Senior Social Worker

Summary 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.

Responsibilities Work Schedule:
M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Available, as determined by supervisor Relocation/

Recruitment Incentives:
Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact .GOV, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.

Learn more The MHRRTPs (Foundations of Recovery, Domiciliary Housing and SUD Tracks, and Trauma Recovery Men's and Women's Residential programs) provide cognitive-behavioral treatment for substance abuse in a therapeutic community model context.

The incumbent will be a part of theses multidisciplinary teams, as a float, and provide clinical and administrative support to the programs' leadership.

The incumbent independently provides clinical psychosocial and case management services at an advanced practice level for eligible Veterans and their family members in the program.

Case management is designed to improve independent living skills and address issues and conditions which interfere with effective community integration.

Incumbent takes steps necessary to ensure that Veteran care is coordinated with the VA medical center, community health or mental health providers, and agencies that serve this population.

Incumbent may facilitate staff meetings, oversee the treatment planning, and discharge planning of patients in the MHRRTPs.

They oversee patient transfers to and from other VA Programs, as well as provide care coordination for veterans waiting for VAPAHCS placement.

They will also assist, as needed, for rescheduling earlier admissions when appropriate/available.

They are responsible for conducting daily groups and classes within the residential treatment milieu, coordinating care for patient receiving psychiatric medications, responding to medical and psychiatric emergencies on the unit, providing consultation and guidance to professional and paraprofessional staff and contributing to the professional development and education of all staff working with Veterans on the unit.

The incumbent works closely with the VA Health Care System's (HCS) substance abuse and mental health treatment programs, residential and community care programs, as well as other Domiciliary homeless and justice programs to ensure that coordination between these entities is facilitated and Veterans direct care, referral, and follow up is contiguous and based on a continuum of services.

The incumbent will be expected to assist MHRRTP leadership with conducting program evaluation, support research, support leadership in meeting hospital performance measures, and oversee implementation of all changes necessary to be in compliant with CARF, Joint Commission, and other national mandates.

They may act for the Program Managers or Supervisory Social Workers for their leave.
Veterans eligible for VAPAHCS MHRRTPs come from a wide geographic area.

Their health and mental health needs are complex and require a high degree of clinical expertise, oversight and creative problem solving.

Major Duties:

The incumbent provides direct mental health, rehabilitation, and substance abuse services for Veterans and family members or significant others in support of the Veteran's treatment.

The incumbent acts as a liaison between the MHRRTs and Community Care RRTPs, to provide care coordination for veterans returning to VA MHRRTPs or following up with them.

The incumbent receives and completes consults requesting services from interdisciplinary team members and from other mental health professionals on complex, difficult cases, using advanced practice skills and expertise.

Coordinates discharge planning needs, including but not limited to helping Veterans secure housing, by working with programs within the VA system as well as community-based resources.

The incumbent may assist with the screening and/or admission process of MHRRT Veterans.

Incumbent takes a leadership role in collaborating with the MHRRTP Leadership staff in planning, designing, and implementing new and innovative approaches to providing evidence-based practices to Veterans served in the programs.

Maintains accurate statistics, including Northeast Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC) required data, prepares other reports, as required, within specified deadlines; submits data on patient contacts promptly and accurately.

Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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

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. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.

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.

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.

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.

Reference:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12. Education

IMPORTANT:
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education

Note:
Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment.

You can verify your education here:
If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education

For further information, visit:
Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation)

Leave:

Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee.

Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions.

Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply.

The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Pursuant to VHA Directive , VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy).

VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations.

If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date.

The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO).

Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), for more information.

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