Senior Social Worker-Caregiver Support Program

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Jackson (MS); On-site; USD 78,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

US Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Senior Social Worker for the Caregiver Support Program to act as a subject matter expert within CSP. The role requires an MSW from a CSWE-accredited program and state licensure to practice at the master's level.

The incumbent will provide specialized consultation on clinical and administrative CSP considerations, and contribute to program development and policy guidance. GS-12, federal benefits, and Mississippi-based assignments apply.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited school; doctoral degree not accepted as substitute.
• Must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's level.
• At least two years of post-advanced practice licensure experience; at least one year at GS-11 grade level.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialized consultation on administrative and clinical aspects of CSP.
• Demonstrate advanced practice skills and judgment in psychosocial care.

Skills

Clinical social work

Care coordination

Advocacy

Policy development

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

MSW with CSWE accreditation

Tools

Job description

The Caregiver Support Program (CSP) Senior Social Worker for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers is assigned to the CSP with responsibility to act as a subject matter expert (SME) within the CSP team. The incumbent will provide specialized consultation on the administrative and clinical considerations of the CSP.

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).
  • NOTE: 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.
  • NOTE: 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).

Grade Determinations

Licensure Requirement

You 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 must be able to provide supervision for licensure.

Experience Requirement

You must possess 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. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills; maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members, identifying the patient's strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and psychosocial acuity. Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment.

In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following 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.

Preferred Experience

• Advanced skills in complex case coordination, including psychosocial assessments, care planning, and providing continuity of care across care settings.
• Must possess a current, active, unrestricted license to practice social work and drive an automobile in a U. S. state or territory.

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

Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment

Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.