Senior Social Worker

The Senior Social Worker is assigned to Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) in a CBOC with responsibility to provide social work services to adult and geriatric Veterans receiving care in at the Northern Arizona VA Health Care System, and will provide open access to Veterans seeking these services and timely response to individuals in psychosocial crisis in PACT as well as supporting the behavioral health needs of those in crisis.

**Relocation/Recruitment Incentives May be Authorized**

Qualifications:

Basic Requirements

• Citizenship: Citizen of the United States.
• Licensure: Candidate 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.
• Education: Master's degree in social work (MSW) 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 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 master's degree in social work.

Grade Determinations:

GS-12 Senior Social Worker Experience: In addition to the basic requirements, applicants 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.
In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. 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.
2. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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. 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.


References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 - Social Worker Qualification Standard.

Physical Requirements: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, training rooms, and libraries. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. The incumbent must also work outdoors in all types of weather. There may be occasional exposure to moderate risks or discomforts in storage areas or hazardous waste sites. The work is primarily sedentary, although some physical effort may be required, e.g., walking, standing, climbing ladders, stooping, kneeling, and carrying light items such as manuals or briefcases, or driving or traveling by motor vehicle.

Responsibilities:

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU

The Senior Social Worker is responsible to provide a variety of services for Veterans, including psychosocial assessments, treatment planning, short-term, solution focused counseling with individuals and families who may be in crisis, education and referral for resources and benefits, and case management. Responsibilities will also include consultation and education to CBOC staff and service providers, the collection and maintenance of statistical data, program planning evaluation and modification, and the supervision of students as assigned.

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Collaborates with the other members of the PACT, and CBOC staff in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, will ensure equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, and collect, develop, and analyze data from this program, using appropriate clinical indicators and monitoring activities to assure that the care provided is of the highest quality.
• Responsible for the implementation of written treatment program policies and procedures developed by Social Work Service that are based on coherent empirical and theoretical rationale and are consistent with patient rights and the maintenance of comprehensive written patient progress notes and outcomes.
• NAVAHCS provides PACT services in some of these rural areas at PTOC locations. The social worker is stationed at the Lake Havasu CBOC but may assist (from the CBOC) other sites.
• Intermittently during the year, the incumbent may be required to attend an all-day Veteran oriented outreach community event, called a Stand Down or an outreach, that is off station.
• Supports Social Work Service programming. Incumbent must possess the knowledge of implementing treatment modalities; and how to do the following: 1) identify level of functioning, degree of impairment in occupational, social, academic, interpersonal and family area; 2) evaluate and assess lethality, 3) perform mental status exams (MSE), 4) identify psychiatric manifestations of various medical conditions, 5) assess and intervene with patients of suspected abuse and provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families and groups.
• Provides social work case management coordination with members of the treatment team, to ensure a collaborative effort to meet the treatment goals for a Veteran.
• Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and/or their families with proficiency. Works with Veterans and their families experiencing a wide range of complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial problems.
• Utilizes assessment in developing and implementing a comprehensive treatment plan for attainment of the highest level of independence that is possible and practicable.
• Implements psychotherapeutic treatment modalities, provide educational classes, and/or treatment and supportive groups for Veterans and families based on knowledge and ability.
• Provides consultation and education to Veterans and their families regarding community resources, VA benefits and specialty programs, and advance directives, which includes the process for accessing and/or coordinating community-based services, information, and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs, and community programs.
• Provides case management services to Veterans and their families throughout the continuum of care using acquired knowledge and skills.
• Provides back up for the Acute Care social workers and Emergency Department social workers at times when a need occurs.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 7:30 am - 4:00 pm
Telework: May be Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Salary : $92,429 - $120,158