Senior Social Worker

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 75,000 - 97,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Parental leave

Retirement benefits

EDRP eligibility

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Des Moines, IA is seeking a Senior Social Worker to provide comprehensive PTSD services and case management for Veterans in domiciliary care.

The position requires an MSW from a CSWE-accredited program and state licensure for independent practice. Ideal candidates will have experience in completing psychosocial assessments, coordinating referrals to VA or community providers, and participating in discharge planning with an interdisciplinary team.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work from CSWE-accredited program.
• Licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the MSW level.
• Experience with PTSD services and domiciliary care is preferred.
• Eligibility for VA EDRP and related policies applies.

Responsibilities

• Provide PTSD services and case management for Veterans in domiciliary care.
• Conduct psychosocial assessments to determine Veterans' needs.
• Coordinate referrals to VA or community providers as needed.
• Lead discharge planning with the Veteran and other disciplines to ensure timely execution.
• Deliver individual, family, and group counseling as appropriate.
• Mentor staff and supervise licensure where applicable.

Skills

PTSD treatment

Caseload management

Discharge planning

Group counseling

Supervision/training

Education

MSW (CSWE-accredited)

Tools

CPRS

VA policies

Job description

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.

Qualifications

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: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - chapter 3 - section A - paragraph 3j - this part
• 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/
• 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
• Applicants must meet the requirements for providing supervision in the state where they are licensed at the advanced practice level and should list these qualifications within the assessment narrative and their resume
• Documentation is required if part of your state's requirements for providing supervision for licensure is beyond your licensure only (example: certification of continuing education credits)
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs (submission of a document with written demonstration of KSAs is highly recommended with application)
• 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
• All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package
• We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications
• Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification
• It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position
• Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

Duties

• The social worker is a master's prepared clinician who provides Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) services for the Domiciliary Veterans and is a resource for domiciliary Veterans for case management services - therapy and aftercare planning and follow up
• The incumbent completes a psychosocial assessment on Veterans admitted to the Domiciliary Program at VA Central Iowa. Major duties include - but are not limited to the following: The incumbent will conduct psychosocial assessments to determine needs of Veterans and family members
• The incumbent will conduct assessments of patients to determine appropriate VA program needs
• The incumbent will provide referral services to VA or community providers as needed to meet the client's particular treatment needs
• The incumbent is an active participant in the treatment planning process with the Veteran other treatment disciplines
• The incumbent will participate in discharge planning with the Veteran and other disciplines and will be responsible for ensuring that discharge plans are executed in a manner that is timely and appropriate
• The incumbent will provide individual - family and group counseling as appropriate
• The incumbent will provide consultation/education to Veterans and families on community resources - advance directives and VA benefits
• The incumbent will act as a consultant to other team/staff members
• The incumbent will provide consultation/education to students of all disciplines on social work practice and VA policy and procedure
• The incumbent will act as liaison between VA and community resources - to include marketing and public relations duties as needed
• The incumbent will provide case management to Veterans and families - as needed - throughout the continuum of care
• The incumbent will provide a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes case work - individual - family and group counseling - discharge planning - case management and other services as appropriate
• The incumbent will address Advance Directives and in accordance with the standards of their work area
• he incumbent will provide wellness/prevention education and facilitate patient/family support groups
• The incumbent will demonstrate the ability to teach and mentor staff and students and provide supervision for licensure
• The incumbent will coordinate treatment and communicate with other care lines to facilitate continuity of care for Veterans
• The incumbent will participate in committee assignments - as deemed necessary by the supervisor - service line manager and/or social work service
• The incumbent will maintain data and statistical compilations to comply with Joint Commission - CARF - VA and medical center policy and procedures
• The incumbent will document social work interventions and activities in patient's clinical record utilizing CPRS and ensure appropriate transfer of patients internally within the VA system and with other external agents
• The incumbent will participate in a rotation of on-call social workers to accommodate patient care needs on weekends and holidays
• The incumbent will participate in program planning and development - making recommendations for changes in policies and procedures as needed and as opportunities arise
• The incumbent will participate in the planning and executing of specific staff development plans/projects
• The incumbent will participate in weekly staff meetings and team huddles regarding clinical - administrative and staff development issues

Benefits

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-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 [e-mail] - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more 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 eligibleVirtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized