Social Worker

Summary The Justice Outreach Social Worker is a Senior Social Worker whose primary responsibilities are to provide psychosocial assessments, case management services, continuous quality improvement activities, evaluation/consultation, placement services, and referral and linkage to various community agencies for Veterans who are within 6 months of release from correctional institutions and/or are being monitored by the courts - including treatment or problem solving courts. Qualifications 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 38 U.S.C. 7403(f) 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 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 NOTE: You must submit transcripts (unofficial is sufficient) AND a license with your application 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 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: 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 Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities In addition to the experience above - candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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 Preferred Experience: Homeless experience Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12 The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12 Physical Requirements: This work requires some physical exertion such as prolonged periods of standing - bending - reaching - crouching - stooping - stretching - and lifting moderately heavy items such as manuals - record boxes - equipment or assisting patients See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements. Duties Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major duties include - but are not limited to: Program Coordination: The Justice Outreach Social Worker meets with judges - officers of the court - correctional administrators and staff on a regular basis to design and/or maintain appropriate policies and procedures required for each setting He/She attends justice system staff trainings relevant to working with offenders and high risk populations and represents the VA at community meetings - seeking or maintaining membership on relevant boards - councils and task forces The Justice Outreach Social Worker also collaborates with other Justice Outreach clinicians to support engagement in care for eligible Veterans recently discharged from correctional institutions Contacts include providers who serve Veterans by contract or formal agreement with the VA - government staff - social - financial - legal - health and mental health agencies - Veterans and/or their families/relatives - Veterans' conservators - friends - employers - landlords - police - attorneys - judges - and probation and parole officers Outreach: The incumbent is required to conduct active outreach to Veterans involved with the justice system - including those who may be participants - or candidates for participation - in treatment court programs - including Veterans Courts This outreach may also include field interviews - assessments and referrals for Veterans contacted in community settings - courts and/or prior to release in jails or prisons - as well as those referred by VA residential programs - medical centers or outpatient clinics Clinical Assessment: Advanced clinical training - insight and experience is utilized to interpret data and identify viable treatment options The Justice Outreach Social Worker assesses high risk factors - acuity - and the need for services This Justice Outreach Social Worker has the ability to serve Veterans who tend to have frequent and severe crises - lack family or an adequate community support network - be poor at self-monitoring - frequently fail to comply with instructions and treatment - or have significant deficits in coping skills and require continuing professional psychosocial support The Justice Outreach Social Worker identifies and interviews justice-involved Veterans in the appropriate setting to conduct needs assessment and determine appropriate referrals - linkage and coordination for VA and non-VA services to enhance function in the community - including in transition from jail or prison The Justice Outreach Social Worker establishes a relationship with correctional medical and psychiatric leadership and personnel - where appropriate - to ensure continuity of care and for appropriate backup - if needed - when encountering Veterans in a correctional institution The Justice Outreach Social Worker may perform work in maximum - medium - or minimum security correctional institutions usually under a "no hostage" policy The Justice Outreach Social Worker observes established VA safety precautions while working in correctional facilities and/or in community settings The work environment may involve unclean settings There is ongoing exposure to individuals with psychiatric and physical illness and disabilities - which can include acute infections - violent or aggressive behavior - or chronic psychiatric and medical problems Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized 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 authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: 61258F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized. #J-18808-Ljbffr