and community based service providers, the collection and maintenance of statistical data, program planning evaluation and modification, and the supervision of students
Major duties
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major Duties and Responsibilities of the position. Interviews veterans and their family members/significant others to establish facts about the veteran'ssituation, presenting problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems on the veteran's functioning and health as part of a psychosocial assessment. Is familiar with VA treatment and benefit programs. Uses subjective and objective data in making clinical assessment of the veteran's needs. Effectively uses professional skill, objectivity, and insight. Uses advanced clinical training, and experience to identify viable treatment options and makes appropriate referrals for care. Has the ability to serve veterans as inpatients or outpatients who often have severe crises, lack family or community supports, frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment, or have significant deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychological support. Independently evaluates the client's situation, including the veteran's reaction and ability to deal with it, and arrives at a reasoned conclusion. Based on the psychosocial assessment, uses professional judgment and advanced practice skills to make a psychosocial diagnosis. Assesses at-risk factors and develops a preliminary disposition plan involving the veteran and family or significant others. Assesses serious and complicated cases involving psychiatric illness, catastrophic medical conditions, dementia and other high risk diagnoses. Makes independent professional decisions and recommendations for treatment. Consequences to the veteran may be serious, and the results are often unpredictable. On an inpatient/outpatient basis, finds a suitable means of treatment to help veterans and/or significant others cope with stressful situations. Treatment is aimed at helping veterans find practical solutions to problems. Develops psychosocial treatment plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members, including goals for treatment. 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. Arrives at a reasoned conclusion as to the preferred course of agency action. Provides independent consultation and makes recommendations to interdisciplinary team on course of treatment. VIST Senior Social Worker Develop an interdisciplinary team to aid in meeting the goals of the VIST program. Arranging VIST reviews to identify needs and create treatment plan and conducting educational programs relating to VIST and blindness. Duties include providing and/or arranging for the provision of appropriate rehabilitation services and devices to enhance the functioning level of a blind veteran. Other duties include identifying new cases of blindness, providing professional counseling, and meeting specific objectives established by the VIST. Other duties and responsibilities may be assigned by the team/group leader as needed for the benefit of the veteran, family, and quality of services provided. The individual works full-time in Sheridan Clinic PACT, but will split time between VIST and PACT duties. Work Schedule: 7:30am - 4:00pm Monday - Friday 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. What type of driving: Travel between CBOC's Functional Statement #: 614900 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
What you need to qualify
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/. 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). All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS-0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker. 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. Preferred Experience: The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: This position provides direct services to patients and their families through casework. Incumbents must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Normal work of the position requires visual acuity (with the ability to read typewritten characters without strain, corrective lenses permitted), keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially moderate levels of lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds). The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, as a condition of employment. Must have a valid driver's license in a state. May be expected to operate Government Vehicle. The incumbent must possess and maintain a current, valid state driver's license.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
Don't miss the next one.
Get an email the moment a similar federal job opens — postings can close in as little as 5 days.