Senior Social Worker - VJP Specialist

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Anchorage (AK); On-site; USD 95,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Federal benefits

Telework: Ad-hoc

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Veterans Justice Program (VJP) Specialist Social Worker to provide psychosocial assessments and case management for Veterans monitored by the courts, aiding reentry into VA healthcare.

This role involves collaboration with courts, correctional systems, and community agencies to support community reintegration. Requirements include a master’s in social work from a CSWE-accredited program, current state licensure, and strong clinical skills in social

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work from CSWE-accredited program.
• Licensed or certified to independently practice social work at the master's level.
• Proficient in English; strong oral and written communication.

Responsibilities

• Engage with judges, court personnel, and other stakeholders to develop and maintain policies.
• Conduct needs assessments for justice-involved Veterans in treatment courts.
• Coordinate referrals and care planning to ensure continuity of VA healthcare and community services.
• Document all patient interactions and participate in treatment planning as a social work expert.

Skills

English proficiency

Social work licensure

Advanced clinical practice

Education

Master's degree in Social Work

CSWE accreditation

Licensure verification

Job description

Summary

The Veterans Justice Program (VJP) Specialist Social Worker provides psychosocial assessments - case management services - continuous quality improvement activities - evaluation/consultation - placement services - and referral to various community agencies for Veterans who are being monitored by the courts - through the veterans treatment courts and are assisting veterans that are within 6 months of release from correctional institutions - facilitating reentry to the VA health care services.

Summary

The Veterans Justice Program (VJP) Specialist Social Worker provides psychosocial assessments - case management services - continuous quality improvement activities - evaluation/consultation - placement services - and referral to various community agencies for Veterans who are being monitored by the courts - through the veterans treatment courts and are assisting veterans that are within 6 months of release from correctional institutions - facilitating reentry to the VA health care services.

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
• 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)
• 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/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 (KSAs)
• In addition to the experience above - 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
• 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
• Preferred Experience: VA Healthcare System experience - and experience working with the court system
• 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: Light lifting (under 15 lbs.) - moderate carrying (15-44 lbs.) - use of fingers - walking - standing - operation of motor vehicle - near vision correctable at 13\"\" to 16\"\" to Jaeger 1 to 4 - far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other - both eyes - hearing (aid may be permitted) - and emotional/mental stability
• Environmental factors include outside and inside - dry atmospheric conditions - working closely with others - and working alone

Duties

• This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 30 - 2026
• All eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred to the hiring manager at regular two-week intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis
• Duties include - but are not limited to: Engages regularly with judges - court personnel - correctional administrators - and other justice-system stakeholders to develop - review - and maintain policies and procedures that support justice-involved Veterans
• Conducts proactive outreach within correctional facilities and treatment court programs - identifying and interviewing justice-involved Veterans to complete comprehensive needs assessments
• Treatment-matching assessment provides an initial determination of the needs of the Veteran seen by the VJP Specialist - and develops an initial plan
• Once the Veteran presents at a VA medical center following outreach
• Coordinates referrals - service linkages - and care planning to ensure continuity of care during transitions back to the community - including release from jail or prison
• Serves as a case manager for justice-involved Veterans in treatment courts or recently released from correctional institutions - facilitating access to VA health care - mental health services - benefits - and community-based resources to support stable - independent reintegration
• Performs duties across varying security levels while adhering to VA safety protocols in challenging environments that may involve psychiatric crises - acute medical issues - or high-risk behaviors
• Systems intervention is intended to improve VA - criminal justice - and non-VA community programs' services to Veterans involved in criminal justice
• It includes educating all stakeholders about the population - and developing and negotiating strategies to better serve Veterans involved in the criminal justice system
• This position requires documenting all patient interactions - preparing reports per VAHCS policy - participating in treatment planning - and serving as a social work expert across teams
• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: 8AM - 4:30PM - Monday - Friday Compressed/Flexible: Authorized at supervisor discretion Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• 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)
• Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• 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: Ad-hoc only Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 00000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized