The incumbent is a Social Worker assigned to the Substance Use Disorders (SUDS) Outpatient Program within the VA Healthcare System in East Orange, NJ. The Substance Use Disorders (SUDS) Outpatient Program is within the SUDS Patient Based Program located in the Mental Health & Behavioral Science (MH&BS) service line, and the Outpatient SUDS Social Worker reports to Social Work Service.

Duties

The primary function of the Social Worker is to serve as Primary Therapist to assigned Veterans in both the intensive (early recovery) and aftercare (later recovery) phases of outpatient SUD treatment. The incumbent collaborates with the Veteran, the Veteran's family members/significant others as requested by the Veteran. The Social Worker provides psychosocial assessment, individual and group psychotherapy, collaboration with the Veteran in case management, treatment planning, and coordination of linkage with appropriate VA and community service providers/agencies as needed by the Veteran on an independent practice level. The Social Worker functions as part of an interdisciplinary Treatment Team coordinating with other team members to provide therapeutic and psychoeducational programming. The Social Worker also provides education to residents, interns and other in-training staff on subject matters that he/she has expertise. The Social Worker engages Veterans via discussions around their reaction to their current symptoms, need for treatment, and any other environmental issues relevant to the Veteran's treatment in order to decrease obstacles and improve ability to maintain self-care for sustained abstinence. The incumbent works to assist Veterans in accomplishing their treatment goals and/or assist with any psychosocial crises that arise. The Social Worker provides Veterans with ongoing counseling and/or case management as needed, during the course of treatment that addresses their treatment and aftercare planning needs. In addition to the behavioral health needs, the Social Worker is able to assist Veterans who may have medical, psychiatric, vocational, educational and/or social care needs. Therefore, the Social Worker also has extensive skills in utilizing VA and community resources. The Social Worker acts as an advocate for Veterans accessing VA NJ HCS, the wider VA, as well as community services whenever necessary. When appropriate and feasible, the Social Worker educates and encourages Veterans to advocate on their own behalf, thus fostering a sense of empowerment, independence and assertiveness. Psychosocial Assessments - As part of the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Social Worker possesses knowledge and skills to independently complete a psychosocial assessment as required in the MH&BS documentation policy. The psychosocial assessment occurs through interviews with the Veteran, family members/significant others and/or other service providers whenever possible and with the Veteran's permission. The goal of the assessment is to highlight the Veteran's current situation, strengths, psychosocial/service needs, treatment goals and possible barriers to treatment/goals. Structured assessment tools may also be incorporated into the psychosocial assessment to provide further details. The psychosocial assessment is part of the overall team assessment of the Veteran, which forms the basis of a comprehensive treatment plan. Treatment planning/goal setting - The Social Worker, in collaboration with the Veteran, Veteran's family members/significant others, and other treatment team members participates in developing an interdisciplinary treatment plan for Veterans. The plan is based on the Veteran's goals (needs and/or preferences) using his/her own language. If the Veteran is not present, the Social Worker (and/or team) makes every effort to reflect the Veteran's language, goals, etc. based on the psychosocial assessment. The treatment plan is person-centered, holistic, non-linear and strengths-based. The Veteran's goals are obtainable and measurable. The resulting treatment plan is developed within the time frames designated by the unit. Ongoing re-assessments and updates of the treatment plans are completed as necessary due to the changing needs of the Veteran, accomplishments of preliminary goals, improvement of mental health status and/or evolving discharge plans. Additional Duties as Assigned in the functional statement. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm - May need to work 1 weekend day and 1 evening as required Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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 #: 21R46-A 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. 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/. 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. 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 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). Creditable Experience. The candidate must have knowledge of current professional social work practices. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with current professional social work practice. The experience or education must be post-Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. Experience and education satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice, which is paid/non-paid employment as a professional social worker, as defined by the appropriate state licensing board. Quality of Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a master's degree in social work and if it includes work as a professional social worker directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to social work experience at the next lower level. Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time work week. For example, one week of full-time credit is equivalent to two weeks of part-time work. Fellowships or Post-Graduate Training. Fellowship and post-graduate training programs are typically in a specialized area of clinical practice, i.e., group or family practice. Training as a fellow or post-graduate may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for-year basis. Practicum in a VA Setting. A VHA practicum experience may not be substituted for experience, as the practicum (field placement) is completed prior to graduation with a master's degree in social work. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidate 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: (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) 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. (c) 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. (d) 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. (e) 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. Preferred Experience: LCSW is preferred. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 September 10, 2019 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11, which is the actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address VA New Jersey Health Care System 385 Tremont Avenue East Orange, NJ 07018 US
• Name: Kelli Bencic
• Phone: 716-458-6982
• Email: [email protected]