Senior Social Worker

Summary The Senior (Sr.) Social Worker in the Emergency Department provides social work services in the Emergency Department (ED) and is assigned to provide support and assessment of psychosocial functioning and factors impacting Veteran overall health and functioning. 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. United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38U.S.C. §7403(f) 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 to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a master’s 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 Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates 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 ASWB Examination: A social worker with advanced practice skills and personal qualifications that meet the standard for the senior social worker will have passed an advanced generalist or clinical Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) examination and be assigned to a position that requires use of the advanced practice skills in order to be considered for the senior social worker grade Demonstrated Knowledge – Skills – and Abilities 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 Best Qualified Criteria: Two years of experience post licensure with demonstrated – independent social work advanced practice skills in Emergency Department services – multidisciplinary team collaboration and discharge planning experience – experience with homeless population – working with persons with disabilities – and families – experience with crisis intervention – psychosocial assessments – mental health triage – suicide risk assessment and safety planning Preferred Experience: Two years of Emergency Department experience Experience with homeless population, experience with disabled population, and experience in suicide prevention services Duties Independently conducts biopsychosocial assessment of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members and significant others Independently performs case finding functions and outreach – identifying and screening Veterans for psychosocial and mental health needs Complete Suicide Behavior Reports and Safety Plans for Veterans presenting with suicidal ideation or behaviors in alignment with established policy/procedures Incumbent provides crisis intervention services – seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint – coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members Has working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures This includes acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries – common medications and their effects/side effects – and medical terminology Independently provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of Veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan Responsible for educating the Veteran and/or caregiver of the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the Veteran’s preference or that of his surrogate decision-maker Educate the Veteran, their families and the team of all the options available to them and will collaborate with the Veteran and family on the preferred option Enter all Veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate formats and templates Establish and maintain positive working relationships with employees, volunteers, consumers and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies May supervise social work trainees/interns – providing that the incumbent has at least two years of post‐graduate schoolwork experience Meets the needs of all customers while supporting the Medical Center and Service missions Functional Statement #: 00000 – Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Compensation and Benefits Work Schedule: Monday – Friday – 6:00 am – 2:30 pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Relocation Assistance: Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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) 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 401(k) 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 Reference: For more information on this qualification standard – please visit #J-18808-Ljbffr