Senior Social Worker - Substance Use Disorder Program

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Fresno (CA); On-site; USD 98,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Senior Social Worker (GS-12) to provide advanced clinical social work services within the Veterans Health Administration. The candidate must hold a Master’s degree in Social Work from a CSWE-accredited program and be licensed at the advanced practice level.

Eligibility for EDRP and VA policy compliance are required considerations. The role emphasizes conducting comprehensive psychosocial assessments, coordinating multidisciplinary care, and

Qualifications

• Must possess a master’s degree in Social Work from a CSWE-accredited program.
• Licensed or certified to independently practice social work at the advanced level.
• Proficiency in English (spoken and written).
• U.S. Citizenship required; non-citizens considered only as allowed by VA policy.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychosocial assessments and treatment planning for veterans and their families.
• Deliver individual, group, and family counseling in accordance with clinical privileges.
• Coordinate with multidisciplinary teams to ensure comprehensive care.
• Manage patient privacy and confidentiality per VA policies.

Skills

Advanced clinical practice

Psychosocial assessment

Crisis intervention

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

Master’s in Social Work (CSWE accredited)

Job description

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. 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.
• English Language Proficiency - You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)
• Education and/or Experience Combination -
  You must possess 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. Note: A doctoral degree in Social Work may NOT be substituted for the master's degree in Social Work.
• License or Certification - You must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the advanced practice 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).

Grade Determinations

Senior Social Worker Qualifications, GS-12:

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.

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

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. This position requires a TB test and may require other additional tests.