Social Worker

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Danbury (CT); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Social Worker at the GS-09/11 level to provide psychosocial assessments, counseling, and care coordination for Veterans and their families. Applicants must hold an MSW from a CSWE-accredited program and licensure to practice independently, with English proficiency for direct patient care.

EDRP eligibility applies for educational debt reduction. Placement follows GS-9/11 criteria, with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, crisis

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited program.
• Licensure or certification by a state to independently practice social work at the master’s level.
• Ability to work with Veterans and families from diverse backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
• Proficiency in English for all direct patient care duties.

Skills

Empathy & counseling

Crisis intervention

Psychosocial assessment

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Client advocacy

Cultural competence

Education

Master’s degree in Social Work (CSWE accredited)

State licensure or certification for independent practice

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: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English to perform the duties of this position.
• Education: Must 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 the CSWE website to verify if that social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master of Social Work.
• Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. For the GS-11 grade level, the candidate must be licensed or certified.

Exception

VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For appointments at the GS-9 grade level, VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent, master's level within three (3) years of their appointment as a social worker.

Grade Determination Requirements:

In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

GS-09

(1) Experience, Education, and Licensure: None beyond the basic requirements.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

• Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
• Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
• Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
• Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology

[Entry Level] Assignments

Individuals assigned as GS-9 grade level social workers are considered to be at the entry level and are closely supervised, as they are not yet functioning at the independent practice level conferred by independent licensure or certification. Social workers at the GS-9 entry level are typically assigned to program areas that do not require specialized knowledge or experience.

Social Worker, GS-11

Experience and Licensure: Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level.

Education

• In addition to the basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

• Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
• Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds.
• Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan.
• Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals.
• Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment.

Reference: VA Handbook 5005/50 Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11.

Physical Requirements:

The work does not inherently include physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with a workplace accommodation.