Senior Social Workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced practice level. Senior Social Worker is assigned to administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf

Duties

Major Duties as Assigned, but not limited to: A. Interviews Clients and Conducts Psychosocial Assessments -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. -Reviews all data, subjective and objective, and makes a clinical assessment identifying needs and strengths. B. Makes Psychosocial Diagnoses -Independently evaluates the client's situation, including the Veteran's reaction and ability to deal with it, and arrives at a reasoned conclusion. Based on the psychosocial assessment, uses professional judgment and advanced practice skills to make a psychosocial diagnosis. -On an inpatient/outpatient basis, finds a suitable means of treatment to help Veterans and/or significant others copes with stressful situations. C. Plans Effective Treatment -Develops psychosocial treatment plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members, including goals for psychosocial clinical treatment. Using known available resources and the initial assessment of the Veteran's likelihood to accept differing types of assistance, make initial and continuing decisions regarding use of VA and non-VA services and referrals. Arrives at a reasoned conclusion as to the preferred course of agency action. -Makes adjustments to the psychosocial treatment plan and interventions based on changing needs and response to interventions. Initiates and effects changes in methods and interventions to promote efficient practice and improve patient outcomes. D. Implements Treatment -Provides clinical services to Veterans and family members/significant others in support of the Veteran's treatment. Gives advice, guidance, emotional support, and other assistance. Provides individual and group counseling services, including psychotherapy in some settings. -Receives and completes requests for services (consults) from interdisciplinary team members and from other Social Workers on complex, difficult cases, using advanced practice skills and expertise. E. Evaluation, Education, Supervision, Coaching, and Mentoring -Establishes a continuing relationship with the Veteran, evaluating progress towards goals and adjusting the treatment plan as appropriate. Meets with Veteran to assess accomplishments and re-establish goals. Monitors Veteran's progress, maintains comprehensive documentation, ensures expert diagnosis and treatment of clinical disorders, and shows competent discretion in decision to adjust treatment. Makes recommendations for care and changes to interdisciplinary treatment plan. -Directs/coordinates clinical and psychosocial services and is accountable for the overall effectiveness of the services provided. Modifies services to best meet the treatment needs of Veterans and to promote efficient practice. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible:May be available after at least 90 days and meeting performance standards with management approval. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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: May be available 1-2 days per pay period. Must wait 90 days and meet performance standards with management approval. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Senior Social Worker/PD00000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following: a. 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). b. 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. c. 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/. d. Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation. e. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. f. 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). 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 (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of 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. (4) 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. Preferred Experience: Two years' experience post advanced practice clinical licensure Two years' experience providing individual and group therapy using evidenced based modalities to treat depression and anxiety Two years' experience providing assessment and mental health diagnosing Two years' experience serving as part of a multidisciplinary team Two years' experience conducting suicide risk screens, assessments, and safety plans References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard dated September 10, 2019. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Accreditation Information: The master's degree in social work must be from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Verification of accreditation may be made obtained from CSWE.

Note: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

Note: If your school was accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the CSWE website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

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 Central Texas Health Care System 1901 Veterans Memorial Drive Temple, TX 76504 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]