Job opening: Social Worker - SUD Liaison
Salary: $59 456 - 93 514 per year
Published at: Aug 17 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
The Social Worker is the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Specialist for Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) and the Heath Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Programs. This position is located within the Mental Heath Careline at the Chillicothe VA Medical Center.
Duties
RECRUITMENT INCENTIVES MAY BE AUTHORIZED FOR HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES.
VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU
Duties include but may not be limited to:
Provides direct SUD services for SSVF Grantees.- Provides Outreach services for SSVF Grantees.- Provides training for other members of the multidisciplinary treatment team in areas related to SUD assessment, anger management, life skills, and SUD with co-occurring disorders.- Independently conducts intake and needs assessment of homeless Veterans and their significant others. Identifies symptoms leading to clinical diagnoses of SUD.- Provides all necessary assessment functions, e.g., interviewing, psychosocial histories, and SUD assessments to aid in the development of treatment plans.- Develops comprehensive treatment plans with the Veteran that address the factors that contributed to homelessness, including SUD and other co-occurring factors within a recovery model framework.
Works with the Veteran to realize the Veteran's treatment goals and reassesses/revises goals as indicated by the Veteran's engagement in treatment.- Organizes and conducts individual case management, group therapy/classes, and SUD treatment, to include early interventions and supportive follow-up to ensure stability in home visits and facility-based contacts.- Provides SUD support to the SSVF Grantee as a functional member of this team, to include consultation, interventions, or accompanying other case managers on home visits, when indicated by suspicion of SSVF participant SUD use.- Will serve as a member of a multidisciplinary homeless program treatment team.
Will develop partnerships with community agencies, especially those serving homeless and SUD Veterans, with regular contact and communication.
Will provide liaison services with other programs referring homeless Veterans to SSVF to ensure continuity of care and promote successful transition of Veterans from one program to another.- Will participate in policy making, goal setting, and treatment service planning discussions with SSVF Grantees and Homeless Programs.- Will provide appropriate clinical documentation for all contacts with or about Veterans.
The incumbent will conduct and participate in outreach activities including field interviews, assessments, and referrals for homeless Veterans contacted in the community, shelters, and "on the streets" with the SSVF Grantee.
Skilled administrator of structured interviews and assessments with a wide variety of patient populations, particularly Homeless Veteran populations with SUD who are also Seriously Mentally Ill (SMI) Veterans, Women Veterans, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans, elderly Veterans and/or Veterans with families.
The incumbent may be required to work weekends, holidays and complete other duties as assigned.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30AM - 4:00PM
Telework: May be Authorized.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 91721-0 and 91697-0
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Qualifications
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: 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/.
Exception: VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified.
Failure to Obtain License or Certification: In all cases, social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment. Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.
Loss of Licensure or Certification: Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.
Grandfathering Provision: 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). All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.
Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service. Additional details outlined below.
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 when determining the grade of candidates.
Social Worker, GS-09: Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills.
Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals.
This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.
Social Worker, GS-11:Experience and Licensure: Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level.
OR
Education: In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds.
Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan.
Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals.
Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment.
References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11.
Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, with occasional requirements to lift office supplies up to approximately 10 pounds. The work may require using appropriate technique to physically restrain clients who present a danger to self or others. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand and walk. Specific vision abilities required by this job function include but are not limited to close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. The employee is required to maintain a valid driver's license for facility driving purposes.
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 Chillicothe VA Medical Center
17273 State Route 104
Chillicothe, OH 45601
US
- Name: Emily Chain Smith
- Phone: 740-253-9967
- Email: [email protected]
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