Job opening: Senior Social Worker
Salary: $98 426 - 127 949 per year
Published at: Oct 01 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
The Local Recovery Coordinator (LRC) promotes the recovery model of care across the Mental Health Service, educating providers, Veterans, and their families on recovery. The LRC evaluates recovery implementation efforts and makes recommendations for programming and administration for the inpatient program and community-based outpatient programs, The LRC additionally provides clinical supervision to the Peer Support Specialists in the Mental Health Service.
Duties
The LRC additionally provides clinical supervision to the Peer Support Specialists in the Mental Health Service. Their clinical time is assigned to the
Psychosocial Rehab and Recovery Program and may be spent providing evidence based assessment and therapy services in this outpatient setting.
The LRC has specialized clinical expertise in an area applicable to SMI and rehabilitation and recovery. They provide leadership as part of a workgroup or in implementing an initiative related to recovery. They are responsible for an administrative aspect of recovery programming, such as data tracking or coordination of recovery services. The LRC works closely with mental health service staff at all levels to facilitate knowledge sharing, recommendations for system improvement and assessment of need.
Familiarizing self with Psychosocial Rehabilitation/ Recovery Model (PRRC).
Implementing policies & procedures from National Recovery Coordinator (NRC).
Providing oversight and guidance on recovery-based programs and interventions.
Assessing the status of recovery-oriented services and highlighting the areas for improvement across the Mental Health Service.
Implementing measures to assess adherence to recovery policies & procedures, and assessing the extent the recovery model is embedded in MH programs.
Serving as a consultant to MH programs and recovering Veterans in the development of Peer support groups (Vet-Vet), Consumer Council (serves as MH Liaison), Veteran-operated services (as per local needs and resources).
Reporting on implementation of progress to the VISN, LRC POC, and NRC as needed.
Participating in facility MH leaderships meetings and policy planning groups as needed.
Organizing the annual Mental Health Summit.
Promoting activities and events to eliminate stigma associated with mental illness.
Coordinating the SMI Reengage and Early Psychosis outreach programs.
Serving as the clinical supervisor to peer support specialists in the Mental Health Service.
Developing an ongoing recovery-oriented education plan for providers, Veterans, and their families.
Providing psychoeducation to Veterans and their family members regarding diagnoses, symptom management and recovery from illness.
Facilitating and supporting recovery services (advisory boards, consumer councils, peer support services etc.) Engaging in direct clinical services providing recovery oriented care to Veterans diagnosed with a serious mental illness in PRRC.
Conducting psychosocial assessments including assessing functioning and needs of Veterans to formulate and implement a recovery-oriented treatment plan, identifying the Veteran's problems, strengths, challenges, coping skills and assistance needed, in collaboration with the Veteran, family and interdisciplinary treatment team.
Providing psychosocial recovery-oriented treatment to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds. ???????
VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU
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.p
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday (7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
Compressed/Flexible: Not available
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: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 93901-0
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
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
a. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States.
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.
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/.
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. At the time of appointment, the supervisor, chief social work or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification, including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline.]
For appointments at the GS-9 grade level, VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent, master's level within three years of their appointment as asocial worker. Most states require two years of post-MSW experience as a prerequisite to taking the licensure/certification exam, and VHA gives social workers one additional year to pass the licensure/certification exam. In states such as California, Washington, and others where the prerequisites for licensure exceed two years, social workers must become licensed at the independent, master's level within one year of meeting the full state prerequisites for licensure.
A social worker who does not yet have a license that allows independent practice must be supervised by a licensed independent practitioner of the same discipline who is a VA staff member and who has access to the electronic health record.
Different states have different levels of licensure or certification, making it difficult for VHA staff to determine the independent practice level. Each state, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia completed surveys identifying the level of licensure or certification allowing independent practice. Copies of the surveys are on file in the VHA Office of Care Management and Social Work Services, and a summary spreadsheet of the levels of licensure or certification is available to social work professional standards board members for purposes of determining whether the social worker's level of licensure or certification meets the VHA qualification standards. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/. The ASWB is the association of boards that regulates social work. ASWB develops and maintains the social work licensing examination used across the country and is a central resource for information on the legal regulation of social work. The ASWB offers three examinations. The master's examination is generally used by states for the independent practice level of licensure or certification, while the advanced generalist and the clinical examinations are used for the advanced practice level of licensure or certification. Differences between the master's and the advanced exams demonstrate the expectation that advanced practice social workers will have a more sophisticated knowledge of practice theory and its application.
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.
d. English Language Proficiency. Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English.
Grade Determinations:
Senior Social Worker, GS-12
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.
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, candidates 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.
Reference: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 dated September 10, 2019
Physical Requirements: Work will require walking, standing, bending, and carrying light items in conjunction with travel and attendance at meetings and conferences away from the work site. The work is performed in an office setting with adequate lighting and other facilities with no
unusual health hazards.
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 Ann Arbor VA Medical Center
2215 Fuller Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
US
- Name: Jeremiah Ferguson
- Phone: 734-882-3036
- Email: [email protected]
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