Social Worker - Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Willoughby (OH); On-site; USD 60,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Social Worker (GS-09/11) to provide psychosocial assessments, care planning, and counseling for Veterans and families. The role emphasizes coordination of services and collaboration with multidisciplinary teams in a VA setting.

Applicants must hold an MSW from an accredited program, be licensed or certified for independent practice, and be eligible for VA employment; EDRP benefits may be available.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work from CSWE-accredited program.
• Licensed or certified to independently practice social work in state.
• U.S. citizenship required or eligible for appointment under VA policy.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychosocial assessments and develop treatment plans.
• Coordinate services and refer Veterans to community resources and agencies.
• Deliver interventions with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals.
• Maintain effective working relationships with clients, staff and community partners.
• Apply knowledge of medical/mental health diagnoses and treatments in care planning.

Skills

Veteran-centric care

Psychosocial assessment

Case management

Intervention planning

Communication with clients

Education

MSW (CSWE-accredited)

State licensure 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.
• 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/.

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 years of their appointment as a social worker. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified.

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

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

Social Worker, GS-9

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

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.
• 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.

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 meeting 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:

• 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, educational, and other 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, 8 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.

Preferred Experience

Psychotherapy experience

Incidental Driver

Incidental operators are employees, other than those occupying a position officially classified as a motor vehicle operator, who are required to operate a government-owned/leased motor vehicle to properly carry out their assigned duties. Incidental Drivers in occupations that do not typically warrant a physical must undergo a physical exam.

Reference

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is 11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 9 to 11.

Physical Requirements

The work of this position is primarily facility based and has no requirement for strenuous physical activity. The incumbent will sit, stand, walk, throughout the facility during the tour of duty. There may be trave within the catchment area or nationally. Duties may require attendance at non-VA facilities and events in the community for the purpose of networking, supervision, and training of staff.