Social Worker

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Harrisonburg (VA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

US Department of Veterans Affairs in Harrisonburg, VA seeks a Social Worker to deliver direct services to adult and geriatric veterans enrolled in the Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) program. You will provide high-quality case management, clinical treatment, advocacy, and coordination of care with VA and community providers.

The role reports to the Harrisonburg, VA Community Based Primary Care Clinic and requires CSWE-accredited MSW training with state licensure to practice social work.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited program.
• Licensure or state certification to independently practice social work at the MSW level.
• United States Citizenship required; non-citizens may be appointed only if no qualified citizens are available.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct services to adult and geriatric veterans enrolled in HBPC.
• Deliver high-quality case management and clinical treatment.
• Advocate for clients and coordinate care with VA and community providers.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to plan and implement care.

Skills

Community resources

Psychosocial assessment

Treatment planning

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Advocacy

Education

MSW (Master of Social Work)

Job description

The Social Worker in this position provides direct services to adult and geriatric veterans enrolled in the Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) Program with high quality case management, clinical treatment, advocacy, and coordination of care with appropriate VA and community service providers/agencies as needed by the client. This position is based out of Harrisonburg, VA and will report to the Harrisonburg, VA Community Based Primary Care Clinic.

VHA Health Professions Trainee (HPT):

VHA HPTs pending the completion of education or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. NOTE: This applies to current/past/upcoming VHA HPTs only. An HPT is an individual appointed to a temporary position in one or more VHA medical facilities performing clinical or research training experiences to satisfy program or degree requirements or receiving VA Health Professional Scholarship Program. HPTs can be either VA-paid or Without Compensation (WOC).

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.
• 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 SW Licensure by State

Grade Determinations

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

GS-11 Social Worker (Full Performance Level) Requirements

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.

GS-9 experience includes:

• Working under close supervision in program areas that do not require specialized knowledge or experience. Identifying behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect or exploitation; providing education on advance directives and advanced care planning; providing social work case management; acting as an advocate with community service providers/agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members identifying strengths, weaknesses, coping skills and psychosocial acuity, in collaboration with the patient, family, and interdisciplinary treatment teams; maintaining a current network of internal and external resources to educate the patient and/or family members/caregivers and assist with the appropriate referrals. ~OR~

Education.

In addition to meeting 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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following 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:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-11.

Physical Requirements:

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service