Senior Social Worker

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 80,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

The Cincinnati VA Medical Center is seeking an independent, licensed Senior Social Worker to serve as a case manager for the HUD-VASH program within Community Outreach. This role supports Veterans by coordinating housing vouchers and intensive case management services.

Applicants must meet education, licensure, and grandfathering requirements; two years of post-advanced practice experience are preferred, with the ability to supervise and coordinate care across disciplines.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work from CSWE-accredited program.
• Two years of post-advanced practice experience preferred.
• Licensure as a social worker at the master’s level by a state.
• Grandfathering provisions may apply for current VHA employees.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a case manager for the HUD-VASH program within the Community Outreach Division.
• Coordinate HUD Housing Choice Vouchers and provide intensive case management.
• Collaborate across disciplines to support Veterans and ensure program compliance.

Skills

Counseling (individual/group/family)

Case management

Advanced practice

Education

MSW (CSWE-accredited)

Job description

The Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC) is seeking an independent licensed Senior Social Worker to function as a case manager for the Community Outreach Division's HUD-VASH Program. The HUD-VASH program is a collaborative effort, supported through HUD Housing Choice Vouchers and VA's intensive case management service.

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.

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).

Grandfathering Provision.

(1) 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:

(2) 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.

(3) 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.

(4) 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.

(5) 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

In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

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.

• 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/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements:

This position requires the operation of a government-owned or -leased motor vehicle in order to properly carry out assigned duties. Refer to VA Handbook 5019/1, Part II, Appendix A for requirements related to motor vehicle operators. This position requires a valid unrestricted driver's license.

Traveling throughout the medical center and the community is required, as is performing activities involving sitting, talking, driving, walking, standing, bending, the use of a computer and telephone and carrying such items as books, papers, and files not to exceed facility determined weights. In carrying out responsibilities, it is necessary for the incumbent to travel into the community where they provide care to Veterans. Care provided in emergency shelters, Veteran homes or other community locations may require the use of stairs, walking on uneven terrain and reasonable exposure to the elements. Strenuous physical activity is not anticipated, although the incumbent is expected to withstand stress and interact with crisis situations as part of day-to-day activity.