Senior Social Worker
The Senior Social Worker (SSW) independently performs case finding functions and outreach, identifying and screening complex patients for psychosocial needs. Incumbent must possess the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities, provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families and groups. Conducts psychosocial assessments. Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team, Incumbent possesses the skills to offer psychosocial interventions and measures outcomes to interventions. He/She is able to take initiative to coordinate community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs. Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides appropriate and comprehensive services. Incumbent provides crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint, coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members. He/She has working knowledge and experience in use 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. Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and their families. Incumbent is able to independently work with patients and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical and social problems utilizing individual, group and family counseling and therapy skills. The SSW provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of Veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan. Ability to evaluate incumbents own practice through professional peer review, case conferences and other organizational means. Incumbent is able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. The Hinesville CBOC is conveniently located with 40 miles of historic Savannah, Georgia. Work Schedule:
8:
00 am - 4:
30 pm, Monday - Friday Financial Disclosure Report:
Not required To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/20/2019. 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 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. Current state requirements may be found on the OHRM website. Physical Requirements. The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. English Language Proficiency. Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part. Grade Determinations:
12 Senior Social Worker Experience, Education and Licensure. Senior Social Workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. At least two years should be in an area of specialized social work practice. Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an ASWB 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). 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 (see paragraph 3a(c)). In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the professional KSAs in subparagraph (b) below.(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 1. Advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in the specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Ability to determine priority for services and provide specialized treatment services. 2. Advanced and expert 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 interventions used in the treatment of veterans with polytraumatic injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, visual impairment, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. 3. Advanced knowledge and expert skill 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. Ability to coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs. Ability to design system changes based on empirical findings. 4. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in the specialty area, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills. Ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the specialty area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications of new models of psychosocial assessment or intervention to identify and address specialized clinical needs. Ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the specialty population or specialty treatment program. (c) Assignments. Senior Social Workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior Social Workers typically practice in a major specialty treatment program area, such as a 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 is assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. They are also assigned in settings where they have no access to social work supervision, such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. They may be assigned to work with special patient populations with highly-complex health or mental health problems requiring expert level psychosocial interventions, such as VA/DOD liaisons assigned to Military Treatment Facilities as part of seamless transition or social worker case managers in Mental Health Intensive Case Management (MHICM) programs. References:
VA HANDBOOK 5005/23 PART II APPENDIX G39, SOCIAL WORKER QUALIFICATION STANDARD The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.
Estimated Salary: $20 to $28 per hour based on qualifications.
8:
00 am - 4:
30 pm, Monday - Friday Financial Disclosure Report:
Not required To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/20/2019. 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 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. Current state requirements may be found on the OHRM website. Physical Requirements. The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. English Language Proficiency. Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part. Grade Determinations:
12 Senior Social Worker Experience, Education and Licensure. Senior Social Workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. At least two years should be in an area of specialized social work practice. Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an ASWB 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). 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 (see paragraph 3a(c)). In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the professional KSAs in subparagraph (b) below.(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 1. Advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in the specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Ability to determine priority for services and provide specialized treatment services. 2. Advanced and expert 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 interventions used in the treatment of veterans with polytraumatic injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, visual impairment, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. 3. Advanced knowledge and expert skill 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. Ability to coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs. Ability to design system changes based on empirical findings. 4. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in the specialty area, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills. Ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the specialty area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or for specialty certifications of new models of psychosocial assessment or intervention to identify and address specialized clinical needs. Ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the specialty population or specialty treatment program. (c) Assignments. Senior Social Workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior Social Workers typically practice in a major specialty treatment program area, such as a 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 is assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. They are also assigned in settings where they have no access to social work supervision, such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. They may be assigned to work with special patient populations with highly-complex health or mental health problems requiring expert level psychosocial interventions, such as VA/DOD liaisons assigned to Military Treatment Facilities as part of seamless transition or social worker case managers in Mental Health Intensive Case Management (MHICM) programs. References:
VA HANDBOOK 5005/23 PART II APPENDIX G39, SOCIAL WORKER QUALIFICATION STANDARD The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.
- Department:
0185 Social Work - Salary Range:
$74,596 to $96,978 per year
Estimated Salary: $20 to $28 per hour based on qualifications.
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