The Senior Social Worker is essential in the provision of health and mental health services across the continuum of care. In addition, VA Social Workers facilitate case management services for Veterans who are severely injured or ill, require discharge planning or affected by severe and persistent mental illness, homelessness, suicidal ideation and other risk factors.
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: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). 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. 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/. 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 meeting the basic requirements Senior social workers must have: 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. (Example of GS-11 Experience: This is the full performance level. Social workers at this level are licensed or certified to independently practice social work. Incumbents are assigned to all program areas, including but not limited to: inpatient or outpatient medicine, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, and geriatrics. Employees provide professional, independent social work services in the assigned area. Duties include but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills and knowledge to maintain Veteran privacy and confidentiality per policies, handbooks or directives; and acts as an advocate with appropriate VA and community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver.) 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. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to meeting the experience requirements for this grade level, the candidate must fully demonstrate 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. GS-12 Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: 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 may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve active listening, reading, observing and evaluating verbal and nonverbal behavior, walking, speaking, bending, carrying light items such as paper, books, small parts, writing reports, writing clinical notes, using office equipment such as computers, telephones, fax machines, photocopy machines, and possibly driving an automobile. The work is performed in an urgent care clinical setting that exposes the incumbent to the communicable disease common to the diseases that are present within the Emergency Department. Strenuous physical activity is not required.
The Military2VA (M2VA) Social Work Case Manager oversees all transition activities and the coordination of care and services for severely injured OEF/OIF/OND service members and Veterans treated throughout the Washington DC VA Medical Center. Duties include, but are not limited to: Care Management/Clinical Services (75%): Provide clinical care management to severely injured and non-severely injured OEF/OIF combat Veterans in transition, acting as a clinician, service broker, and advocate to facilitate Veterans' transfer of care from the DoD to VA facilities and ensure their complex healthcare needs are met. Care management involves linking Veterans and their family members with appropriate VA, DoD, and community resources to support a veteran's healthy reintegration into civilian life. Contacts and interventions with the severely injured Veterans are documented in the Care Manager Tracking and Reporting Application database. Knowledge of signature injuries of the OEF/OIF conflict including mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder, and musculoskeletal problems, as well as awareness of complex systemic issues that can potentially complicate care for OEF/OIF/OND service members and Veterans and lead to substance abuse and/or problems with community reintegration. Identify barriers to personal growth and problem-solve ways to reduce these barriers and support their follow through in accessing services. Complete post deployment psychosocial assessments to evaluate Veterans concrete needs and goals that will facilitate their transition to civilian life, and individual characteristics that may help or hinder their readjustment. Returning combat veterans are dealing with complex issues including PTSD, TBI, substance abuse, and a myriad of systemic problems. Case managers must be well-versed in evidence-based social work practices and able to draw from theoretical frameworks in the development of culturally competent treatment interventions. Furthermore, training in suicide prevention is valued to provide crisis intervention to Veterans who are deemed high risk for suicide or homicide. Program oversight/Administrative (15%): Advocate on behalf of the OEF/OIF/OND service members and Veterans to ensure that services and benefits are obtained in a timely manner and in keeping with the VA's goal for excellence in customer service. Coordinate care and transition of OEF/OIF/OND service members and Veterans from DoD to VA facilities. Accountable for assessing treatment needs and facilitating linkage to treatment providers to ensure service members' and Veterans' comprehensive healthcare needs are met. Work with other members of OEF/OIF/OND Care Management team to develop affiliations with Vet Centers, National Guard, Reserve Units, Warrior Transition Units, Veterans Service Organizations, and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Regional Office to build more extensive systemic coordination. Education & Training (10%): Provide consultation to clinical staff on the unique psychosocial and systemic needs of OEF/OIF/OND service members and Veterans. Make regular visits to community-based outpatient clinics to provide in-person care management services to reduce barriers to treatment for those Veterans in rural communities. Assess OEF/OIF service members' and Veterans' level of understanding of their VHA and VBA benefits and educate them on how to fully utilize programs and services for which they are eligible. Educate Veterans' family members on readjustment issues facing the OEF/OIF population as well. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm EST Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.