The Senior Social Worker is a member of the Mental Health & Behavioral Sciences (MHBS) Service Line of the Northern Arizona VA Healthcare System (NAVAHCS) and is located at the Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), Flagstaff, AZ. The incumbent functions are directed toward homeless Veterans and their families or Veterans at-risk for homelessness; independently provides clinical psychosocial and case management services at an advanced practice level for eligible veterans and family members.

Duties

The incumbent functions are directed toward homeless Veterans and their families or Veterans at-risk for homelessness; independently provides clinical psychosocial and case management services at an advanced practice level for eligible veterans and family members. The major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Interviews Veterans and their family members/significant others to establish facts about the Veteran's situation, presenting problems and their causes, and the impact of such problems on the Veteran's functioning and health as part of a comprehensive psychosocial assessment. Evaluates the client's situation, including the Veteran's reaction to it and ability to deal with it, and arrives at a reasoned conclusion independently and based on the psychosocial assessment, uses professional judgment and advanced practice skills to make a psychosocial diagnosis. Develops psychosocial treatment plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members, including goals for psychosocial clinical treatment. Provides clinical services to Veterans and family members/significant others in support of the Veteran's treatment. Social Worker gives advice, guidance, emotional support and other assistance. Establishes a continuing relationship with the Veteran, evaluating progress towards goals and adjusting the treatment plan as appropriate. Conducts and participates in outreach activities including field interviews, assessments and referrals for homeless Veterans contacted in the community, shelters, and "on the streets," as well as those who are referred by VA residential programs, medical centers or Veteran clinics on a regular basis. Provides referral to VA medical and mental health treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits, as well as community-based social services and other non-VA entitlement programs. Assists Veterans in maintaining appointments at VA medical centers and other community agencies for medical, psychiatric, substance abuse, vocational and other services consistent with Veteran's goals associated with healthful independent living. Provides direct mental health and substance abuse services for Veterans and family members or significant others in support of the Veteran's treatment. Oversees the significant program responsibility of developing a systematic program that operates as a unique panel of services in the area of permanent supportive housing. Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible:Available after completing at least 90 days of continuous service. Telework: Available on an Ad-Hoc basis, at the discretion of the supervisor Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: PD860000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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. [Transcripts, official or unofficial showing conferral date, must be submitted at time of application must] Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed 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. [A copy of current license showing date of issuance and expiration must be submitted with application] English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met for this position. Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education. Applicant must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensureand 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, the candidate 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. 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard GS-0185 Veterans Health Administration. Physical Requirements: Work is divided between office and community locations other than the VA Medical Center or Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). May require prolonged standing, moderate walking, and manual dexterity. Requires carrying light items, such as books, files, or laptop computers. Frequent travel is required within a catchment area for at least 50% or more of the time.

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Bob Stump VA Medical Center 500 Highway 89 North Prescott, AZ 86313 US
• Name: Sharon Fullwood
• Phone: (562) 826-5157
• Email: [email protected]