Senior Social Worker

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Cumberland (MD); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Federal health benefits

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Senior Social Worker at a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) to provide advanced psychosocial care and case management for eligible veterans and their families.

The role requires licensing, independent practice, and leadership within a multidisciplinary team to meet complex healthcare needs. Responsibilities include independent psychosocial assessments, development of comprehensive treatment plans, and delivery of individual, group, and

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work from CSWE-accredited program.
• Licensed or certified to independently practice social work at the master’s level.
• English language proficiency in speaking and writing.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychosocial assessments and advanced level case management for veterans and families.
• Develop and implement treatment plans with measurable goals and measurable outcomes.
• Deliver individual, group, and family psychotherapy in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams.
• Educate and supervise social work staff and interns; contribute to program development and policy.

Skills

Advanced practice licensure

Education

Master's degree in Social Work

Job description

Summary

The Senior Social Worker located at a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) independently provides clinical psychosocial and case management services at an advanced practice level to eligible veterans and their family members to meet biological - psychological - social and environmental needs. Their health care and psychosocial needs are complex and require a high degree of clinical oversight and creative problem solving.

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
• 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)
• 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
• 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
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: In addition to the experienceabove - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) 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
• (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• (c) 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
• (d) 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
• (e) 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-11
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: The employee is frequently required to sit
• use hands to finger - handle - or feel
• The employee is occasionally required to stand
• walk
• and reach with hands and arms
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major Duties: - The Social Worker in the CBOC performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness
• They are responsible for the overall function of program development - recruitment of veteran patients - case management - networking with community resources - and coordination of care with the psychiatrist and medical staff on site as well as various departments at the Martinsburg VAMC and community facilities in the primary service area
• - Coordinates screening of and case management of veterans for specific programs such as PTSD - substance abuse - community nursing home - homemaker aide - and provides ongoing treatment and documentation per VA guidelines and facility policy
• - Primary responsibility for providing education on advance health care planning - completion of advance directives - and facilitates psycho-educational and support groups on a variety of topics for veteran and their families
• - Has the ability to expand clinical knowledge in the profession - provide consultation and guidance to colleagues - role model effective Social Work practice skills - teach or provide orientation to less experienced Social Workers - develop innovations in practice interventions - and provide clinical supervision for Social Work licensure or certification
• Provides training to Social Work interns - residents and staff from other disciplines
• Topics include the impact of psychosocial and psychiatric issues that may directly affect the care of veterans
• - Has extensive knowledge of medical center policies and procedures - VHA and VBA regulations - as well as a knowledge base of community resources
• - The CBOC Social Worker receives and completes consults from interdisciplinary teams and other Social Workers on complex - difficult cases using advance practice skills and expertise
• Incumbent is able to provide individual - group - and family psychotherapy and advanced level case management interventions used in the treatment of veterans with polytrauma injuries - spinal cord injuries - traumatic brain injuries - visual impairment - post-traumatic stress disorder - addictions - and other serious disorders
• Incumbent also provides consultation to referral sources and is responsible for development and maintenance of professional standards of practice and educating others regarding same
• - Interviews and conducts psychosocial assessments to establish veteran's treatment needs - presenting problems - and DSM diagnoses
• The incumbent assesses high risk factors - acuity and need for services
• The CBOC Social Worker interprets and explains VA treatment and benefit programs
• - Responsible to develop a timely treatment plan with the veteran based on this assessment and along with the veteran develop the treatment plan that includes measurable - time-limited treatment goals - using evidence-based therapy
• The treatment plan will be reviewed during therapeutic sessions and reassessed as appropriate
• - Treatment planning includes collaboration with interdisciplinary teams such as OIF/OEF case manager - Care in the Community - substance abuse staff - Psychiatry (inpatient/outpatient) - Homeless Program - Physicians and Vet Centers
• Provides independent consultation and makes recommendations to the interdisciplinary team on course of treatment
• These decisions are based on the CBOC Social Worker's advanced practice skills - professional judgment and expertise regarding the veteran's condition and treatment
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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) 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