Senior Social Worker

Senior Social Worker (GS-12)

The Senior Social Worker serves as an advanced practice clinician within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), VISN 7, VA Augusta Health Care System, providing expert psychosocial assessment, crisis intervention, case management, and care coordination for Veterans in the Emergency Department. This non-supervisory role requires independent clinical judgment, advanced therapeutic skills, and the ability to collaborate across interdisciplinary teams to ensure safe, effective, and patient-centered care. The Senior Social Worker supports program development, engages in quality improvement, and maintains compliance with professional standards, regulatory requirements, and documentation guidelines.

Duties include, however, not limited to:

• Provides applied advanced clinical skills and case management services in an Emergency Department.
• Provides brief, evidence-based interventions targeting conditions such as depression, anxiety, adjustment, stress, insomnia, chronic disease management, health behavior change.
• Interacts not only with the patient but also family, significant others, community agencies, and other staff.
• Collaborates closely with Emergency Department Providers, nurses, and other team members to support shared treatment planning and coordinated care.
• Provides crisis intervention and emotional support to Veterans experiencing trauma, mental health crisis, substance use disorders, domestic violence, abuse, neglect, grief, or other psychosocial concerns.
• Facilitates psychiatric evaluations, voluntary/involuntary commitment procedures, and behavioral health referrals.
• Coordinates social work services with other programs of service to the same group of Veterans.
• Provides a full range of advanced practice psychological assessment services and diagnose mental disorders, particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients.
• Assists with program development, evaluation and effectiveness.
• Provides clinical psychosocial and case management services at an advanced practice level for Veterans.
• Provides supportive counseling and appropriate case management services to reduce the Veteran's stress throughout all phases of treatment. Incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• Provides supportive counseling, develops collaborative mental health treatment plans, and provides appropriate case management services to reduce the Veteran's stress throughout all phases of treatment.
• Develops and implements safe discharge plans in collaboration with Veterans, families, physicians, nurses, and community providers.
• Provides education and support to Veterans and families regarding available resources, treatment options, coping strategies.
• Participates in departmental meetings, quality improvement initiatives, and continuing education activities.
• Maintains knowledge of community resources, healthcare regulations, and social work best practices.
• Maintains accurate, timely, and comprehensive documentation.
• Participates in on-call rotation (required)

Work Schedule: Monday -Friday 3:00pm - 11:30pm

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of 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: Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 61939F

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized