The Senior Social Worker - Clinical Assessor is assigned to the Caregiver Support Program (CSP) at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center. The CSP is a rapidly expanding program. The mission of the CSP is to promote the health and well-being of family caregivers who care for our nation's Veterans, through education, resources, support, and services.
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: Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Education: You must possess 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/. 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. Senior Social Worker, GS-12: 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. Applicants with Florida LCSW, to qualify for APL Qualified Supervision Delegation, QSCSW must be on licensure. For additional information, please refer to Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling » Qualified Supervisor- Licensing, Renewals & Information. Applicants with Puerto Rico LSW must be an active member of the College of Social Work Professionals of Puerto Rico (CPTSPR) and must provide CPTSPR active membership certification. For additional information, please visit Membership - CPTSPR. While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledge's Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics (KSAOs), you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training; otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. These are the KSA's for this subject position: GS-12 Senior Social Worker Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 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 https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. This position is being filled above the full performance level at GS-12. Physical Requirements: Must able to sit at a desk to work at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. The Clinical Assessor must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the social worker or others. Position requires walking throughout the clinic and/or Medical Center, standing for extended periods of time, and involves sitting at a computer and in counsel and consultation with Veterans and interdisciplinary teams. Position requires extensive travel into the community to meet with Veterans, caregivers, community agencies and/or partners who assist and support the Caregiver Support Program. Applicant must have a valid, active, unrestricted driver's license. This position also requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; and repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.
The Social Worker - Clinical Assessor requires advanced knowledge and understanding of the services and benefits available for Veterans and caregivers from both federal, state and private sector resources. As an independently licensed clinical social worker, the Clinical Assessor will be assigned to work independently with multiple VA healthcare services and with community agencies, leaders and organizations with no access to direct clinical supervision. Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Assessing a Veteran's functional needs, including the need for personal care services using standardized assessments. Conducting initial home care assessments as part of the application or reassessment process for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. Completing Veteran Functional Assessment Instrument (VFAI) at the facility or through clinical video telehealth and home care assessments (HCA) in the home, with Veterans and Caregivers. Maintaining a caseload of approved Caregivers and Veterans and conducting home visits and telehealth visits. Developing and establishing linkages and collaborating on VA caregiver support efforts with community healthcare and social service agencies. Assisting in the day-to-day operations of the CSP specific to his/her area of assignment and ensuring compliance and collaboration with local facility and the VA Central Office CSP initiatives. Utilizing and assisting in maintaining a data monitoring system to measure the efficacy of the program and assisting in collecting and analyzing local data for reports. Advising and collaborating with interdisciplinary teams throughout the medical center on caregiver issues. Developing and facilitating caregiver support groups (face-to-face or virtual) and educational programs. Providing Veteran, caregiver and family clinical interventions to facilitate the identification of caregiver stress, psychiatric illness, emotional distress and social needs as treatment issues. In collaboration with CSP staff, providing referrals to VA medical and mental health treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits, community-based social services and other non-VA entitlement programs. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized. Telework: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement # 41629F Senior Social Worker Clinical Assessor Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.