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This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Learn more 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. NOTE: You must submit a copy of your transcripts showing degree earned and conferred date. 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/. NOTE: You must submit a copy of your current, valid and unrestricted SW License. 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: 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. NOTE: You must submit a copy of your SW licensure showing Advanced Practice Level and supervision for licensure. 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. 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. 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). Preferred Experience: Licensed Clinical Social Worker only for GS12 and Case management experience preferred. 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: Moderate lifting (15-44 lbs.), Moderate carrying (15-44 lbs.), Reaching above shoulders, Use of fingers, Walking and standing (6 hrs.), Ability to distinguish basic colors and shades of colors, Hearing (aid permitted), Working closely with others, Working alone, Protracted or irregular hours of work. ["~INCENTIVES MAY BE AUTHORIZED~ The duties of the Behavioral Health Senior Social Worker (Case Manager) include but are not limited to:\nThe Behavioral Health Senior Social Worker will provide direct social work services to AVAHS Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries in the DoD/VA Hospital primarily in support of the Behavioral Health Unit as well as inpatient, and emergency units, depending on medical center need. These services include provision of high quality psychosocial screening and assessment and diagnosis, psychosocial treatment and intervention, specialized case management and care coordination, advocacy, health education, supportive counseling and caregiver support, discharge and/or after-care planning with coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers and/or agencies as needed by the client. The BH Senior Social Worker is a key point of contact between AVAHS and the Joint Venture Hospital serving Veterans and Tricare eligible beneficiaries. The incumbent independently organizes the work and sets priorities to meet the multiple deadlines required and is responsible for ensuring provision of high-quality mental health care to the Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries served by their team. Clinical Screening/Assessment - The social worker develops assessments of the Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries in crisis that involve care coordination and consultation with medical, nursing management, non-VA legal/State, and social work staff in other care areas to which Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries are referred, consulted, and/or also treated and/or co-managed. This can include screening Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries for admission and presenting screenings to the inpatient admission team. Inpatient assessments, completed in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries, family members, and significant others result in a social work treatment plan accounting for unique characteristics of each Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries. Clinical Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - The social worker is responsible for contributing to the interdisciplinary treatment plan and independently develops a social work plan that includes setting achievable treatment goals with the Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries and/or family. Clinical Discharge Planning - The discharge plan may involve, but is not limited to, housing the homeless, engagement in recovery, increasing support system, symptom management, assisting with financial and disability resources, and locating treatment opportunities for Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries in areas such as PTSD and MST. The social worker also consults with legal representatives (county and court) and assists with guardianships as needed by educating patients and families about resources and procedures and by seeking funding assistance from county and state resources when no family is available. Clinical Crisis Intervention - The social worker in the acute psychiatric setting will make rapid assessments of a developing crisis that may involve danger to either staff or patients and are trained to take appropriate action in conjunction with other staff and Security Forces when necessary.\nReferral to Service Providers - Throughout the course of treatment the social worker is the subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources. The social worker will collaborate with other service providers in reassessing the Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries' needs. The social worker is responsible for educating the Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries and/or caregiver of the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries' preference. Resource Usage/Development - The social worker is responsible for using the current social work resource file of VA, DoD and community social service programs and enhancing the content to the benefit of Veterans and Tricare beneficiaries. Clinical Advocacy - The social worker understands how to work with government and community agencies and will act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the Veterans, Tricare beneficiaries and/or family. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday: 8:00am to 4:30pm.\nCompressed/Flexible: CWS Available\nTelework: Not Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #: Senior Social Worker, GS-0185-12; Functional Statement: 00000\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be Authorized\nEDRP Authorized: Contact Stacy.Hermann@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]