Career Center

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.

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 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/
• Physical Requirements
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Services English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f) May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Please see the Additional Information Section of this announcement for details
• Preferred Experience: GS-12 Two years of Medical Social Work/Case Management experience including experience in working with Veterans/Families and caregivers
• Certification in Advance Case Management or Certified Case Manager (CCM) preferred/if available
• Must be familiar with local community agencies and resources
• Counseling experience including individual and group
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade level
• Senior Social Worker - GS-12 Experience and 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
• Individuals assigned Senior Social Worker must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level and must be able to provide supervision for licensure
• Advanced practice level social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which includes 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
• All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB
• Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) 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
• (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• (c) 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
• (d) 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
• (e) 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 can be found at the VA Qualification Repository - VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) GS-0185 - Social Worker Qualification Standard - dated 9/10/2019
• 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
• Physical Requirements: Individuals who are required to operate a government owned or leased vehicle to successfully carry out their assigned duties must be medically cleared prior to appointment
• Assessment must be made for any acute or chronic medical/physical condition or medication use which interferes with the ability operate the appropriate Government-owned or -leased vehicle safely and without undue risk to themselves or others
• The following requirements must be met: field of vision 70 degrees - distant vision 20/40 in one eye with or without correction - ability to distinguish red - green and amber - whispered voice at five feet - or average hearing loss of not greater than 40 dbs
• at 500 - 1000 and 2 -000 Hz

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional This vacancy will remain open until filled
• The first cut-off date is 11/12/2025
• Additional applications will be referred as needed
• Incumbent is a professional social worker whose duties and responsibilities relate to the care management of severely ill and injured M2VA CM service members and Veterans treated at the facility
• The incumbent must use a high level of skill in assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems of M2VA CM service members and Veterans as they transition to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) care
• Care management responsibilities also include providing supportive services to families
• In addition - the incumbent assists M2VA CM service members and Veterans in coping with acute illness - chronic illness - combat stress - the residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI) - community adjustment - addictions - and other health and mental health problems
• The social worker case manager addresses home care needs - homelessness - and transition across levels and sites of care
• Social work care management practice - which includes psychosocial assessment - diagnosis - and treatment - is focused on helping M2VA CM service members - Veterans and their families maximize rehabilitation and treatment potential and achieve more adequate - satisfying - and productive emotional and social functioning
• Uses the social work process (psychosocial assessment - diagnosis - and treatment) in collaboration with interdisciplinary team members to develop a care management plan and psychosocial interventions
• Evaluates the need for mental health services and makes appropriate referrals for individual - group - marital and family treatment services
• Is sensitive to the ethnic and cultural diversity and age-specific challenges of the M2VA CM population and adjusts intervention and treatment plans as appropriate
• As a member of the health care team - participates fully in developing - planning - implementing and evaluating the interdisciplinary treatment plan - including provision of care management services
• Coordinates care with interdisciplinary team to promote continuity for M2VA CM service members - Veterans and their families
• Develops and uses appropriate community resources
• Serves as an advocate for M2VA CM service members - Veterans and their families - helping them access needed services at the facility - at other VA facilities - and in the community
• Assists M2VA CM service members and Veterans and their families with advance directives - guardianships - and applications for home care and extended care services
• Travels - as may be required - as part of providing social work care management services to M2VA CM service members - Veterans and their families
• Such travel requires the incumbent to function without immediate supervision or consultation
• Incumbent participates in the orientation - training - and teaching of social work graduate students and other trainees and staff
• Conducts and participates in research and program evaluation as appropriate
• Performs other duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4305pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact vhaedrpprogramsupport@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay - higher or unique qualifications - or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off:37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: Senior Social Worker (Post 9/11 M2VA) Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required