Social Worker

Summary The incumbents clinical duties are assigned to the Addiction Recovery Service(ARS) Team in the Mental Health Integrated Care Community(ICC) of the Minneapolis - Minnesota Veterans Affairs class 1A(High Complexity) Medical Center. 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 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 to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters 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 Current state requirements may be found by going to 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 Failure to Obtain License or Certification In all cases - social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time (3 years) will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment Loss of Licensure or Certification Once licensed or certified - social workers must maintain a full-valid-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 English Language Proficiency Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f) 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) Grade Determinations: Social Worker - GS-9 Experience - Education - and Licensure None beyond the basic requirements Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic-culture-ethnic-educational and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members - and to formulate and implement a treatment plan - identifying the Veterans problems - strengths - weaknesses - coping skills - and assistance needed Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals - families - and groups to achieve treatment goals This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive - problem solving - or crisis intervention techniques Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients - staff - and representatives of community agencies Fundamental knowledge 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 Social Worker - GS-11 Experience and Licensure Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings - (VA or non-VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level OR Education In addition to meeting basic requirements - a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of community resources - how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services - and ability to coordinate services Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic - cultural - ethnic - educational and other diversified backgrounds Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses - disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e., acute - chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries - common medications and their effects/side effects - and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals - families - and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric - medical - and social problems to achieve treatment goals Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers - social work graduate students - and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. Duties 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 Program 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 VA Careers - Social Work: VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major duties include - but are not limited to: Patient Care: The incumbent provides psychosocial care to Veterans with active substance use problems - and many with co-occurring mental health and medical conditions - and complex psychosocial situations Psychosocial care includes: brief interventions - individual and group psychotherapy - treatment coordination - crisis management - a family collaboration - and crisis intervention Independently conducts psychosocial and substance use assessments Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team Incumbent possesses the skills to offer psychosocial interventions and measure outcomes to interventions Incumbent must possess the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities Independently performs case finding functions and outreach - identifying and screening patients for substance use problems and other psychosocial needs Independently identifies high-risk patients - and coordinates planning as appropriate Incumbent provides case management services and is able to coordinate community-based services - including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs - other government programs - community agency programs 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 Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with veterans and their families Incumbent is able to independently work with patients and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric - medical and social problems utilizing individual - group and family counseling and therapy skills 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 Ability to evaluate incumbents own practice through professional peer review - case conferences and other organizational means Incumbent is able to communicate effectively - both orally and in writing - with people from varied backgrounds General knowledge of veterans' benefits and services relating to special programs - service connected compensation - non-service connected pension Facilitates referrals based upon veterans needs and eligibility The incumbent may serve on committees - councils - workgroups - and/or task forces Work Schedule: 08:00 to 16:30 Monday through Friday Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive Contact View email address on click.appcast.io - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance Learn more 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: Ad-Hoc Only Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized #J-18808-Ljbffr